Sustainable fashion refers to a movement that is dedicated to creating ethical, environmentally friendly clothing. It involves much more than just using recyclable materials in clothing. The movement has a part to play in every step of bringing the clothes into customers' homes, from the farms where cotton is grown to the treatment of animals from which the material is obtained.

When more people switch to brands that focus on sustainability, we’ll see a myriad of benefits, from lesser textile waste, less harm coming to animals, a reduced carbon footprint and most importantly, better working conditions and fair wages for the people who make the clothes. In this article, we’ll be looking at what makes certain practices unsustainable and how we aim to solve the issues presented by fast fashion.
 

Why companies like H&M and Shein are not sustainable. 

Let's start with the obvious reasons: H&M and Shein are fast fashion companies.

Fast fashion refers to producing high volumes of clothing rapidly. To turn around as many clothes as possible in a short period, production tends to use low-quality materials and trend replication. This enables brands to sell clothes cheaply to their customers, without them knowing that the materials that went into the clothes aren't worth their money.

During this rushed process, corners are cut, and there's little time for any kind of checking, let alone quality control.  Brands simply want to churn out as many clothes as possible without thinking about the potential implications on the environment or their workers. 

This results in massive amounts of waste, rivalling the carbon footprint of much bigger industries like oil and air travel. Worker’s rights to fair wages and decent working conditions are overlooked, with cases of child labour becoming increasingly prevalent.
 

It’s time for a change. Introducing ShopSustainably.

We know it isn’t practical to research every brand you purchase to make sure they're doing the right thing. That's why we do the hard work for you, by curating and sourcing all the right brands that want to make a difference and letting you shop from all of them in one place.

We only partner with fashion designers that meet at least three of these sustainability values: Production Levels, Ethical Production, Mindful Fabrics, Natural and Low Impact Dyes, Eco-Friendly Packaging, Upcycled Clothing, Pollution or Energy Use, Second-Hand Fashion.
 
Here’s an in-depth look into each of our core values:
  

1. Production Levels. Lower production values, smaller batches, made-to-order pieces, and limited production runs are what we look out for when picking a slow fashion brand. These factors reduce the impact on the environment and solve the main issue fast fashion brands created: waste. 
2. Ethical Production. We only work with brands that are transparent about their operations. Workers being paid fairly and having safe working environments are two of the biggest things we look out for when determining if a brand is ethical.
3. Mindful Fabrics. We're partial to brands that use natural or recycled materials, helping to reduce the environmental impact, lowering emissions and conserving water.
4. Natural and Low Impact Dyes. Brands that use dyes that don't contain toxic chemicals or use significantly more water during the dyeing process help reduce waste and prevent the poisoning of soil and waterways. This can prevent chemicals from ending up in drinking water, which could potentially save lives.
5. Eco-Friendly Packaging. We keep an eye out for brands that use biodegradable containers and recyclable plastics.
6. Upcycled Clothing. We enjoy partnering with brands that believe in upcycling clothes. Upcycling fashion transforms existing fashion pieces to produce one-of-a-kind clothes that would have otherwise ended up in a landfill.
7. Pollution or Energy Use. The production of fast fashion pieces directly correlates to the excessive amounts of greenhouse gases. For this reason, we make it a point to partner with brands that look for innovative ways to reduce their greenhouse emissions.
8. Second-Hand Fashion. By reusing clothes, the overall lifecycle of a fashion piece is extended even further. Did we mention second-hand shopping is also affordable?