Sustainable and Ethical Fashion

At Stanford University’s design school, scenes of the Rana Plaza disaster, a 2013 garment factory collapse in Bangladesh, are projected upon a large wall in the hall. Stations were set up around the spacious room, displaying exhibits like “the supply chain game” and “write a letter to a policymaker.” One large whiteboard stood near the entrance of the hall, and on it was written “What do you want to see brands do in the next five years?” Answers like “support human rights” and “use environmentally friendly materials” are scrawled across the board. As music played over the speakers, attendees walked in and out, mingling with sustainable brand representatives and event coordinators. Each year, Fashion Revolution, an organization dedicated to improving the fashion industry, puts on a weeklong series of events once a year. This event at Stanford University is just one of the many events during April meant to educate people about their clothes and the fashion brands they support.

Rana Plaza Disaster

Sustainable and ethical fashion brands refrain from using environmentally harmful synthetic fabrics and dyes. They pay garment laborers decent wages. Some brands use organic cotton or repurpose vintage deadstock fabrics. Brands such as Indigenous and Reformation reflect a more socially conscious sector of the fashion industry.

These brands have gained popularity among consumers and the fashion industry, with successful fashion blogs WhoWhatWear and Man Repeller featuring brands such as Reformation and Everlane. Celebrities like Karlie Kloss and Bella Hadid have been spotted wearing pieces from Reformation, raiding the brand’s profile and its sustainable and ethical message. Current fashion influencers with high followings sport sustainable and ethical brands as a part of their daily wardrobe and post these looks on social media, drawing attention to these brands.

Indigenous, an apparel brand based in Sonoma County, uses organic materials and fair trade practices to make their women’s and men’s clothing. James Roberts, director of operations for Indigenous since 2009, said, “With us we use exclusively organic and natural materials, and we’re very strict about that. If we say it’s organic cotton, it’s always 100 percent organic cotton ... we work really closely with the entire supply chain, starting with farmers and working to make sure that certain standards are met.” Indigenous also uses organic alpaca fur to make most of their scarves, wraps, and sweaters. “With Peru it’s highly sustainable. The people in the highlands have been raising alpaca for millennia, literally,” Roberts said. “The alpacas have grown to be an integral part of the environment in that region especially in the Southern Andes. So, we also work with the mills that produce our yarns.”

Founded in 1993 by Scott Leonard and Matt Reynolds, Indigenous has been central to using eco-friendly materials and fair trade practices since its inception. In 2015, Indigenous was honored “Best in the World” by B Corporation, a nonprofit organization aimed at “using business as a force for good.”

Reformation, a “cool girl” apparel brand based in Los Angeles, was founded in 2009 by Yael Aflalo. Aflalo’s brand mainly consists of flouncy sundresses, cropped tank tops, high waisted jeans, and the occasional witty graphic T-shirt. The company prides itself on being transparent and sustainable. From the start, their production has largely focused on repurposing vintage fabrics and using eco-friendly materials like Tencel and viscose, which are less polluting and use less resources than conventional cotton. On April 22nd, the company started publishing factory tour videos to give customers an inside look at their production process. On their website, Reformation states, “We source sustainable fabrics and vintage garments while incorporating better practices throughout our supply chain to make beautiful styles at a fraction of the environmental impact of conventional fashion.” According to an L.A. Times article, Aflalo said Reformation’s “revenue in 2014 was $25 million, and that number is expected to double or triple by the end of 2015.”

Although companies like Indigenous have been around for years, sustainable and ethical brands have tended to be limited to niche markets. Andrea Plell, founder of public relations and event firm Ecologique Fashion and West Coast coordinator of Fashion Revolution, has been in the industry since 2008. “I know back in 2008, it was not very known… there was already some in 2008, but they were either in their little nook and cranny or just very hempy and plain —nothing that could really compete with the mainstream market aesthetically,” Plell said.

Plell said she noticed a rise in visibility and design quality from this sector. “I’d say in about 2011 or 2012, there started spouting out more sustainable and ethical companies that developed fashion in the US,” Plell said.

Sustainable and ethical brands are becoming more fashionable and on trend. New sustainable brand AGAATI is based in San Jose. Their clothes are anything far from hempy and plain. Each piece from AGAATI’s spring 2017 collection is vibrant, colorful and bold. Roshini Gurung, a team member at AGAATI, notes that sustainable and ethical doesn’t always mean bland. “When people talk about sustainable clothes they think about boring clothes like a T-shirt and pants,” Gurung said. “But we wanted to say, ‘it doesn’t have to be boring.’ We can add colors. We can use reclaimed fabric that would otherwise go to a landfill.”

In fact, improved aesthetics are an integral part of competing with the mainstream market to draw in consumers. “In this day and age, you can’t just have a brand that can stand on the merits of its own of being eco-friendly,” Roberts of Indigenous said. “It has to be fashionable, it has to be nice, it has to fit well.”

But how are consumers reacting? Are they reaching for their wallets to buy from these brands?

In 2015, Nielsen conducted a report titled “Green Generation: Millennials say sustainability is a shopping priority.” According to a survey of 30,000 people, 72 percent of millennials interviewed are willing to pay more for “products and services that come from companies who are committed to positive social and environmental impact.” In addition, 51 percent of Baby Boomers are also willing to pay more, which is 7 percent more than in 2014.

Consumers are starting to see the value in supporting companies with sustainable and ethical business practices. “There’s been a phenomenal switch especially with everyone becoming more aware with the political sphere and wanting to become more involved,” Plell said. “So I’d say in the past two years especially I’ve seen such an extreme amount of compassion and motivation for change.”

The Rana Plaza disaster in 2013 was also pivotal moment for the fashion industry and its

buyers. “There’s been incidents like Rana Plaza, and events like that really have done a huge impact on consumer awareness,” Roberts said. 1,129 garment workers died in the tragedy.

AmyAnn Cadwell, co-founder and editor-in-chief of website The Good Trade, agrees that the outcome of Rana Plaza has been an eye-opener for consumers around the globe. “The Rana Plaza tragedy in Bangladesh was a huge accelerator for the ethical fashion movement and for consumers starting to understand a bit more and ask more questions about the things we wear,” Cadwell said.

Chessa Casper is a student and rejecter of fast fashion. Casper was influenced to switch from buying from fast-fashion retail stores to thrifting both because of environmental and ethical issues. “Our culture is very materialistic and focused on getting things as quickly as possible with little to no regard for the waste created by this consumerist mindset,” Casper said. “Aside from the sustainability factor, I try to avoid fast fashion primarily because of the ethics many fast fashion companies employ. I'm not down to support a company built on sweatshops, child labor, or any other unethical practices.”

Dena Julia Smith, blogger and avid sustainable and ethical brand buyer, was introduced to sustainable and ethical fashion almost a decade ago. “I was working at a non-profit and we did a fashion show with a labor-rights watch group. The picture they painted of the working conditions really stuck with me, as did their description of the wastefulness of fast fashion,” Smith said.

Sustainable and ethical brands typically have significantly higher price tags, due to higher production costs. For example, a basic scoop neck T-shirt at Indigenous is $70, and a summer wrap dress is $124. At Reformation, a linen maxi dress costs anywhere from $178 to $218 depending on the style, and a pair of denim cut-off shorts are $98. Higher prices can prevent shoppers from buying, especially those who may not be making enough money to afford regular purchases from these brands.

Casper does fall in line with buyers who are unable to regularly afford sustainable and ethical brands. “I'm pretty certain that the majority of [sustainable and ethical brands] would be well out of my price range,” Casper said. “I love the idea of supporting companies that are doing good things socially or environmentally but unfortunately I can't currently see myself being able to fit that into my lifestyle.”

But for those who can afford it, sustainable and ethical fashion is worth the money. Different from Casper, Smith can afford and regularly buys pieces from the newest collections at Reformation and Re/Done, a company that reworks vintage Levi’s jeans. “You get what you pay for! Supporting a living wage, using sustainable fabrics, all of that costs more money than traditional production methods,” Smith said. “The way I justify actively seeking out and paying more for these kinds of clothes is the added benefit of buying less, better things.”

As sustainable and ethical fashion brands continue to pop-up, fast fashion companies are also trying to follow suit. In 2011, big fast fashion retailer H&M released its “Conscious Collection,” which features apparel “made out of at least 50 percent sustainable or recycled materials,” according to a Glamour article. In 2016, Zara premiered their “#JoinLife” women’s collection, which promises to use more sustainable materials such as tencel and “ecologically grown cotton,” as stated on their website.

However, no large fast fashion company has made the full switch to ethical and sustainable business practices. “Most of the big retailers still don’t disclose all their factories. They don’t disclose some of their sourcing materials and production practices,” Cadwell of The Good Trade said. “I think it’ll happen in the next couple years, but I think that’s something that we haven’t seen yet.”

Can consumers hope for a more sustainable and ethical fashion industry? Cadwell thinks yes — but there’s still a long way to go. “My perspective is that this will only change when big retailers truly change their practices,” Cadwell said. “We’ve come a long way, and hopefully that means we’ll continue go a long way in the next few years. But it’s definitely like we’re still on the young side of this process of reinventing the fashion industry.”

Annachiara is a Media Studies senior who focuses on journalism and audio production. She loves to create stories revolving around the fashion industry and entrepreneurship.