The term ‘sustainable fashion has been doing the rounds for hot minute. If you’re still confused about what it means, our friends at Wikipedia have broken it down as: “efforts within the fashion industry to reduce environmental impacts, protect workers producing garments and uphold animal welfare.”
Former magazine fashion editor and now founder of sustainable styling agency Fouura Lifestyle Jessica Ramoshaba, says that not so long ago, most of us didn’t care much about where our clothes came from, the supply chain that entailed them or the people who made them. Thankfully, there’s been a positive shift – although still very slow – in consumers caring about buying clothing from companies that act responsibly. Through Fouura Lifestyle, Ramoshaba hopes to create a conscious community of immaculately styled men and women. This, she believes, can only be achieved through conscious shopping.
“When it comes to retail, it has become more common to know where a garment was made, if the workers were paid fairly and if the quality of the fabric is meant to last two years or two decades. Consumers are made aware of when dangerous working conditions have been uncovered and are wary of spending on ‘fast fashion’, clothes that are rapidly designed but that also rapidly deteriorate in quality,” explains Ramoshaba. Luckily, technology has advanced to enable brands to sell more eco-friendly materials and create less waste throughout the entire process, from product creation to marketing to store or website sales.
Saving The Environment Through Fashion
Several designers around the world are leading the charge in ethical and sustainable fashion, prioritising eco-friendly materials, fair labour practices, and reduced environmental impact. Stella McCartney, known for her cruelty-free designs and use of vegan materials, is a prominent example. Meanwhile, right here on our continent, Ghanaian ethical fashion designer Elisha Ofori Bamfo creates clothing from discarded materials like second-hand clothing and plastic waste found in Accra. He uses these materials to produce unique and fashionable pieces, drawing attention to the issue of sustainable fashion and challenging the fast fashion industry. His work is a form of radical upcycling, transforming waste into designer clothing with vibrant colours, collage and painted imagery.
In South Africa, Cape Town-based sustainable textile designer and social activist Sindiso Khumalo built her sustainable fashion brand in 2015 with the vision of creating sustainable clothing inspired by African history. With textiles and craft forming the heart of her collections, she works closely with NGOs and small workshops in South Africa and Burkina Faso to produce unique handwoven and hand-embroidered textiles for her collections.
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Do We Need To Be Shopping So Much?
The concept of sustainable fashion and ethical clothing has gone beyond a trend, and become a business imperative for the industry. In a 2022 survey conducted by Statista, 35 percent of customers in the U.S. reported that they would be willing to pay significantly more money if the clothing line is eco-friendly or sustainably produced. South African consumers, on the other hand, are increasingly embracing eco-friendly fashion choices, driven by a growing awareness of the environmental and social impact of the fashion industry. This trend is reflected in the rise of sustainable fashion brands and a shift towards more conscious consumption patterns among South Africans.
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Six Tips For Sustainable Styling
Below, Ramoshaba makes a strong case for why we should stop buying clothes unnecessarily.
Please repeat your outfits.
Fact of the matter is that we have a lot of clothes. I often get asked: “How do I deal with not wanting to repeat my clothes because people have seen me wearing them on social media or at an event? I feel weird about repeating clothes.” And my answer is: Build a capsule wardrobe with quality staples that will allow you to mix and match, therefore creating various exciting looks that won’t come across as though you are repeating clothes.
Factor in cost-per-wear.
This simply means getting as much use as possible from the amount of money that you spend on an item. And this is why it’s important to invest in good quality clothing that can last longer – instead of cheap clothing that withers with every wash.
Invest in sustainable brands.
One step to being a more ethical consumer means shopping only when we need to and with a purpose, instead of simply getting something new to spice up our day and thinking that this will make us happy in the long run.
Please take care of your clothes.
Make an effort to care for your clothes so they last longer. And of course, if we buy higher-quality clothes in the first place, they are likely to last longer as we are also more likely to treat them more carefully because they cost more.
Don’t wait for a special occasion.
Make every day a special occasion and wear what makes you happy here and now. I have seen so many beautiful pieces, even with labels still attached, waiting for “that special occasion”, “the perfect date”, etc. that might not transpire the way we have dreamed.
Make your wardrobe more circular.
Open your wardrobe to the circular fashion movement. In other words: swap, choose vintage, rent, and donate or gift your unworn clothes. Clothing swap events and apps are gaining more momentum recently; fun physical and virtual places to swap unworn clothes for pieces that will have an extended life in a different closet. Trading what we already have and no longer love instead of letting it make its way into landfills is one of the most sustainable moves we can make with our fashion.
