Ethical fashion is “fashion that aims to reduce the hard impact on people, culture, animals, and our whole civilisation.” Creating ethical clothing includes use of electricity, water, chemical based colours, pesticides, dye, labour, and specific materials. Ethical fashion is mindful to the whole world and everything included from the moment the piece is being designed to the time the item is placed on the store rack.

The idea of mindfulness in fashion may be full of ideas that may clash with each inside topic.

Here are some ways to become more mindful for the planet, culture, animals and nature.

Ethically using Water: After producing clothes, the companies and consumers are still polluting waterways. Each time we clean our clothes with synthetic fibers, tiny pieces of microplastics travel into the water system pipes and eventually the ocean. Once eaten by fish and our marine life will eventually be eaten by us. Microplastics are toxic and we don’t realise how this is can impact our civilisation.

One way you can prevent this toxic cycle is by using a filter based laundry bag which collects any toxic and dangerous particles and reduces water usage as many people especially in westernised society are using the washing machine too frequently.

Recycle: Sustainable clothing should usually be created with the idea of durability in plan. Clothes should actually last many years. In today’s society fashion is now called “fast-fashion” where clothes are unfortunately identified as “disposable”. To help become ethically mindful for the environment try to search for brands and companies which use strong, durable quality materials them with a lifetime warranty. Wearing clothes which are timeless and worn in quality not quantity will be additionally useful for the planet. Even-so, high quality fabrics will eventually break down.

Durable brands will consider that inevitability when planning and detailing their clothing pieces and whole business concept.

Quality companies will offer repair or return policies.

Ethical for children: Many factories in lower economical countries provide unfair working conditions of millions of people. This unfortunately includes child labour. millions of lives are impacted by the worldwide fashion industry each day. Most of these workers do not receive a liveable wage and work in poor work conditions. Try and purchase clothing which is tracked back to where it is made whether it’d be a locally made product which a unique designer hand makes themselves, which also supports small local businesses. if you are aware of factories near or far which have poor working conditions it’s crucial to report them.

How it affects nature: When commercially  grown in masses, cotton surprisingly is one of the most polluting crops as it needs the largest amount of chemicals; insecticides and pesticides. The cotton needed to create a standard tee- shirt is grown with 10% pesticides.

Other chemicals included are not just used in the process of growing of fibres;

There are more dangerous chemicals used in the production of textiles and factory use such as heavy metals, nickel, lead, chromium, phthalates, carcinogens and formaldehyde.  

This exposure of the entire process is dangerous to growers, manufacturers and their hard working labourers. Once purchased in store the consumers are exposed to the layer of factory chemical exposure as consumers rarely wash the item first.

Overall, it’s crucial to use companies  which use ethics seriously. Not every clothing company is 100% sustainable and controlled, however we can do our part by staying mindful of brands that are using correct measures to care not only for the environment, but for the other living circumstances of others around the world. Ethical styling can change lives; small or large. This can create a more cost effective, timeless, respectful and quality approach to the nature of fashion.

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