The world of sustainable fashion can seem very daunting & overwhelming at first glance, with various words, acronyms & phrases being thrown around all over the place! In an attempt to make it a little more accessible, I’ve defined & explained some of these ‘buzz words’ here.

If you are interested in exploring & learning more about sustainable fashion then please don’t be disheartened if it seems really confusing or unattainable – it’s definitely more simple than it sounds!

A 2020 review provided a working definition of sustainable fashion as;

‘the variety of means by which a fashion item or behaviour could be perceived to be more sustainable, including (but not limited to) environmental, social, slow fashion, reuse, recycling, cruelty-free and anti-consumption and production practices’

…which is a LOT to digest, so I’ve broken down this definition to hopefully provide a bit more context!

SUSTAINABLE FASHION 

Sustainability refers to existing in a way that causes minimal harm to our planet & avoids using all of its natural resources; the UN descibes it as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

Sustainable fashion is a movement, within the fashion industry and beyond, which aims to design, manufacture, sell and promote the consumption of clothes in an environmentally-friendly way. It opposes the functioning of mainstream ‘fast fashion’ cooperations (see later defintion). Among individuals, this movement encourages extending the life of clothes by upcycling unwanted items & using alternative forms of acquiring clothes (e.g. second-hand / clothes swaps etc).

The focus of this phrase is the impact that excessive production & clothing consumption has on the planet, however, it should encompass ethical issues too (see next definition!).

ETHICAL FASHION 

This is a relatively new term (first published in a 2002 paper) which describes the movement aiming to promote human rights of workers in the fashion industry. This phrase is based on ethics & morals, which vary between individuals, so the definition can be ambiguous.

The focus of this phrase is the social & human rights impact that the fashion industry has on its workers, throughout the entire production chain. These factors include working conditions, living wages, child & forced labour, health and safety, exploitation and more.

‘Ethical fashion’ is often also extended to describe issues of animal welfare in clothing production. I personally encompass ethical fashion within ‘sustainable fashion’ because if a practice is not ethical, it is not sustainable!

FAST FASHION 

Defined as ‘the reproduction of highly fashionable clothes at high speed and low cost’, fast fashion is the process by which mass quantities of clothing items, often at low quality, are produced in response to rapidly changing trends (replicated from catwalk designs) & consumer demand.

The production of clothes at this scale is made possible due to worker exploitation at all stages of clothing production – from collection of raw materials to garment production in factories – as well as environmental degradation & pollution.

Although the origin of this phrase isn’t entirely know, it is suggested it was first used in 1989 to describe Zara’s mission for it to take ‘only 15 days’ for a new idea to reach stores.

SLOW FASHION 

In opposition to fast fashion, slow fashion is a movement and market which aims to sustainably & ethically produce clothing, of high quality & longevity, with minimal waste. The term was coined in 2007 by Kate Fletcher and took inspiration from the Slow Food organisation.

The idea of slow fashion is to first focus on repairing, rewearing & appreciating the clothes you already own, then only purchasing things that you need and really love from independent, ethical & eco-friendly brands.

CRUELTY FREE

‘Cruelty free’ is a label used for goods that were produced without any harm to or involvement of animals.

‘The Cruelty Free International‘ is an animal rights advocacy organisation responsible for the ‘Leaping Bunny Programme‘ (left image) which is the international gold standard symbol used to certify cruelty-free consumer products.

There is also the PETA ‘Cruelty-Free‘ and ‘Cruelty-Free and Vegan‘ symbols (right image) which are used to demonstrate that a product is PETA-certified cruelty-free.

CONSUMERISM 

Consumerism can have multiple interpretations. One popular definition was coined in 1955 by John Bugas as an alternative term for ‘capitalism’ to explain the American economy. In this sense it describes an ideology or system which heavily promotes the acquisition of material goods by the public. It portrays the idea that constantly obtaining new items is advantageous and will contribute to an individual’s wellbeing & satisfaction.

From an economic viewpoint, this is a positive model because it encourages consumers to spend which, in turn, fuels economic growth. However, from a social & environmental perspective it is perceived negatively; buying goods can become obsessive, result in the attachment of fulfilment or happiness to objects & contribute to debt, and it fuels wasteful, unsustainable, over-consumptive practices.

GREEN-WASHING

Green-washing is a phrase, coined originally by Jay Westerveld in 1986, used to describe the marketing & advertisement campaigns by companies, particularly nowadays in fast fashion, which claim they are ‘green’, ‘eco’ or ‘sustainable’ to appeal to consumers, rather than actually investing in tangible practices to minimise their environmental impact.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary it is designed “to make people believe that the company is doing more to protect the environment than it really is”, which causes people to shop unsustainably under the false impression & misinformation that they are choosing a good option.

GARMENT WORKERS

Garment workers are the people who are responsible for making, stitching and sewing clothing items, particularly in sweatshops in low income countries, that are sold in stores around the world. Approximately 80% of garment workers are women, and many are immigrants or migrants.

Garment workers across the world often earn considerably less than what is considered a living wage, and they often experience various human rights abuses including long working hours, lack of trade union rights and significant risks to their health & safety. Poor treatment and exploitation of garment workers is often associated with fast fashion clothing brands.

UPCYCLING

Upcycling, coined by William McDonough and Michael Braungart in their book ‘Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things’, is a form of recycling where waste materials are converted into products of better quality, greater use and higher value than the original material.

The practice pf upcycling can be applied to any type of object or material and encourages individual creativity and resourcefulness to reduce the amount of waste that is produced and sent to landfill.

INTERSECTIONALITY

A sociological term, coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989 to describe oppression experienced by African-American women, that demonstrates the overlap & interconnected nature of the social categorisations (e.g. race / gender / class etc) which apply to particular individuals & groups. Each categorisation, and their interactions, contribute to everyone’s personal & collective identity, resulting in a unique experience of privilege or oppression, and advantage or disadvantage throughout life.

The theory of intersectionality demonstrates that there can be multiple streams of prejudice or discrimination acting simultaneously; an individual’s life experience is more complex than simply ‘privileged’ or ‘not privileged’ as one could have privilege in some areas but not in others.

Intersectionality is relevant in sustainable fashion as it applies to garment wokers and consumers.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am by no means an expert in these issues, this is what I’ve learnt by reading, listening & learning (with a bit of my own interpretation!). As with all conversations regarding social & environmental justice, the most important voices in this discussion are of those who bear the burden of our unsustainable & unethical fashion practices as they know where it fails them.

It is impossible to be ‘perfect’ in a world that is built on foundations of oppression & exploitation – of people, animals & the earth – and it is the responsibility of large cooperations and governments to make fundamental change. However, we all have the valuable opportunity to educate ourselves, hold companies accountable & make little positive changes if we are in the position to do so!

Sustainability, intersectional social justice & collective liberation benefits everyone!