Why we should retire the tag “sustainable”

Last week I was talking to a brand providing the service of collecting old textile from any city household. Even they had no solution for the 70% of goods without resale potential. The only solution offered rn is to ‘have it shipped to Eastern Europe or Africa’ which of course is not sustainable and therefore would not fit the brands vision. But what if there is no choice?

The Myth of Sustainable Fashion

Reflecting on this and reading yet another article on the fashion industry and its challenges I am even more convinced that we need brands, re-designing material whilst contributing to a more mindful consumption behaviour.

• Only 1% of total fashion items is recycled due to high costs and lack of initial quality goods needed.

• Rental fashion only reduces CO2 by 3% versus conventional new apparel buying.

• The production of bio-based highly engineered textiles means high initial costs and negative side effects.

Is calling brands ‘sustainable’ while their CSR reports do not accurately quantify the full carbon emissions profile and remain unaudited by external parties accurate?

Let’s retire the tag ‘sustainable’ when the truth is just the opposite.