It’s no secret that sustainability has been a conversation in fashion for years, if not decades. As one of the most notoriously damaging industries to the environment, fashion—and shopping, for that matter—is simply not sustainable. “Waste is a big issue,” said Beth Esponnette, the co-founder and creative director of unspun, a garment technology company specializing in zero-waste production. “The fashion industry produces over 97 million tons of waste annually, including textiles, chemicals, and packaging materials.”
The production and distribution of clothing, overconsumption, and trend culture all contribute to the woes of fashion’s sustainability crisis, but only a handful of major ready-to-wear brands, like Stella McCartney and Gabriela Hearst, have built solutions into the business. Even more accessible brand tiers see a small percentage of names, such as Everlane, Anthropologie, or Reformation, that aim to reduce waste and minimize impact on the environment. Think about it: If you consider yourself a responsible shopper on any level, from the local mall to Rodeo Drive, how many popular brands—that you can name—are associated with sustainability?, ELLE reported.
To make matters worse, some brands lean into greenwashing, a term used for those that only pretend to value sustainable initiatives but actually just do it for the marketing clout rather than implement helpful strategies. Sustainable capsule collections, for example? A nice start, Sarah Ahmed, founder and CEO of DL1961, points out, but a better finish would be a pledge to make the entire business circular—or at least initiate a plan to get there over time. “We encourage consumers to be aware of this and push brands to do better and think bigger,” Ahmed said. Esponnette expands further: “It was initially exciting to see the release of sustainable capsules, but now fashion brands and companies must take it further than one-off collections; producing sustainably has to be the standard moving forward.”
Brands have come a long way in designing quality, aesthetically pleasing, and even functional pieces that still incorporate sustainable practices, but there are sectors that stand out in such initiatives. Denim, while certainly nuanced, doesn’t necessarily need to adhere to traditional fashion markers tied to trends, seasons, or flashy design gimmicks like typical ready-to-wear brands. Consumers know what to expect when trying on a pair of jeans. They’re made to be worn consistently as staple pieces rather than once or twice a month, and perhaps most importantly, there’s no pretension when it comes to denim. This realm of fashion is unapologetically casual and never out of style, two important qualities to keep in mind—and it’s likely these reasons that denim brands can experiment with more environmentally friendly methods, improving processes along the way.