Sustainable fashion is an increasing priority for consumers now that people are much more environmentally conscious. A report by the global measurement and data analytics company, Nielsen, found that brands that demonstrate commitment to sustainability outperform those that don’t, with 73% of millennials now willing to pay extra for sustainability. For example, since launching in 2015, Canada based sustainable fashion brand Kotn has seen a 37% growth each month, and has now expanded into the U.S, where it has opened its first brick-and-mortar store in New York City. This is just one example that highlights the growing consumer demand for sustainable fashion and its potential for profitability. While the positive environmental impacts of sustainable fashion are well known, one lesser known fact is the ability of such fashion to bring about social good.
Supporting the Workers Behind the Scenes
Sustainable fashion brings about social good in a number of ways. It means that those working behind the scenes of the fashion industry receive fair wages and benefit from favorable working conditions. This includes the farmers involved in growing the fabric and the many millions of workers that are stitching together and making the garments. Ethically sourcing materials and labor is also an important step towards helping children, as it helps to ensure that children are safe and protected, and that they are not working illegally in dangerous conditions. Without the hard work of all the different individuals behind the scenes, the fashion industry wouldn’t exist, so ensuring fair trade, and supporting the livelihoods of these people is both the moral and socially responsible thing to do.
Sustainable fashion brand, Vildnis, is an example of a brand that is fully committed towards bringing about social good in the community. Their approach to this is to work only with small factories based in India and Portugal, which means that they can keep a closer eye on working conditions by performing more regular visits to the factories.
Giving Back to the Community
Another way of bringing about social good through sustainable fashion is by fashion brands donating a percentage of their profits to charitable causes. Rather than being motivated by making profit for profit’s sake, current fashion companies are more committed towards giving something back to the community. Sustainable fashion clothing label for women, Vanesa Vinhas, donates a portion of her profits to charities that are empowering women, while LA based brand, Love Over H8, donates $10 of every sale to a non-profit organization of the buyer’s choice.
Giving something back to the community is an important and positive aspect of living sustainably, and investing in sustainable fashion means that while the fashion industry grows, so do the lives of the people behind it all.