What is ethical fashion?
When I tell people that I'm interested in ethical fashion, their initial response is usually... "wow, what's that?!"
Sustainable and ethical fashion should not be a thing. But the reality is, the fashion industry is quite dirty in terms of environmental and social impact. It is the second most polluting industry in the world. Workers within supply chains face working conditions most of us could never imagine, let alone endure. While some companies are making efforts to ensure workers within their supply chains are being treated like human beings others don't do or say much at all. Unfortunately, consumers are part of the problem. Collectively, most of us want more options at lower prices, as fast as possible.
The Ethical Fashion Forum, an industry group on ethical fashion defines it as
“an approach to the design, sourcing, and manufacture of clothing which maximises benefits to people and communities while minimising impact on the environment.”
What that means for me, being more thoughtful about how much I am buying (consumption) and what I am buying (transparency). In essence, it's a buy less, buy responsible approach.