The terms fair fashion, fair clothing, eco fashion, green fashion, fair trade fashion, ethical fashion, or even slow fashion all refer more or less to the same thing, even though there are nuanced differences: clothing produced under sustainable conditions. Since sustainability is always based on three pillars (economic, social, and environmental), these terms also refer to all three.
- The raw materials such as organic cotton, bamboo fibers and similar materials for fair fashion are grown in an environmentally friendly manner.
- The people involved in cultivating the raw materials and producing the clothing are paid fairly.
- The working conditions are fair, humane and non-exploitative.
What is the reality in the fast-moving fashion industry?
Everything has to be cheaper all the time. Everything has to be faster all the time. Everything has to be in line with the latest collections. How many items do you have in your closet that you haven't even worn yet? How many items have you bought from the bargain bin that don't even fit well, but were cheap?
The production of all this cheap clothing consumes an incredible amount of resources and exploits people. Workers in countries like Bangladesh and China are particularly hard hit.
100 billion items of clothing are produced every year
Every year , 100 billion new items of clothing are produced. Around 85% of these end up in the trash after a short time. In just 15 years, the amount of used clothing has doubled to approximately 13 kilograms per person per year. We've all fallen victim to the fashion industry, which uses perfidious means to get us to buy more and more.
Summer collection, early autumn collection, autumn collection, winter collection, spring collection, early summer collection, Black Friday, summer sales, discounts, Prime Day - how can you resist?
The sustainability record of a conventional garment is catastrophic
By the time a T-shirt reaches our stores, vast amounts of resources have been consumed. The cotton has been shipped halfway around the world to weaving mills, the yarns have been delivered to the factories, the fabrics have been woven, and then transported to the production sites. The complexity of the supply chains is almost incomprehensible.
By the time the shirt finally lands in our closet, its components have traveled up to 20,000 kilometers and consumed around 2,500 liters of water. Added to this is the gigantic direct environmental pollution caused by the chemicals used in the dyeing and production of the clothing.
Not to mention the few cents the workers (including children and forced laborers) received for it. Do we really want that? We should ask ourselves if it's really necessary. Is it really necessary for us to dress at the expense of all these people?
There are so many ways to do something about this waste
Even though the topic of this article is fair fashion, we'd like to briefly discuss all the options we have to put an end to this madness of fast and unfair fashion. We could:
- Buy higher quality clothing from fair fashion brands that lasts a long time and is fairly produced and traded.
- Spend a little more money on each item of clothing and wear it with a clear conscience. Even 50 cents more per shirt could make a big difference.
- We should remember old and tried and tested methods and sometimes patch a hole, repair something or upcycle it instead of just throwing away a piece of clothing.
- Buy items made from organic cotton and sustainable fashion that have a fair fashion label such as GOTS, Green Button or Fairwear.
- Boycott brands and labels that are proven to exploit their workers.
- We should avoid the marketing madness of top brands and their trends and not buy every new collection.
What exactly is meant by fair fashion?
Now that we know what it looks like out there, let's talk about what it could be like and what we've seen so many times: Fair Fashion.
We're all probably familiar with Fair Trade, Fair Coffee, and even Fair Bananas. Products like coffee and bananas, in particular, have been a recurring topic in recent years when it comes to improving working conditions.
Fair trade is always about people, but also about the overall sustainability of a product. Fair trade goods ensure that everyone involved is well and fairly compensated, the environment suffers as little as possible, and consumerism is more conscious.
Example: Cotton
Cotton is one of the most widely used raw materials in the clothing industry. Therefore, a shift toward ecologically produced, fair-trade organic cotton has a significant overall impact. Fair-trade clothing uses natural cotton that is free from chemically dyed fibers, child labor, exploitation, and excessive environmental impact. The term "fair" therefore goes much further than "just" fair pay. Sustainable fashion with fair labels takes slow fashion as an opportunity to refocus on the earth and its resources and protect them.
How do you recognize fair fashion?
There are now several reliable labels and seals of approval that ensure you are getting fairly produced clothing:
GOTS (Global Organic Textiles Standard)
We'd like to start with this seal, as we at Cosy Roots have also been certified by GOTS . This international association goes far beyond others and applies particularly strict criteria in a wide range of areas. Environmental and social aspects must be considered throughout the entire supply chain, and the majority of the cotton used must be pure organic.
Fair Trade Seal
While the Fair Trade label is highly commendable, it doesn't go quite as far as the GOTS label. To be eligible to bear the label, humane working conditions must be maintained, child labor must be excluded, workers must be paid fairly, and access to drinking water and medical care must be guaranteed. However, the quality and origin of the materials used for the clothing are irrelevant.
Fair Wear Foundation
Fair Wear is another label that, similar to Fair Trade, places greater emphasis on working conditions and not on the quality of the materials, but rather on the circumstances under which they were grown and processed.
Green button
This seal is an initiative of the German federal government. The seal is therefore completely independent and takes into account 46 environmental and social criteria – from the prohibition of child labor to fair pay.
Where to buy fair fashion and which fair fashion labels are available
Fortunately, more and more manufacturers are focusing on sustainable and fair production of their clothing. In all segments—from casual to chic, from business wear to streetwear, and from sportswear to evening wear—you can find labels committed to challenging fast and super-fast fashion.
Speaking of shopping: Are you familiar with the concept of a capsule wardrobe ? This involves reducing your wardrobe to a maximum of 30 items. You can find style inspiration and how to organize your closet in our blog.
These fashion labels offer fair fashion
Cozy Roots
Of course, we also offer exclusively fair fashion. We're GOTS certified and place the utmost importance on quality and fair trade when selecting our suppliers. Just stop by our shop and see for yourself our cute, vegan baby items.
Armedangels
Eco-friendly, fair-trade, and fashionable clothing that, like us, is GOTS-certified. Recycled materials are also widely used, which we find very commendable. The collection includes jeans, dresses, sweaters, and more.
Continental Clothing
Each of Continental's four sub-brands has a slightly different focus, but all share the same values ​​of fair trade, climate protection, and environmental protection. While the Salvage brand produces clothing from 100% recycled fibers, EarthPositive creates clothing that is particularly resource-efficient.
Bleed
Just like us at Cosy Roots, Bleed places particular emphasis on ensuring that neither people nor animals suffer, are exploited, or even tortured in the production of clothing, in addition to fair cooperation and environmental protection.
Goodsociety
We personally love wearing jeans from the Goodsociety brand, as they're our big brother, so to speak. What we represent in baby clothing, this label does in jeans: using GOTS-certified cotton and completely vegan end products.
Finally, some short tips for more sustainable clothing
- Reducing the size of your wardrobe will free up space and allow you to approach the topic more consciously. It's better to have a few styles and favorite pieces than an overstuffed wardrobe.
- If something breaks, you can always have it patched or repaired. Alterations and modifications are also better than constantly buying new things.
- If you buy good quality from the start, you will enjoy the piece for a long time and conserve resources.
- Fair fashion gives you the peace of mind that no one has been exploited just so you can wear it. If you look for the relevant labels, you can't go wrong.
