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Sustainable fashion

Twins Brett and Scott Staniland reveal which sustainable fashion brands to support this Earth Day
Brett and Scott Staniland

This article first appeared in our Earth Day special issue of My Green Pod Magazine, distributed with The Guardian on 22 April 2021. Click here to subscribe to our digital edition and get each issue delivered straight to your inbox

Hello and welcome to our first fashion-focused article for My Green Pod!

We are British models and twins, Brett and Scott Staniland. We’ve modelled for various brands, faced campaigns and attended fashion weeks all over the world.

After a while, we started to become more mindful of who we work with and who we represent, which led us down a path towards uncovering the huge impact the fashion industry has on our planet and communities all over the world.

Fast fashion

Responsible for 10% of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 20% of global water waste, fashion is reportedly the second-most polluting industry behind the petrochemicals industry.

Over the last few years the impact of fast fashion has become increasingly clear; we are consuming 400% more clothes than we were 20 years ago, and yet around 85% of our clothes end up at landfill sites, discarded and seen as ‘old’ after having been worn only a handful of times.

For many brands, ‘seasons’ seem to be a thing of the past; we now see new collections every week from some high street shops and online retailers. In many cases it seems new clothes are churned out as often as possible.

Throwaway society, the need for instant gratification and impossibly cheap clothing have all led to a perception of disposability, causing gross overconsumption and unimaginable waste.

What is ‘sustainable fashion’?

As is the case with other industries, the term ‘sustainability’ has become ambiguous and diluted as a result of loose usage and often woolly
definitions from various sources.

It’s important to understand the many aspects of ‘sustainable fashion’, which extend far beyond the things you see and do in-store. The spectrum of sustainability has much more to it than shopping ‘less – but better’, though for most people that is a good place to start. 

In many cases we fail to recognise the supply chain – the extensive journey garments have been on before they even reach the store.

It starts with a material: what is it, natural or manmade? Where has it come from, and who has been involved in sourcing and manufacturing it? Was the material treated with chemicals? Has it been dyed? How was it put together? Just as importantly, how are the people and their communities involved in these processes treated and affected? 

80% of textiles workers are women of colour, many of whom live in deprived communities that experience the greatest negative effects of the fashion industry.

As with other industries, greenwashing is a growing concern in fashion, with brands trying to trick consumers into believing their ethical practices are better than they in fact are. These efforts are usually part of a wider marketing scheme to improve customer perceptions and increase sales.

We will try and help you spot these tactics when we discuss the topics in more detail in future issues, as they aren’t always obvious!

Fashion brands for Earth Day

Vestiaire Collective
This pre-loved fashion marketplace launched the Collective for Change to fight fashion waste and keep more clothes in circulation. It has a target of raising €20,000 for US and Ghana based non-profit The OR Foundation, which works on environmental justice, education and fashion development, currently in solidarity with the Kantamanto community in Ghana.
vestiairecollective.com

John Smedley Knitwear
The launch of the ‘Choose Slow’ campaign last month encouraged customers to think more deeply about their garments. This year John Smedley Knitwear has been awarded the Royal Warrant from HRH Prince of Wales for its fine knitwear, a mark of sustainability in itself, and for Earth Day a ‘Take Care’ range of products is being launched to help customers preserve and look after their clothes so they last as long as possible.
johnsmedley.com

Rotaro
The fashion rental service with Earth preservation at the core of everything it does – from planting a tree for every rental to a carbon-neutral delivery service, recycled packaging and an eco-friendly laundry system. This Earth Day Rotaro has launched the ‘Rent. Reduce. Repeat.’ campaign, encouraging customers to wear outfits again and normalise outfit repeating! It is also planting a forest in partnership with Ecologi and Project Earth.
rotaro.co.uk

Riley Studio
A new range for children, Little Riley Studio, will come with little ‘changemaker’ T-shirts made from recycled cotton, and an educational focus on what being a changemaker means. There will be a focus on the daily changes we can make, as individuals and collectively, to protect our planet.
riley.studio

Nu-In
The responsible and sustainably driven fashion brand, by influencer and model founders Marcus Butler and Stefanie Giesinger, is honouring World Earth Day with the continuation of the ‘buy for good’ project; the proceeds from any sales made on the day will go to a chosen charity. 
nu-in.com

Earth Day and fashion

Earth Day (22 April 2021) coincides with an important week for the world of sustainable fashion: Fashion Revolution Week (19-25 April).

Fashion Revolution was born after a troubling time for the industry: in 2013 the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh crashed to the ground, killing 1,134 and injuring over 2,500 garment factory workers.

Since then it has been Fashion Revolution’s mission to raise public awareness, create cultural change and improve the industry. Events have included protests in London and the worldwide Twitter trend #WhoMadeMyClothes.

We have put together some responsible and conscious brands that are doing something for Earth Day, and which we think deserve everyone’s support!

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