Strategic Management and Sustainability #20
SUSTAINABLE CLOTHING: Let’s take care of our planet
Good morning all!
In today’s 20th edition of Strategic Management and Sustainability newsletter, we will talk about the importance of sustainable clothing.
It's no secret that the fashion business is harming the environment, with its carbon footprint accounting for nearly 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. A shift is urgently needed, from higher awareness about sustainable fashion practices to active participation in change.
Our aim with this newsletter is to enlighten you on the importance of sustainable fashion and the impact it can have on the environment. Fortunately, significant improvements are occurring in the fashion landscape: more ethical brands are emerging, shoppers are demanding sustainable clothing products, and even a specialized ethical clothes search engine is being developed. Change is not easy, especially in the fashion sector, but glorious accomplishments are happening.
The following companies are mentioned:
Patagonia
Ecoalf
Today’s newsletter is approximately 1350 words, a 7 minute read.
It is presented by Jaime De No, Anton Marquez, Elisa Torrani and Ignacio Ybañez, students at the University Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M).
Enjoy the reading!
What is sustainable clothing?
Sustainable fashion, also known as eco-fashion, is a movement and a process that aims at improving the ecological integrity and social justice of fashion goods and the fashion sector. Fashion textiles and goods are only one aspect of sustainable fashion, as it looks in general at the full process of garment production, including who makes it and how long a product lasts before it ends up in a landfill.
Source: Ecoalf (https://ecoalf.com/es/)
Why is it important? What are the major benefits?
Every second, around the world one garbage truck of textile waste is thrown in a landfill or burned. Fast fashion firms, who launch weekly fashion fads and fill them with low-quality, low-cost products, are responsible for this massive amount of garbage. Sustainable brands, on the other hand, emphasize high-quality apparel made of long-lasting materials. This prevents and limits them from following frequently rapid fashion trends, but it allows less waste.
Sustainable fashion ensures fair wages and proper working conditions. On the contrary, harsh working conditions for garment workers enable the production of low-cost fast fashion clothing. On this account, the majority of fast fashion businesses manufacture their products in developing countries, where workers are paid less than the minimum wage and they are subjected to poor safety and health conditions, excessive working hours, and constant pressure. Fast fashion brands have also been accused of child labor and exploitation of workers on numerous occasions. Sustainable clothing manufacturers, on the other hand, place a premium on fair salaries and safe working conditions for all employees.
Sustainable fashion also reduces CO2 and other Greenhouse gas emissions, which is extremely helpful for the environment. Material development, manufacture, shipping, and even textile waste decomposition in landfills all contribute to fast fashion's massive carbon footprint. Most fast fashion garments, for example, are created from petroleum-based materials, acrylic, nylon, and polyester, which all need a large amount of energy to manufacture and dispose of. Sustainable fashion instead, uses biodegradable materials made from natural or recycled fibers. These materials require little to no chemical treatment to grow, as well as minimal energy, water, and pesticides and fertilizers.
Source: Ecoalf Official Website (https://ecoalf.com/es/)
The fashion industry is currently one of the world's major water consumers. Not only is water used to wash clothes, but it is also used in the manufacturing, dyeing, and finishing processes. To put that in perspective, one cotton shirt uses approximately 2,720 liters of water, while a pair of pants uses a whopping 7,000 liters. In addition to consuming water, textile manufacturing has an environmental impact by polluting freshwater with toxic substances that end up in waterways. Most sustainable fashion firms, on the other hand, have "water on budget" practices that limit the amount of water used throughout the manufacturing process. Furthermore, organic textiles created from linen, hemp, and organic cotton, which require little to no water during the manufacturing process, are prioritized in sustainable fashion.
Source: European Parliament (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20201208STO93327/the-impact-of-textile-production-and-waste-on-the-environment-infographic)
Lastly, sustainable fashion saves animal lives. Animals are an important aspect of our ecology, with each one performing a crucial role in keeping the planet habitable. As a result, any threat to the safety of wildlife and other animals should concern us all. Animal populations and, hence, humanity's survival on this planet are affected by leather purses, shoes, fur coats, and other commodities made from animal leather, feathers, and wool. Sustainable clothing brands save animals from exploitation and death by employing leather and fur alternatives in their products, conserving the ecosystem's balance while sparing animals from exploitation and death.
Furthermore, fixing the fashion industry would mean making major progress on decarbonization and meeting global climate objectives, with the industry accounting for 8-10% of global carbon emissions. Cleaning up the fashion supply chain can help many towns across the world to reduce pollution. Lastly, using regenerative fiber systems to source textiles for fashion can help us restore the world and our relationship with it.
Examples of sustainable companies
Patagonia is one of the most socially conscious enterprises, and it is also one of the most successful on a global scale. The exact sales figures aren't available, but given the brand's global reach, we estimate it to be close to USD 1 billion.
Yvon Chouinard, an avid climber concerned about the environment, founded Patagonia in California approximately 50 years ago. Product innovations such as reusable pitons (metal spikes) and other hardware were his first environmental imprints.
Source: The daily culture (https://thedailycouture.com/use-business-to-inspire/)
Patagonia is far from being the only ecologically conscientious firm: all the outdoor businesses and enterprises have embraced a "give back to nature" philosophy. Patagonia's founder, however, went a step further in 2012, converting the company to a benefit Corporation, meeting social sustainability and performance standards.
If you are wondering whether Patagonia is a successful firm or not, the answer is yes, especially in terms of long-term sustainability. When no sales or profit data are given, how can we measure its success? Well, we're discussing Patagonia and its objective: the company doesn’t want to be judged on sales, but rather on how involved it is in environmental programs. And by that metric, Patagonia is an extremely successful firm and brand.
Source: Patagonia official website (https://eu.patagonia.com/)
Ecoalf is a men's and women's fashion label based in Spain that designs premium recycled clothing. Ecoalf's environment rating is incredible. It uses a high proportion of eco-friendly and recycled materials as well as recycled packaging. Its use of such materials limits the amount of chemicals, water and wastewater used in production, making the firm a sustainable company.
The BSCI (Business Social Compliance Initiative) Code of Conduct is an initiative of the Foreign Trade Association that aims at setting up the values and principles that the BSCI Participants strive to implement in their supply chains. Ecoalf demands its suppliers to have the BSCI/SA800 certification, which ensures the company the possibility to work only with those suppliers that respect Ecoalf values.
Our recommendations…
🎥 Video
Here is a 11-minutes video resume about “Patagonia on Sustainable Clothing.” The video explains how the company works with sustainable clothing and how it sees ‘the future of clothing’.
👕 Products
https://eu.patagonia.com/es/en/home/ . On Patagonia Official Website you can find sustainable products, specifically: recycled, fair trade and regenerative organic.
📄 Articles
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=newssearch&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjT3Lu7pr70AhUB1RoKHYkbBjQQxfQBKAB6BAgTEAI&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vogue.com%2Farticle%2Fpatagonia-cfda-award-climate-change-ambitions-vincent-stanley&usg=AOvVaw2bYxigCxZct9S1k4GuN_U4 “Patagonia Has a New Mission to ‘Save Our Home Planet’ - One of Its First Employees Explains How They’ll Get It Done”. Read more about the different types of materials that are being used by the companies, specifically by Patagonia, to design their different products.
⭐ Important achievements https://wwd.com/fashion-news/ready-to-wear/ecoalf-sustainable-fashion-line-premium-1234800954/ “Ecoalf Introduces Its Most Sustainable Line Yet.” This article describes the important achievement of the increment of Ecoalf´s sustainability, thanks to the introduction of its premium line Ecoalf 1.0.
References
Alves, A. (2021, October 21). “What EXACTLY Is Sustainable Fashion & Why Is SO Important (2022).” The VOU. https://thevou.com/fashion/sustainable-fashion/#what-is-sustainable-fashion
BizClik Media. (2021, October 13). “Top 10 Sustainable Trends In 2021.” Sustainability Magazine.
https://sustainabilitymag.com/top10/top-10-sustainable-trends-2021
“Ecoalf - Sustainability Rating - Good On You.” (2021, October). Good on You. https://directory.goodonyou.eco/brand/ecoalf
Schild, G. (2020, September 1). “How Patagonia built a most Sustainable Fashion Brand.” Brand Growth Inspiration. https://www.brand-experts.com/brand-best-practice/sustainable-fashion/
I love this topic! And the companies you have mentioned are part of the solution to saving our planet, so it is very important to keep raising awareness! Thank you for the post