In recent years, it has become common to hear the term sustainability as a driver of the change in mindsets needed to address the advance of climate change and its negative consequences in all areas. But what is sustainable clothing?
In this guide, we are going to show you everything you need to know about this movement and this type of clothing, and we will also give you some tips so that you know if the clothes you already have are respectful with the environment.
What is sustainability?
Although it is a concept that may seem very recent, it was born in 1987, when it appeared in a United Nations document which for the first time drew attention to the drastic environmental consequences associated with industrialisation and globalisation.
Sustainability is a process that seeks to guarantee the needs of the present, but with future generations in mind and without compromising their future. Sustainability rests on three basic pillars and we can find three facets:
- Environmental sustainability: from this perspective, humanity has to assume that nature is not an inexhaustible source of resources, and its rational use and protection must be planned.
- Economic sustainability: encouraging economic growth with a more equitable distribution of wealth and always trying to safeguard the environment.
- Social sustainability: a search for social cohesion to achieve an optimum quality of life in all aspects, from education to health.
On an economic level, the fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries, but it is also one of the earliest to start looking for solutions, although it is a slow process that requires effort from designers and manufacturers, as well as from customers.
What is sustainable clothing?
We can define sustainable clothing as the type of clothes that have a low ecological impact because they are made from recyclable and sustainable materials, are committed to the conservation of natural resources, have a minimal carbon footprint and are manufactured, distributed and marketed by workers with decent working and economic conditions.
In other words, a sustainable garment is not only one that is made with recycled materials, such as recycled cotton.
It also has to be made following processes that respect the environment, such as that its manufacture does not emit excessive CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, or that it tries not to waste water in production.
And also, the people who work in this manufacturing must have decent soil and working conditions that respect their human rights and as workers.
3 tips to know if your clothes are sustainable
Now that you know what sustainable clothing is, and what characteristics it must have to be considered as such, we are going to give you 3 very simple steps so that you can check if your clothing is really respectful with the environment, and that you know how to look for sustainable clothing. the next time you make a purchase.
1. Look at your labels
The label on your clothes will tell you how your clothes are made, and what their environmental impact is.
Some specific words to look for in them are recycled, organic, or certified.
If, for example, organic cotton or certified organic appears on the labels, congratulations! It is one of the first signs that will tell you that yes, your clothes are sustainable.
All Palestra Couture swimsuits and bikinis are Oeko-Tex certified: a certification system that guarantees that the production processes of our clothing are respectful of the environment, improving health, safety and improving of socially responsible working conditions.
2. Find out what fabrics have been used in the production
Again, here the labels can give you a lot of useful information. The fabrics your clothes are made of are also important to take care of the environment.
Materials such as recycled plastic, organic cotton and Tencel are not aggressive with the environment, and are an important part of making clothes in a sustainable way.
At Palestra Couture, for example, we use Bahía Reciclada fabrics, a state-of-the-art material that is made from recycled PET plastic bottles, which are collected, cleaned, and treated to transform them into a new type of sustainable fabric with which we create our bathing suits.
3. Avoid chemicals in the dyeing of your clothes
Chemicals aren’t just bad for the environment – they’re also terrible for your skin!
They can cause allergies, irritations, and in the long term, even deadly diseases. And also, a large part of the chemicals used in the dyeing of clothes later ends up in the rivers and oceans of the planet, which is why it is something very harmful to ecosystems.
So make sure that your clothing labels indicate that the dyes are vegetable or water-based.
Our Bahía Reciclada fabrics, for example, are made with water-based inks that do not generate volatile organic compounds, which means that you will not have to worry about your health as they are totally safe in contact with the skin, and they do not release chemicals either. that harm the environment.
Given this panorama, is sustainable clothing a utopia or is it still possible to make this change? The alternatives exist and they offer us truly sustainable solutions.
At Palestra Couture we have accepted this challenge and we present ourselves as an sustainable clothing brand that tries to bring this new model of fashion consumption to as many people as possible, always promoting quality, sustainability and price.
Did you already know what sustainable clothing is, and do you buy garments of this type? Leave us a comment below! We’d love to know what you think.