I overheard a designer at a fabric store in Portland say 'sustainability is just a marketing term for most fast fashion brands'

It made me realize we should really be asking for proof of recycled material percentages or factory audits before calling any of our own designs 'eco-friendly', you know?

3 comments

3 Comments

mary_nelson711mo ago

That Portland designer has a point, but chasing audits and percentages can miss the bigger picture. Most small designers I know can't afford those factory audits, but they're still more sustainable by using local deadstock fabric and making things to order. If we gatekeep the term 'eco-friendly' behind expensive paperwork, we're just helping big companies who can afford the reports, not the actual good practices.

gray8751mo ago

Totally agree with what you said about gatekeeping, @mary_nelson71. That part really hits home. All that expensive paperwork just becomes a wall that keeps out the good small people doing the real work. It turns "eco-friendly" into a marketing budget contest, not a measure of actual good practices. The big brands love rules they can pay to pass while still doing the same old stuff. Meanwhile, the little guy using scrap fabric and making one shirt at a time gets called "not proven" or whatever... it's backwards.

sean_green441mo ago

Man, that's exactly it. I see it all the time with the green building stuff too. You get these huge new condo projects buying fancy certificates while their HVAC systems are total energy hogs, but they passed the paper test. Meanwhile, @gray875, my buddy who does small home rehabs uses salvaged materials and puts in a simple, right-sized heat pump system. He's doing way more good for the planet, but he can't afford the official "green" stamp. The whole system is built for the big guys to win.