Dress sustainably: Fashion with a Good Conscience

Do you like to wear beautiful clothes and be sustainable at the same time - is that really possible? Do you have to sort out your wardrobe immediately and reduce the number of items of clothing? And do you have to stop shopping immediately? We asked ourselves these questions when writing our last blog post. The good news is that you don't have to sort out your wardrobe right away. Wear everything as long as you like. And there are a few things you can keep in mind when shopping in the future.

A Review

2020 was the year in which textile containers were made inaccessible at short notice. What happened? In the first months of the Corona pandemic, wardrobes were cleaned out. But unfortunately, on the one hand, the quantity was enormous, and on the other hand, the quality of most of the textiles was so poor that they could only be used to make fillers and cleaning rags. But the industry already has enough materials for this. In some places, city cleaning services have even called for no more clothes or textiles to be thrown away. And countries in the Global South have long since stopped selling our worn-out clothes on their clothing markets.

We remember some data from our first blog article on fast fashion:

• Each of us buys on average 30 kg of clothes a year or at least 60 garments.
• Each piece of clothing is worn on average only 4 times before it is disposed of.
• In Germany, about 1.3 million tonnes of clothes are disposed of every year.

Fast fashion is junk

Garments from the fast fashion industry are simply not made to last. Who doesn't know them, the T-shirts whose side seams turn once around the body after the first wash? Jumpers that become unsightly after two washes. Jeans that lose their rivets after a few wears, whose zips break and seams burst. The majority of clothes that we no longer want to wear end up at flea markets, second-hand shops, or clothes swap meets after only 2-3 months and then immediately in the rubbish. Behind every piece of clothing is the production of materials on the one hand and the production on the other. Both consume many resources, emit CO2, and pollute the soil and water with fertilizers, pesticides, and chemicals. The latter also ensures that there is bad air in the clothing shops, making the salespeople sick and triggering allergies and intolerances, as well as hormonal changes in us. Did you know that some clothes are so polluted that they are actually considered hazardous waste?

Quality instead of quantity

Buy fewer clothes, but buy better and higher quality. In other words, quality instead of quantity. Because quality ensures that the garment is worn longer and the environmental balance sheet is significantly better for it: according to a study by the English organization WRAP, the consumption of a garment in terms of CO2, water, and waste is reduced by 20 to 30 percent every nine months.

But how do you recognize good quality?

How can you tell the difference between a good T-shirt and a bad one, and how can you tell when you're shopping whether it meets all the criteria that are against fast fashion and will be fun to wear for a long time? We have collected the simplest characteristics for you:

Reading the label: the small print is essential

In Germany, there is a duty to provide information. Every clothing manufacturer must provide information about the materials used and where it was produced. Good companies are transparent about this. Bad companies only give the bare minimum.

The material is key...

...yes, to cotton, linen, and co: natural materials such as cotton (organic), linen, silk, hemp, or wool are better for the environment. They may be more expensive, but they last much longer when well cared for. They are also breathable, skin-friendly, and often only need a good airing in the fresh air instead of washing. This even saves energy and water.

...less is more with viscose: Semi-synthetic fabrics like viscose can be good for people with contact allergies. This is because they are gentle on the skin. But their production is very complex and uses a lot of chemicals. No matter whether they are made from eucalyptus, wood, or bamboo - in the end, there is nothing left of the natural product. A more sustainable variant "Lyocell" is produced by the company Lenzing with the product name TENCEL™ or ECOVERO™. But a "more sustainable" variant only means that they are better than a conventional comparable viscose. So it is not good per se. After all, the degradation time of viscose is better than that of plastics. In nature, it would decompose faster.

...a clear no to synthetic fibers. You should avoid polyester, polyacrylic, polyamide, nylon, spandex, lycra, and acetate. According to BUND, around 706 billion kilograms of CO2 equivalents were produced in 2015 through the production of polyester fibers alone, which make up the largest proportion of synthetic fibers at 60%. This is roughly equivalent to the emissions of 185 coal-fired power plants in one year, or the amount of CO2 that 234 million hectares of forest would store - an area the size of Algeria. In addition, microfibres - i.e. microplastics - are released from clothing when it is worn and washed, which is harmful to nature and to us.

...you should also reduce fiber mixtures. Why? Unfortunately, it is still difficult to recycle such materials. Especially when natural fibers are mixed with synthetic fibers. They can no longer be used to make new garments. When we talk about recycling here, these are rather used for transporting furniture, products for insulation that are made from them. This is called downcycling.

What else should you look out for?

If you find terms such as "non-iron", "crease-resistant" or "wash before wearing" on a label, these garments contain questionable chemicals that do not belong on your skin or in wastewater. Outdoor clothing can also contain hazardous substances that can harm the environment and the body.

Dyed-through clothes are often dyed with many chemicals and plastic particles that are harmful to the environment and health. Better are clothes that have been dyed with plant fibers or are undyed. Many slow fashion companies offer such collections.

Certificates

Certificates can help you to make the right choice of garment. If you recognize the most important ones, a quick glance at the label can decide whether you still find the garment attractive.

Here is an overview of the most important labels:

• GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard)
• Natural textile IVN certified BEST (blue for textiles, red for leather)
• Bluesign Product
• EU Ecolabel
• Eco Textile Standard 100
• Fair Wear Foundation
• PETA Approved vegan
• RWS

You can read a detailed presentation of the individual seals and certificates here.

The first impression always counts

Before you start imagining yourself in the great garment, take a closer look at it when you buy it. How are the material and the workmanship? In general, the weave direction on a garment should always run from top to bottom. Otherwise, it won't fit after the first wash. If the thread runs diagonally, hands-off.

The length of the fibers used is also crucial. High-quality cotton is smooth and lint-free. This also applies to linen and wool. Incidentally, this is a problem that still needs to be solved in the recycling industry, where the fibers are very small and brittle. The fabric or knitted piece, therefore, thins out more quickly, becomes flimsy. Are the seams frayed? Are there still threads everywhere or are the seams crooked? Is the fabric only superficially printed or is the pattern perhaps woven? Are the buttons tight and does the zip pull well? Low-quality metal parts can rust or contain nickel, which causes allergies.

Can you smell the garment?

Often you can also do an odor test. If there is a chemical smell around your nose, hands off the garment. This smell is often associated with "new" or "impregnated", but it is a sign of chemicals that are evaporating and are not good for you.

Try it on

Clothes should fit. They should not cause you problems when you sit or move. Nearly 20% of the clothes in our wardrobe are not worn because they don't fit or are uncomfortable. A movement test during the fitting helps: when you lift your arms or bend over, nothing should be tight or slip excessively.

Avoid new clothes with a used look

You should avoid clothes that already look like they have been worn for a long time. Jeans in particular are trimmed to a used look under poor working conditions. Employees in many companies sandblast jeans without protective clothing - they get very sick from it. If you don't want to do without such clothes, there are jeans companies like Mud, Nudie, or even Levis that offer worn jeans as "vintage". You can also find such treasures in second-hand shops.

Can the garment be combined?

Many items of clothing are only worn rarely in the year because they were bought for a particular occasion or trend, because they can only be worn in certain temperatures or because they cannot be combined. Therefore, when shopping, consider whether the new garment can be combined with existing clothes in your wardrobe and whether you want to wear the garment across seasons and for a long time.

If the potential garment in your hand meets all of the above criteria, you can be sure that you will enjoy it for a long time and that your wardrobe will have less of a negative impact on the environment in the future.

Here are our tips for good quality clothing:

• Avoid clothes that look like they have been produced in a substandard way (crooked or open seams, loose buttons, etc).
• Stay away from clothes that don't smell good
• Look at the label and look for natural fibers and labels
• Only buy clothes that really fit
• Do not buy new clothes with a used look
• Check if the garment can be combined with other clothes in your wardrobe.