It's not possible to create an item that's 100% sustainable
Unfortunately, that's the reality at the moment. I hope that'll change in the near future, but right now it's simply not possible to make clothing in a way that has no negative impact on the environment. If you want to be 100% sustainable, you'll need to be naked. There's even negative impact on wearing and washing your current clothing, so it would literally be nudity for those committing 100% to an eco-friendly lifestyle!
Because of this, there's always going to be compromises somewhere. At Ekagi we're trying our best to source the most environmentally sound options that are out there right now and we're working on innovative design that reduces waste and increases functionality (more on that soon!). But the reality is, we need more scientists, innovators and inventors to fill some of the gaps that need filling in our supply chains. For example, fabrics that offer performance features and are made to last, but with the ability to biodegrade quickly. Or high stretch fabrics that can be made entirely from plant based fabrics that are fabric free.
There's no guidelines on what sustainable fashion actually means
That's why, you often get mixed messages as a consumer. It's true, sometimes brands are outright greenwashing - making unsubstantiated claims about a garment's eco-friendly credentials. But in other instances, just because what one brand says contradicts another, doesn't mean that one of the brands is wrong, or greenwashing.
A common example I see time and time again as a fashion business coach is recycled fabrics, especially popular in the swimwear industry. Some brands are really passionate about the recycled fabrics because they transform waste that was otherwise headed for landfill, or the sea, into something useful. Sounds pretty sustainable, right? However other brands would argue that this is still an oil based fabric, that is bad for the environment because it'll release micro plastics in the wash - tiny particles of plastic that end up in our rivers, seas and often, in the belly of a fish. Or ultimately, a person.
If you're a conscious consumer, it's important to think about the kinds of values that are important to you and make sure that any brands you buy from align with those values.
You can see the values that Ekagi stands by with our products, in this article.
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Fabrics aren't as straight forward as they seem
You'd be forgiven for thinking that sourcing sustainable fabrics is easy. Choose a sustainable fibre and select a fabric made from that material. The problem is that not all fibres are created equal. Let's take viscose for example. Viscose can be good for sustainable production.....or it can be really bad for the environment. It all comes down to the way it was managed and processed. Viscose is made from trees and traditionally, not from sustainably managed forests. In fact, it's estimated that 150million trees are cut down each year to make fabric. That is not a good statistic. There is some viscose available from sustainably managed forests, so each tree that's cut down is replaced. If you're able to find fabric from that source, the next challenge is the chemicals. Viscose production typically uses a lot of harmful chemicals in order to break the trees down into useable fibres. So when it comes to determining if a fabric is good for the environment, there's a lot to consider and you're often going in blind as suppliers are often reluctant to share their supply chain. Viscose is just one example, but it's the same for every fabric. There's not a 'safe' fabric choice as such, each fabric needs some detective work!
Sometimes, you have to use an unsustainable option to be as sustainable as you can be.
Eh, what?! No, that's not a typo! As I said at the start, it's not possible to be 100% sustainable. So you have to make some compromises. Often on the customer side, they only have access to a small amount of information, so they might look at a fabric composition and see elastane, for example and immediately decide it's not an eco-friendly garment, and the brand in question is greenwashing. But it's not always the case. For instance, elastane can be really good for retention, meaning that the garment won't go out of shape as easily. So if we're looking at a garment that has to stretch over a body part, like a legging over the hips, there's a good chance we might need some elastane. Otherwise, after a few wears of stretching over the hips, or to sit down even, the item becomes out of shape and unwearable. And an item that only lasts a few wears.....not sustainable. So as designers, we often have to make a call on the best way forward based on what we have available.
Often, brands have no visibility on the origins of their products
And honestly, in many cases it's not through lack of the brands trying. It's incredibly difficult to get information on who's making the product and where the materials have been sourced from, especially for small brands (and when I say small, I pretty much mean anyone ordering less than hundreds of thousands of units) who lack the 'clout' to make demands.
I understand that as a customer it must seem really obvious who's making things. Oh how I wish that were true! The problem is that every garment has multiple stages and components. Even if we take the most basic item, like a tee, you'll need fabric, ribbon, 2-3 kinds of label, a way of attaching that label, thread, shipping packaging, barcodes, shipping cartons, dye and printing ink. Phew, that's a long list for something 'basic'. It's a lot to keep track of and often, you'll work with the factory directly to source these items. And often, suppliers are trade secrets, you won't know who made each component. Even if you did know who made the fabric for instance, you'll then need to find out who finished it, who constructed it, who span the raw material into yarn, who dyed the yarn, who transported it, who grew the original raw material....the list becomes endless.
At Ekagi, we do all we can to trace as much as possible. But the reality is that most fabric suppliers aren't willing to connect us with the farmer who grows our bamboo, for example. It's something we're working on and something that we know as we get bigger, we'll be able to make greater headway on too. At the moment, we rely on independent third party certificates that tell us if our fabrics are created as environmentally friendly as possible and if our workers are treated with kindness.
I hope you've found this useful. Let me know in the comments below what you think and if you have any suggestions for future posts, I'd love to hear from you!
Best wishes,
Vicki
Founder, Ekagi
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