Moving forward with our INSIDE THE FASHION INDUSTRY blog series, sustainability is something that I always wanted to talk about, but since this subject involves a lot of polemic topics, I decided to focus on the most important one: why you should be careful when you entitle your business as a sustainable fashion brand.
I know that sustainability is important (and necessary), but choosing eco-friendly materials, committing to an environmental cause, or partnering with an organic soda brand is not enough to call your business sustainable. This goes beyond your eyes and involves a lot more commitment than you can imagine.
I want to break down this topic and give you two reasons why you should think twice before calling your brand sustainable.
1. Law enforcements
First of all, it is illegal to entitle yourself to a fully sustainable fashion brand if you do not have the right certificates to do so.
There are SO many applications that you have to go through to be certified as a sustainable brand, but long story short, fashion is no different from a food brand that needs lawyers and certificates to prove that they are organic. Especially when you want to say that your garments are “anti-bacterial” or “biodegradable”.
The legalizations start with your branding deck, who are your suppliers, what legalizations your suppliers have and so long. Being a sustainable brand is important, but it needs to fit into your budget as well.
Sustainable materials are normally more expensive by themselves, now add on top of that all regulations and lawyer fees that will follow along the process. This is not me discouraging you to pursue a sustainable fashion brand, the opposite!
I come from a family of farmers. The world and the environment are our home and we have to take care of them, but before jumping to conclusions and deciding that you want to call yourself a sustainable brand, you have to make sure you are doing this right. One little mistake can cost you your entire business.
2. Material cost
When in product development, choosing sustainable options is always a good idea, but you have to ask yourself if that idea is something you can afford - like I said, organic and sustainable materials are always more expensive.
I remember doing material research for a client and presenting a couple of different options for care labels. The client loved the organic one but, in the end, that little label (that people normally rip off) was almost a dollar more than a regular polyester label. The client was working on a tight budget and we needed to choose between organic (aka. more expensive) care labels, or polyester ones and create hang tags (which makes your garments more presentable and it is necessary when you are doing wholesale).
In this case, it did not make sense to choose organic care labels. Why? That client was developing sportswear. All done in polyester. All produced in China and, mainly, her packaging was a little (very cute) vinyl bag with a gold foil sticker on top. Now, we were working on a tight budget, and, even though going with the organic option was a better decision, it was not enough to call the brand sustainable or to use sustainability as a marketing tool.
Choosing organic fabrics and trims can be easy, but if you plan on starting a sustainable fashion brand, you have to plan on that from day one! The construction of the garments, the packaging, and the entire branding need to be coherent with each other. Making one little eco-friendly decision can make a difference in the world for sure, especially if we all decide to make small eco-friendly decisions, but again this is not enough to entitle your business to a sustainable brand.
I have seen startup brands that made the mistake of marketing themselves as sustainable and getting in real legal trouble. Making small decisions toward sustainability is one of the keys to making a better world, we all know that. But you have to make these decisions right. Even though you might not be able to call your business a sustainable fashion brand, there are different ways you can commit to a sustainable cause. Using less plastic in your packaging, for example, is a great way to start moving in the right direction.
Comments