Sustainability is now an integral part everyday life with consumers’ growing awareness and their stance to opt for eco-friendly products. And to sustain existing customers and lure new ones, textile and apparel companies are creating ethical robes and offering innovative products. They are also making sure that the impact is percolated till the end of the value chain and their suppliers so that no unethical practices are imbibed and followed. In line with this, San Francisco-based startup Allbirds, founded by Joey Zwillinger and Tim Brown, introduced the world’s most comfortable shoes. Among the materials used by the brand are recycled bottles for laces, castor bean oil for the insoles, recycled cardboard for packaging as well as its signature merino wool and tree fibers for the shoe uppers.

In May, Adidas Speedfactory in its first high-performance running shoe made with Parley Ocean Plastic off the West Coast, and The North Face recently revealed the pilot phase of its green project, Renewed, a collection of refurbished clothes sourced from returned, defective or damaged apparel. Stella McCartney launched her fashion house as the first vegetarian luxury brand and has built her business based on the practice, founding the ‘World of Sustainability’ platform to document the start-to-finish process of operating a modern and responsible company. Other well-known brands that have established their sustainability credentials include Patagonia, Eileen Fisher and Reformation.

Fast fashion companies’ initiatives

And fast fashion companies are not far behind. H&M for example in its 2017 Sustainability Report revealed recycled or other sustainably sourced materials made up 35 per cent of the company’s total material use. Mattias Bodin, sustainability business expert in materials and innovation, H&M, stated every year the company takes new steps towards its bold goal to only use recycled or other sustainably sources materials by 2030. This significantly reduces the use of natural resources and the negative impact the business has on the climate. High-street e-tailer Asos partnered with the Centre for Sustainable Fashion to launch a circular fashion training programme to educate its designers on sustainability. Nike, Under Armour and other mega footwear and apparel players have also joined the fray — publishing their own annual sustainability reports to keep track of their advancements in this arena.

While universal guidelines for sustainability have yet to be determined, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition is the most credible governing body for the industry, developing the Higg Index that enables brands and retailers to measure and score a company or product’s sustainability performance. It empowers businesses to improve conditions for factory works, local communities and ultimately the environment.

Although millennials vouch for sustainable fashion and social change, the eco-friendly factor of a fashion product are often dominated by factors such as price and value. A LIM College survey determined that even though the generation favours sustainable apparel and accessories, the industry is not providing them with sufficient choices that also meet their most important criteria for making a purchase.