How to shop sustainable fashion
Emergence of the slow fashion movement
Did you know that 3 pairs of jeans in your wardrobe emit as much greenhouse gases as a full Boeing 737 flying for 1 hour?
Fashion in itself is beautiful. It’s a way of creatively expressing yourself, both for the designer and the person wearing the clothes.
But many of us are tired of giving money to companies contributing to suffering, destruction and pollution. We are waking up to a new reality: one in which we show respect for everything and everyone.
For people. For animals. For the planet.
And that’s how sustainable and ethical fashion was born.
State of the fashion industry today
With fashion standing for about 10% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, fast fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world. That’s why slow fashion has emerged as a counter-movement, and many people wanna learn how to shop for sustainable fashion.
There are many parts of the fashion industry tearing on the world’s resources:
• Raw materials: Growing cotton requires enormous amounts of water (almost 3% of the total water demand in the world!)
• Production: Toxic colours and chemicals are harmful to workers, and also for the environment and the end consumer
• Transportation/Shipping: Carbon dioxide emissions during transports, and plastics used in packaging
• Production de masse/Mode rapide : Les grandes marques produisent d’énormes quantités de vêtements et détruisent les articles qui n’ont pas été achetés. Les marques de luxe ne sont pas beaucoup mieux – ils brûlent souvent des vêtements qui restent en stock parce qu’ils ne veulent pas qu’ils soient portés par les « mauvais » consommateurs, cela pourrait nuire à la réputation de la marque
• Méthodes de production : Les méthodes de fabrication utilisées aboutissent à des quantités de déchets tissus et plastiques incommensurables
• Washing: Every time we wash garments made of synthetic fibres, microplastics are leaking into the waters
• Waste: Used garments ending up in landfill
• Comportement des consommateurs : « Fast fashion » signifie que les consommateurs achètent et jettent à un taux beaucoup plus élevé qu’auparavant – c’est exactement le même modèle de consommation que la malbouffe
Also, up to 20,000 litres goes into producing 1 kg of cotton. That gives 1 pair of jeans and 1 t-shirt.
Polyester is even more common than cotton, and about twice as polluting. Since polyester isn’t natural, its synthetic fibres are not biodegradable and can thus end up in oceans and harm marine life. Not cool.
Synthetic fabrics also depend on petrochemical industries for their production.
Furthermore, the fashion industry is the world’s third largest manufacturing industry – with only electronics and automotive being bigger. A big problem in the fashion world is thus a big problem for the world.
There are many pieces to the fashion puzzle, but that also means much space for innovation and optimization. Sustainable fashion is a complex and exciting field!
Ethical fashion focuses on the ethical/socio-economic aspects, such as having fair working conditions in factories. Sustainable fashion focuses more on minimizing the environmental impact throughout the entire lifecycle of a piece of clothing.
Slow fashion encompasses both – from selecting materials that are good for everyone involved, to ethical conditions for workers in factories and sustainable production methods, to recycling or upcycling of used garments.
On-demand is another way to avoid massive collections: garments are only sewn upon ordering, meaning no mountains of clothes going to waste.
Les jeans compostables, qui deviennent un avec mama Gaïa, sont une autre innovation récente. Cependant, il est important de ne pas les éliminer avec les déchets non biodégradables, car ils finiront par s’ajouter à la décharge de toute façon.
Le recyclage contribue également à une planète plus saine. On estime que 95 % des vêtements qui se retrouvent dans les décharges, pourraient être recyclés et utilisés dans de nouveaux vêtements, ce qui permet d’économiser les 20 000 litres d’eau nécessaires à la production d’une tenue !
As consumers, we can contribute by being mindful around how we use our clothes. Using clothes for a longer time before we throw them away and buy new ones, always recycling clothes, and buying organic garments in high-quality, natural materials that will last longer makes both your wallet and the world happier.
How to Shop Sustainable Fashion
On The Other Side, sustainability is not just something we talk about – it’s something that’s imprinted in our DNA. Everyone is sick of fake: we want real!
The world is experiencing significant shifts and rules are redrawn. On the other side of these major changes, something else could emerge: a better world, shaped by respect and love instead of greed and fear. We wanna contribute to that new paradigm.
Sustainability is present from the pens our designer Lysa uses to draw the patterns, to the non-toxic, organic materials that are gentle for the skin.
The clothes are produced exclusively for you on-demand in a responsible, ethical atelier in France, or by Lysa in her London office.
We also make sure to use recycled and locally sourced materials as much as possible.
Your clothes arrive at your door packaged in reusable, recyclable packaging.
The Other Side stands for a simple and fun lifestyle. No more choosing between responsible and refreshing – you can have it all!
We want ethical and sustainable clothes to be available to everyone – that’s why we offer them at an affordable price. This is possible by working with lower margins.
In alignment with this new era, we prefer to grow slowly and steadily in harmony with the Earth.
If you wanna shop for sustainable and ethical fashion, make sure the brands are:
Utilisent des matières respectueuses – des fibres naturelles biologiques, des fibres naturelles recyclées, des tissus réutilisés ou vintage.
Ont des conditions équitables pour les travailleurs et payent des salaires corrects.
Se distancient activement de la production de masse et de la mode rapide, en produisant de plus petites collections ou à la demande.
Une bonne règle de base : si tu ne vois rien sur la durabilité sur leur site Web, alors c’est qu’elles ne s'en soucient probablement pas.
And watch out for "greenwashing" ! More and more brands claim to be eco-responsible by adopting certain criteria, but if you look closely they are not totally so. The secret to uncovering them is transparency: if a brand is committed, it will give all the information on the production of the clothes, on the working conditions, on the environmental impact... If a brand only gives you vague information, beware!
Wrapping it up
The fashion industry is complex and multi-dimensional. A lot has yet to be done when it comes to sustainability – and many existing and emerging brands are determined to seal the gap between beautiful words and bold action.
The shift from fast fashion into slow fashion is happening now. As conscious consumers, we have the power to vote with our dollar by deciding to support brands that care. We can also invest in clothes that will last more than one season, and make sure to recycle used garments properly.
L’avenir de la mode durable s’annonce prometteur, les consommateurs en ont assez des vieux paradigmes destructeurs et les marques s’adaptent pour répondre à la demande croissante. De cette façon, nous pouvons toujours nous habiller avec style, mais dans des vêtements et des chaussures laissant une empreinte plus propre.
Are you joining the revolution?!
* A lifecycle analysis of Levi’s 501 jeans shows that one pair of jeans produces around 33.4 kg of carbon dioxide during its entire life span. As a comparison, an average Boeing-737 emits 90 kg per hour at cruising speed. 3 pairs of jeans are as polluting as 1 hour of flying.