How to Assess a Brand's Sustainability
Questions to Ask & HOW TO Spot Greenwashing
With brick and mortar stores re-opening and consumers falling back into pre-quarantine shopping habits, I wanted to remind everyone that we cannot return to that normal. Because that normal is unjust. From brands like Reformation and Anthropologie now being boycotted for racist and discriminatory workplaces and sales tactics, to the intersectionality of sustainability and anti-racism, I urge us to continue demanding new standards from brands and voting with our dollars by supporting those actually doing good.
What does good even mean anymore? From greenwashing tactics, to knowing whether a brand is committed beyond a black square, here are 5 questions to ask about a brand’s sustainability before you buy from them. You can rabbit hole pretty far down these 5 questions (you’ll see that they actually break into deeper questions), but the more you can confidently answer, the better the brand is. Remember, being a conscious consumer is being an informed one.
#1. DO THEY TREAT AND PAY WORKERS ETHICALLY?
Ethical labour and safe working environments are a human right. It’s often Black and Brown women working in factories with dangerous conditions for pennies. Of the 74 million textile workers worldwide, 80% are women of colour. Can you see why ethical labour is both a Black Lives Matter and feminist issue? The fashion industry, especially fast fashion, depends on low labour costs and lack of regulation (think: forced and unpaid overtime) to get away with their $5 t-shirt margins.
“Of the 74 million textile workers worldwide, 80% are women of colour.”
— LABOUR BEHIND THE LABEL
Here are a few things to look for when checking if a brand is ethical:
Transparency with the specific factories they partner with
Voluntary certifications and programs to prove compliance with labour standards and rights, including SA8000, Better Work Programme, NEST, and WRAP
Proof of living wages — ABLE is a good example of a brand doing the work to provide living wages to their workers
#2. DO THEY USE SUSTAINABLE FABRICS AND MATERIALS?
One of the easiest ways to spot greenwashing is to look at the primary fabrics a brand uses. For example, Reformation is a brand that ‘values’ sustainability but uses materials like viscose and nylon in most of their pieces. A good rule of thumb is to look for natural, organic, undyed, recycled and upcycled pieces.
I'm working on a full fabric guide because there’s too much to unpack, but here are a few examples of sustainable fabrics:
Natural fibres like alpaca wool, hemp, and linen that don’t require pesticides and require less water/energy to produce
Recycled and organic cotton, made of post industrial/consumer waste and with less chemicals/water
Tencel (alternative to viscose), which requires less energy and water to produce, and chemicals used are managed in a closed-loop system
Recycled polyester/nylon, like Econyl, uses less water, creates less waste, and is made from industrial plastic waste
And here are a few certifications and standards I look for to make sure the fabrics I wear are dyed safely with no harmful chemicals:
STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX®: ensures fabrics are free from harmful levels of more than 100 hazardous substances
Bluesign Certified: approve chemicals, processes, materials, and products that are safe for the environment, workers and customers
GOTS Certified: ensures fabrics labelled ‘organic’ are sourced in the most ethical and sustainable ways
#3. DO THEY USE SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION METHODS?
This isn’t just about the amount of chemicals and dyes that goes into their production or the amount of water used. It’s important to check whether they care about side effects of production, like:
Does the wastewater from production get cleaned or cooled before it’s released back into the world? Examples of responsible treatment are Girlfriend and Saitex (Denim Factory) that extract the toxic sludge from their wastewater and provide this to factories who mix it with concrete to build homes and pave roads
Are the fabrics they use recyclable? Biodegradable? This signals whether they care about the post-life process of their products
Do they offset their carbon emissions? Are they carbon neutral?
Do they use biodegradable, compostable, or recycled packaging?
Here are a few certifications to look out for:
Certified B Corporations: businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose
Cradle to Cradle Certified: safer, more sustainable products made for a circular economy
It’s common for brands to also share sustainability reports each quarter — this is a good place to check how they’re reducing their impact, and what measures they’re taking to be more sustainable. Here are some examples:
#4. DO THEY PRODUCE AT A SUSTAINABLE SCALE?
Our fashion industry over produces, and as consumers we over consume. There’s no world where sustainability and mass production can co-exist, and looking at how much a brand produces is one of the easiest ways to spot greenwashing. Some telltale signs of a brand that cares is one that limits waste by doing pre-orders, one that comes out with only a few launches a year, or one that comes out with season-less styles. Here are a few things to ask:
How often does a brand have new arrivals? Those ‘150+ new arrivals’ emails raise some eyebrows.
How many styles do they sell at a given time? Anything over 30-50 styles looks like fast fashion to me (unless they curate multiple brands).
How many stores do they have around the world? Global distribution means more emissions, more product, and more waste.
Do they often have sales and clearances? This is a surefire sign of overproduction and a brand that operates on a fast fashion model.
#5: ARE THEY ANTI-RACISTS?
If you haven’t read up on the intersectionality of sustainability and anti-racism, I highly recommend you do. I expect all brands to work towards dismantling systemic racism and white supremacy, and pledge to empower BIPOC people in their workplaces, in their stores, on their IG feed, and in their factories. Here are things I look for beyond that black square:
BIPOC representation on their website and instagram feed (models they hire), with their influencers and partners, and in their teams (across all levels including in stores and on their executive level)
Acknowledgement of Black Lives Matter and donations to support BLM organizations (especially from larger brands)
Transparency of their company’s diversity (% breakdowns) and pledges to do better. This includes their recruitment process, investing in scholarships to expand their BIPOC applicant pool, diversifying their teams, and participation in @pullupforchange
Follow the brand’s founder on IG — very easy to spot those who are actively supporting BLM and passionate about it vs those who aren’t (the ones who aren’t are usually the ones with controversial history too)
SOME OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER
If you’re here, chances are you’ve found a brand you want to buy from or you’re in a spending mood and are looking to add some new pieces to your wardrobes. Here are a few final things to think about:
Transparency is no longer radical, it’s necessary and it’s the bare minimum
If a brand makes it hard to find information on their factories or production, chances are they’re greenwashing, have something to hide, or just don’t value it enough to give up precious space on their homepage nav bar.
Check in with yourself — why do you want to buy this item?
We often buy because we’re emotionally shopping, and this often leads to buying styles we’re comfortable with (we gravitate towards the same pieces when we shop this way, and these end up not adding that much value in our wardrobes because we have so many alternatives — these pieces end up getting donated/trashed first). So it’s good to pause and ask, is this something that will actually add value to my wardrobe?
The most sustainable pieces are the ones we already own.
Have you tried other options?
Buying new shouldn’t be your first choice. Try thrifting, asking a friend to swap/trade/borrow, or upcycling a piece you already own. If you’ve had no luck, is there a smaller BIPOC owned brands you can buy this piece from?
Size Inclusivity
This is often a part of sustainability we overlook, and it’s something I’m starting to look for from the brands I support. Inclusive sizing is an important piece of the conversation around sustainable fashion, because we can’t discriminate against an entire group of people. When buying from a brand, try to choose one that offers XXS-6XL over one that caters to slim bodies.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I know this can seem overwhelming (heck, I’m exhausted from writing this), but know that every step you take and every tidbit of information you learn has impact. I’m proud of you for choosing to make more conscious and sustainable decisions, and your effort matters. The world isn't going to become sustainable in a day, this is a marathon so don’t feel bad about not being perfectly sustainable (even I’m not).
I hope this can help inform better buying decisions, and I’m constantly learning too so I’ll try to keep this updated! If there are things you’d like me to add, please drop a comment below x