Sustainable Fashion

Changes in fashion and beauty can lead to a brighter future

Written by: Kerrilyn Collins Photography by: Madison Santana. Illustrated by: Sage Zbinden

Today, the fashion and beauty industries are faced with issues such as increased water usage, hazardous chemicals, short life-cycle (time the product is spent in the market) and excessive waste.

According to Harpers Bazaar magazine, many well-known brands are unethical in their treatment of workers, and produce clothes or products that are horrible for the environment. The Huffington Post writes that unsold clothes are burned or thrown in the trash rather than being recycled or donated. According to Vox.com, skincare products contain toxic ingredients that many consumers don’t know exist in their products.

Consumers generally don’t realize the influence their buying habits have on the industry and the workers involved in producing these products, and often shop uninformed. Having knowledge about these industries can make a big difference.

What changes can people make to their lifestyle to make a positive difference? How does one consumer’s shopping habits make a difference in multi-billion dollar industries?

By shopping sustainably, understanding the production process of goods and knowing what makes clean beauty products, consumers can do their part to fight against waste and practices of unethical companies.

HOW TO SHOP SUSTAINABLE FASHION

Buying ethically sourced clothing may seem daunting to some. Where does someone start? What shops are ethical and which ones are not? With all of the changes needed to be made in the fashion industry, it can be easy to be overwhelmed and feel like one person cannot make a difference. However, making a difference can be as simple as someone looking at his or her lifestyle and finding product alternatives or new ways to be more eco-friendly.

Brands that are Fair Trade Credited give equal pay and treatment to the people that produce their clothing. The first step to shopping sustainably is researching what brands fit into this category and are making a difference in the industry by being ethically produced.

Dakota Shyres, youth pastor and ambassador for Poshmark, shared the importance of having the right mindset when starting out.

“Having a mindset of awareness of sustainable fashion is so important,” Shyres says. “Remember the reason why you’re doing it. I needed to switch my mindset from ‘I’m going to change the entire world’ to doing it for my own convictions and personal ethics. Once you have that mindset it’s really easy to not shop fast-fashion. You’re so much more willing to shop at stores that you know where your money is going toward.”

One of the best and easiest ways to shop sustainably is to shop at thrift stores.

“I thrift a lot of my fashion and when I want to buy new things, I research the brands I want to buy and make sure I love it and want to make sure I wear it for a long time, and the person after me wears and loves it for a long time,” says Elizabeth Johnson, senior early childhood studies major.

Brands such as Levi’s, Everlane, H&M Conscious, Patagonia, Reformation, Madewell and J.Crew are all considered sustainable by ethically producing their clothes. Buying higher-priced items can be worth it if they’re ethically sourced cherished for a long time by the consumer.

One of the major issues the fashion industry faces is waste and short life-cycle.

A large part of being sustainable is what A large part of being sustainable is what consumers do with unwanted clothes. After consumers do with unwanted clothes. After an item is no longer needed or wanted, it’s an item is no longer needed or wanted, it’s important to either reuse it or recycle it in a important to either reuse it or recycle it in a proper way. Donating clothes to charities is a proper way. Donating clothes to charities is a

great way to get rid of unwanted clothes while giving someone else the chance to use it.

It’s a popular trend to reuse clothing by taking something old and sewing it into a new style, eliminating the risk of more waste and the impact on the environment. impact on the environment.

CLEAN BEAUTY

Clean beauty is a term that has become more Clean beauty is a term that has become more prevalent to modern consumers. The question of prevalent to modern consumers. The question of what is being put into your skincare and beauty what is being put into your skincare and beauty products is a question worth asking.

Seeing terms such as “natural” and “cruelty free” on labels doesn’t mean that the products aren’t filled with animal ingredients or that the company is not testing on animals or not putting animal ingredients into the products are two separate things.

Ingredients like squalene (shark liver oil), ambergris (whale vomit), carmine (crushed up beetles), gelatin (cow/pig bones and tendons), allantoin (cow urine) and placenta (sheep organs) are commonly found in skincare and beauty products.

According to Women’s Market, fifty percent of women consumers are looking to buy clean beauty products without sacrificing efficacy. But what brands can they trust?

One of the most prominent issues in the beauty industry is the lack of regulation. The United States has not passed a beauty law since 1938. To put it into perspective, The Guardian reports that the European Union has banned more than 1,300 unsafe ingredients while the United States has only banned 11. This may seem alarming, and it most definitely is.

How do we know what products are truly safe?

To be sure about the safety of which products you are using, self-regulation is the way to go. Researching on harmful ingredients and which brands are using them will help the consumer identify what products are or are not beneficial for them. Apps such as Think Dirty do just that.

Think Dirty allows a consumer to either scan or look up a product to see how toxic it is. The or look up a product to see how toxic it is. The app rates the product from one to 10, with one app rates the product from one to 10, with one being the best for you and 10 being the worst. being the best for you and 10 being the worst. The app tells you what harmful ingredients are The app tells you what harmful ingredients are in the product as well as the side effects of those ingredients.

Many companies will “greenwash” the consumer, falsely conveying that they factor environmental responsibility into their production.

“When I heard of ‘greenwashing,' I looked more into it and was shocked at how many of my 'clean' products weren’t actually clean,” says Kaylyn Kakuska, owner of Lux Clothing and regional vice president for Arbonne. “Marketing is so tricky. Just because it says vegan doesn’t mean it’s clean. I fell in love with Arbonne because its not only what it put into the products but also what it leaves out.”

A major fear when it comes to clean beauty is the lack of efficacy. It seems that either a brand is high-performing but extremely toxic, or great for the environment and your skin but low performing.

Beauty Counter is a brand that decided consumers shouldn’t have to compromise on efficacy or ingredients. In 2013, it launched its first product with a “never” list of more than 1,500 harmful chemicals such as benzalkonium chloride, parabens, formaldehyde, ethanolamines, phthalates and synthetic flavor and fragrance. Beauty Counter's company policy states that all the products it makes, beauty or otherwise, will never contain any of those 1,500 chemicals on the list.

Knowledge is power when it comes to the beauty and fashion industry. The more a consumer knows, the smarter he or she can shop and the more that can be shared with the community.

As a consumer, the best thing to do is to research and understand why clean is to research and understand why clean beauty matters. Skin is a person’s largest beauty matters. Skin is a person’s largest organ and it’s important that people treat organ and it’s important that people treat it with the best products available. Finding it with the best products available. Finding products that are 100 percent clean and do products that are 100 percent clean and do the job is key.

Some amazing clean brands that rate Some amazing clean brands that rate well on Think Dirty are Beauty Counter, well on Think Dirty are Beauty Counter, Arbonne, Glossier, Farmacy Beauty, REN, Arbonne, Glossier, Farmacy Beauty, REN, Youth to the People and E.L.F. Youth to the People and E.L.F.

However, it can be difficult and unreal and unrealistic for some college students to make the switch to clean beauty.

“It’s difficult to completely switch over to clean beauty because it can get expensive,” says Maddie Brenton, senior exercise science major. “I’ve been gradually switching over different aspects of my skincare routine that I find are the most important. I do a ton of research on different products and try many samples.”

She also shared the importance of being She also shared the importance of being clean on the inside of her body as well as clean on the inside of her body as well as the outside.

“Being clean doesn’t necessarily just apply to the products you put on your face,” says Brenton. “What you put in your body can show through on your skin. I’ve become a huge advocate for taking care of your body by getting rid of the toxins in all that I eat and put on my skin.”

Knowledge is power when it comes to the beauty and fashion industry. The more a consumer knows, the smarter he or she can shop and the more that can be shared with the community. What he or she wears and puts on his or her skin should be products with “good for you” ingredients representing ethical companies.

“Learn why you care. Don’t just do it because it’s a fad, but really care and know why you care,” Johnson says. “Start small because you’re only going to overwhelm yourself and then forget about it and go right back to where you started. This is a lifestyle, not just a trend.”

Being sustainable and clean is more than just a shopping habit — it’s a lifestyle. Acknowledging that something needs to change and implementing sustainable practices in one’s life are the first steps to making a difference in the fashion and beauty industry. ◆