Do you want to know the difference between Eco-friendly and Fair Trade? Do you know what's Zero Waste fashion? This post should answer all the basic questions about ethical fashion tags.
Zero Waste
- using this method the brand literally swears, there is nothing thrown away during the whole production.
Did you know 15% of fabric is left on the cutting floor and sent to landfill even before being used?
Well not with Zero Waste. Brands either use special cuts, where every centimetre of a fabric is part of the cut, or they do cuts the “regular” way and then reuse every scrap. Like Zero Waste Daniel or Tonlé.
Fair Trade
– clothes and goods with this certificate ensure customers that every person in the supply chain is known and has equal rights. Everyone is paid a fair amount of money for their job and since the companies choose very carefully their suppliers, they also care about their environmental and social standards. It is a more transparent way of trading, and every company with “Fair Trade” tag should be able to answer the question: Who made my clothes?
Eco-friendly
- the impact on the environment should be minimal. This involves the farming, dying processes and transportation. But be aware that this tag is being overused, so always look more closely.
Bio/ Organic
- the crops are grown using methods and materials that have a low impact on the environment. There is no use of synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, the seeds cannot be genetically modified and the amount of water is significantly reduced. Organic farming also involves crop rotation which protects the soil from degrading. The dyeing and finishing of organic cottons also follow a strict procedure for chemical use in processing, eliminating all materials harmful to the body and the environment. Always look for GOTS certification on the clothes.
Is there a difference between bio and organic?
Some sources will tell you that organic cotton can be grown only in areas where it would grow naturally. However, brands and certifications don't seem to share the idea and generally, there is no difference between those two.
Vegan
- vegan is simply vegan. No parts of animals are used in these products, but remember to look for other tags like fair trade and find out more about the materials used, because even synthetic footwear is now sometimes considered “ecological”. For example Malai (made from coconut waste) or Pinatex is a great replacement for leather: “…is made of fiber from the leaves of the pineapple plant. These leaves are discarded from the pineapple harvest, so the raw material requires no additional environmental resources to produce.”
Most commonly we are looking for a vegan alternative to shoes and my personal favorite ethical brands are: Bourgeois Boheme, Bohempia (a Czech brand which produces orthopedic shoes from hemp) and Inkkas (brand from Peru; for every shoe they plant a tree).
Have some more questions? Don't hesitate to ask in the comments below or write me an email on gabriela@lapena.cz.
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