9 Ways Your Fashion Choices Affect Our Planet
The fashion industry is the world’s second-largest polluting industry. Many of us think first about visible textile waste from fast fashion when we consider how our fashion choices affect the planet, but there’s a lot more to it than that. Often, it’s the more hidden aspects of the industry that are the most harmful.
Here are a handful of ways you can make better, safer choices for both people and the planet from Rene Gauthier, CEO of ecologyst.
1. Reject Plastics
Did you know that fabrics like polyester, nylon, and acrylic are made from oil? These harmful, petroleum-based fibres then shed microplastics into the environment — our food, our water, the air we breathe, etc. Recently, they were even found in the human placenta.
2. Wear Wool
At ecologyst, we use all-natural fibres like soft, not scratchy merino wool, which’s traceable from field to fibre. Wool has naturally functional qualities that synthetics try to replicate, like being odour-resistant, thermoregulating, highly durable and even biodegradable.
3. Opt for Organic
Opt for organic cotton only and avoid the world’s “dirtiest, thirstiest crop”: conventional cotton. Organic materials don't use chemicals and pesticides that are harmful to workers and land and use far less water too. Our organic material is GOTS-certified.
4. Futuristic Fabrics
Here at ecologyst, we’re excited about looking into the future of sustainable fibres. Some of the initiatives we’re exploring include problem-solving tricky processes like recycling organic cotton, getting innovative with Tencel (a textile made from trees) and experimenting with our own natural fibres later this year.
5. Made Here: The People
Reject dangerous and unethical working conditions. This year, guests will be able to tour our new factory in Victoria, B.C.; a further move towards transparency in our business. For anything we can’t make on-site just yet, we work with artisans across North America.
6. Made Here: Emissions
By producing on-site alongside our warehouse and HQ, we drastically reduce our emissions from shipping to-and-from factories overseas. We are also in the process of reaching carbon neutrality.
7. Small Runs, Direct-to-You
We only sell direct-to-consumer. This means we don’t have to hit large minimum orders from wholesalers, which in fast fashion regularly end in huge amounts of waste from unsold products. We produce in small runs and can adapt to product feedback from our community.
8. Fewer, Better
We believe in owning Fewer, Better clothing — fewer pieces, more favourites. Higher quality clothing may cost more upfront, but over time the cost per wear hugely decreases. Plus, our wares are Guaranteed for Life. And for the few times your go-to tee does catch a snag, we have a Repair Program to boot. Keeping your clothing, and dollars, out of the landfill.
9. Wash Less, Wear More
Once you take your goods home, due to the antimicrobial properties of all-natural fibres, you’ll need to wash them far less than conventional garments. This hugely saves on water and energy, and again, because they’re all-natural, ensures harmful microplastics aren’t heading out into our eco-systems.
This is just a handful of the ways we’re putting our planet, and in turn the health of our people, first. Always stoked to connect with our community, feel free to reach out to us via DM, by email at info@ecologyst.com, or in our stores to learn more. You can also learn handy tips over on our blog, YouTube, and bi-weekly coffee with ecologyst community email. We have a lot of exciting initiatives coming down the line this year — can’t wait to share them with you.
