How to evaluate sustainable fashion brands to spot greenwashing?

Greenwashing or Sustainable? How to Evaluate "Sustainable" Fashion Brands?

Sustainability is a new revolution in 2021 that has changed the definition of modesty and fashion now. Sustainable fashion is often mistaken with greenwashing, and unfortunately, many fashion brands and companies flounder to live up to their claims. As we are already aware of many discussions surrounding sustainable fashion and its increasing likability in the crowd, it is sometimes difficult to tell whether a brand is genuine or stretching the truth.

To understand genuine sustainability and how to evaluate sustainable fashion brands, we must first know the true meaning of sustainable fashion and greenwashing. In this blog, we will figure out a brand’s sustainability and ethics and spot greenwashing.

Understanding Ethical/Sustainable Fashion

As we step into the core of evaluating fashion brands, we must know the definition of ethical and sustainable.

Being ‘Ethical’ means being fair and unbiased with the workers and helpers of your brand. It is about treating them with proper care and honour throughout the supply chain. It is observed that many brands also maltreat animals for their production process. Performing such activities is non-ethical and must be avoided.

Sustainability is about lessening or minimalizing the damage to our environment throughout the supply chain. It is mainly eco-friendly, as it avoids activities that encourage environmental damage through the production and sourcing of materials.

A Sustainable fashion brand is determined to:

Use water resources efficiently and do not waste them.
Limit the use of textiles and hazardous chemicals causing environmental damage.
Encourage high-quality and sustainable materials that break down in nature with ease.
Encourage reusing or recycling products.
Encourage the consumers to purchase what they need and prefer reusing and recycling products.

Also read: 10+ Best Sustainable Fashion Brands in India

How to Determine Greenwashing?

Greenwashing is the misconception or misleading information about some brands and companies claiming to be eco-friendly and sustainable. They market themselves as “green” but do not live up to those claims.

To understand greenwashing and get a clear idea about it, the following are some of the red signs:

They claim to be sustainable but only for a handful of items:

Yes, it is a common effort that many brands perform. They claim to be 100% sustainable but have only a few things prepared in an eco-friendly manner. Many of them will try to get a “green halo” effect by promoting selected items.

If they talk about sustainability, they speak in uncertain terms:

Many brands proclaim that they are eco-friendly and sustainable. Still, it is easily visible that they do not intend on taking any action or proper measures for sustainable fashion.

They do not speak about sustainability:

If a brand is greenwashing, it will not speak about sustainability. They might also give a shallow approach towards ethical dressing and fashion. The company often tries to avoid this topic.

So how to evaluate Sustainable Fashion Brands to identify Greenwashing?

Following are some tips to help you identify if the brand you prefer is sustainable or greenwashing. Go through them and decide your way of trusting a brand:

Analyse their social media marketing activities:

Today, almost every fashion brand is online. It is easy to identify their social media marketing campaigns to know how they work, what they do, how they produce, and their parameters to supply? It could help analyse the brands’ marketing activities, especially if they don’t have 3rd-party certifications. Visit their Webpage, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and you will get clear visibility about their working pattern, from manufacturing to supply chains.

Look for the reviews of their products:

One significant parameter to judge if a brand is sustainable or not is the longevity of the product. If the brand hardly cares about the life of its garments, it is a worry. Even if the brand cares about longevity or not, sustainability is about reusing and shopping adequately to lessen environmental damage.

You can go through the reviews of their random products on social media and analyse if the customers are happy or not. Also, be aware of the paid reviews. It could give you a clear idea of whether the brand is considering long-lived products or not, if they are concerned about their thoughts, and if the quality of their products is enduring or not?

Analyse how efficiently do they use energy:

Greenwashing has many faces, shapes, and forms through which they can enter the fashion industry. Many brands might use LED and energy-efficient lighting or sensor lights in their stores to prove that they are sustainable. However, it is not valid. The in-store lights do not depict the actual procedure of production and manufacturing of the products. The choice of lighting may also be because it is a legal requirement in some countries.

Therefore, it is best to get a clear vision of how clothing production has taken place to judge sustainability. It is also crucial to know what type of energy-efficient lights and machinery they use to make the outfits.

Reach out to them:

If you have gone through the tips and tricks and are still unsure, you can directly reach out to the brand. You can visit their store or even email or DM them to resolve your concerns and questions.

Based on their response, or where they lack thereof, you will probably be able to judge and analyse whether the brand is ethical or not.

Final Thoughts

In this blog, we understood the difference between sustainable fashion brands and greenwashing. Also, with some simple tips and tricks, we learned how to evaluate an ethical fashion brand.

To enhance the usage of sustainable fashion clothing, we must start taking initiatives. Buying second-hand is the new trend and is always better than buying new. That is because you are reusing and recycling clothes that are already in the system. It will help our environment and eventually make our Earth a better place to live.

10+ Best Sustainable Fashion Brands in India

2 Comments / By Sharayu Mishal

Sustainable Fashion - A New Trend for the Future Nay, Today!

Did you know that the level of CO2 emitted by textile industries is almost equal to that released by automobile industries?

With changing lifestyles, and seasons, we often find ourselves within new fashion trends. We enjoy incorporating the latest trends into our style statement, because why not?

But, what do you do when the outfits are not trendy anymore, or more naturally when you grow out of them? In Desi families, clothes usually get passed on to our younger siblings, which is a good option. Unfortunately, this is not always the case as most of the fabric waste often gets trashed. Fashion industries themselves contribute a lot to this pollution. Which is why today we are in dire need of sustainable fashion choices.

With fast fashion trends, sustainable clothing (slow fashion) is yet to gain popularity. However, we do have quite a few homegrown sustainable fashion brands in India. And to your aid, Ecopurple has curated a list of a few of the many brands crafting green fashion. Let’s take a look, shall we?

Please note that the following list is in no particular order of preference; the idea is to promote and acknowledge their work.

1. Adah

Adah, founded by Leesha Agarwal, a conscious earthling cum a talented fashion designer, is an ethical, zero waste, and a handloom fashion brand. It is a fashion house that truly loves their fabrics, the makers, and the colorful dyes that make it beautiful.

On experiencing the aftermath of fast fashion firsthand, Leesha decided to make a difference and so, led to the foundation of Adah. Here’s everything that is good about this sustainable fashion brand:

The team sources each piece of fabric directly from the hardworking weavers, not allowing any middlemen to participate. This helps in ensuring that the weavers are paid what they deserves.
The environmental quotient is taken care of by repurposing/ recycling/ and upcycling all kinds of fabric scraps into diaries, wallets, scrunchies, headbands, earrings, etc. The tags, too, are made using recycled tetra packs, adding to their concern for the environment. Adah also refrains from the use of plastic.
The skilled tailors, who craft the elegant garments for Adah, are given their rightful credits. You will get to know who made your outfit, a wonderful way to honour the efforts of the maker and also empower them.

For both and women, Adah is one of the affordable fashion brands out there. One must check-out their outfits as they’re not only aesthetic but also sustainably made.

2. SUI

This women’s fashion brand from New Delhi, found by Mahima Gujral, is on its way to help pave the way for green clothing.

Sui crafts conscious apparels and accessories, such the environmental impact is low. How?

They prefer working with durable and anti-bacterial fabrics such as hemp. Use Organic cotton that is GOTS certified, and other sustainable materials.

Nowadays, about 60% of fabric fibers are synthetics made from fossil fuels; this makes it hard to decay. Hence, the choice of raw material matters.

Sui uses herbal dyes to pigment their clothing; and recycles the wastewater in the process.
The team makes use of recycled packaging and upcycles the leftover fabric waste as well.
Following a sustainable work ethic, SUI also partners with the NGO – Women Weave. The women in this NGO contribute to the weaving of handspun home fabrics. They practice conscious activities that need less to no electricity. Thus, save energy.

3. DOODLAGE

The brainchild of Kriti Tula – Doodlage is a recognized eco-fashion house set in New Delhi. The brand creates fashion outfits and accessories by recycling and upcycling fabric trash. The toxic after-effects of the fashion industry led to the foundation of Doodlage.

Doodlage collects surplus of defective or stained fabric scraps from textile manufacturers. They even collect the leftover apparel scraps from the garment factories.

From the fabric waste of their own, they create wallets; laptop bags; accessories; and notebooks.
Ditching the plastic, they recycle the fabric waste into paper for their packagings.

Needless to say, Doodlage is doing its best to achieve zero waste production. And by all the efforts that they’re making, the team is bound to succeed.Moreover, Doodlage also presented their collection in the Lakme fashion week of 2019.

You know they’re good when even Lakme supports them.

4. NO NASTIES

Vegan gang, this one’s for you! Based in Goa, No Nasties has been in the business since 2011, creating outfits for men, women, and kids. They design outfits made out of fair trade, organic, and vegan raw materials.

GOTS ✔️

Peta ✔️

Fair Trade ✔️

Impressive right? But wait, there’s more. To add to their green efforts, No Nasties offers plastic-free packaging. The team makes use of drawstring bags and recycled cardboard boxes instead. The effort doesn’t end here. With the “Buy One – Get Tree” program, No Nasties has been planting trees to negate their carbon emissions. You make a purchase and the team plants a tree, as simple as that! Thus, it’s safe to say that No Nasties is one cohesive sustainable fashion brand.

5. RENGE

Renge is a sustainable fashion brand that offers beautiful clothing options for women. Found by Sheena Uppal, they create conscious apparels keeping the fashion quotient intact.

What makes Renge an ethical brand?

They use a surplus of fabrics from factories that follow strict social and environmental standards.
The artisans dye fabrics in Creative Dyeing & Printing, which is Oeko-Tex certified.
The team works in tune with Hemla Embroidery, which is Sedex certified.
Both factories are within a 3km radius, this reduces carbon emission due to logistics.
Also, a part of their factory runs on solar energy!

While creating sustainable fashion, Renge also extends support for other critical issues. Learn more by clicking here.

6. BASICLLY

Basiclly is yet another option to make a sustainable fashion choice for women. Their mantra? ‘Comfort, Ease and Familiarity’ while practicing Fair Trade.

Located in Noida, Basiclly is a fellow supporter of slow fashion. The brand crafts livable clothing to make them durable and long-lasting.
The team makes use of 100% organic fabrics with reusing and upcycling the fabric scraps. This way, they avoid the use of synthetic materials.
Basiclly makes sure to have their fabric manufactures and the production factories close. Thus, minimizing the environmental impact therein.

7. SPARROW

Sparrow was born with an aim to provide sustainable clothing at affordable prices. The team believes and contributes to a circular model of fashion.

Craftsmen at Sparrow stitch outfits using breathable fabrics sourced from ethical resources. From designing sustainable clothing to plastic-free packaging, deliberate conscious efforts are being made.

“To bridge the gap between consumers and sustainability, we strive to bring you ethical garments in affordable prices. So that your online shopping takes a conscious step towards the environment.”

8. UPASANA

This team led by Uma Prajapati works with the traditional technique of Handlooms. Upasana takes absolute pride in crafting fabrics through this concept that helps save electricity

As opposed to the artificial dyes, the team works with natural ones. Such as, Natural Indigo, native minerals, and herbs like Sandalwood and Tulsi.
To make the garments safe to the skin, Upasana infuses the same herbs with organic cotton. The medicinal properties of these herbs help provide a sense of healing to the wearer.

“Our mission is to create conscious sustainable fashion where we are taking care of our environmental cost and not passing it on to the future.”

Upasana’s work is here for you to choose a sustainable fashion alternative.

9. B LABEL

Belonging to the slow fashion tribe, B Label, powered by Boheco, takes a green route to fashion. Their star fabric? Hemp.

This sustainable fashion brand spuns Hemp into a variety of quality outfits. Why Hemp? Because,

It is Carbon negative
It repels UV rays
It resists mold and mildew
Is one of the strongest fabrics
Hemp is Anti-bacterial
It can grow with less water, etc

What more reasons do we need? B Label is one to pin our faith for a responsible fashion brand.

10. NICOBAR

Nicobar, too, belongs to the slow fashion bandwagon. Their philosophy is to make products that are: long lasting, not trend-driven, inspired by natural materials, and influenced by the culture we grew up in.

The above collage is only a gist of what Nicobar has to offer.

Apart from their products, the most exciting one is their option for customers to Gift Trees. Nicobar has partnered with the “Grow Trees Foundation.” With this, a customer can choose to plant a tree in the name of his/her gift recipient. They plant the trees in the Sundarbans of West Bengal to protect the habitat of our Royal Bengal Tiger.

Thanks to Nicobar, now I know what to gift my loved ones!

11. RIMAGINED

Rimagined is an ethical brand from Bengaluru producing sustainable fashion and upcycled products. They manufacture products right from sarees to furniture. Understanding the increasing garbage crisis, Shailaja Rangarajan led to the establishment of Rimagined.

The team works with both pre and post-consumer waste.
They craft their sarees from the pre-consumer cotton yarn waste. This is the leftover yarn during and after the weaving. They weave this yarn in the traditional Charkhas and then dye it with beautiful colors.
Rimagined also works with denim, wood, glass and rubber waste. They’re upcycled into furniture, bedsheets, decors, and other accessories.

Their aim is to divert waste from the landfills into a sustainable and valuable object of use. And they achieve this by working hand in hand with handloom weavers and tribal artisans.

CONCLUSION

These are a few of the many sustainable fashion brands in India who are working to maintain a circular economy.
Fashion waste is mainstream pollution. With a growing maturity and awareness, one has to consider ways in which he/she can limit their impact. We need to control our unnecessary contribution to the landfills.
Yet, if you happen to buy something that belongs to fast fashion, make sure you find a way to repurpose. One sustainable action goes a long way.

YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS

According to a report by the Financial Express,

It can take 2,700 litres of water to produce the cotton needed to make a single T-Shirt. As per World Resources Institute, 5.9 trillion litres of water are used each year for fabric dyeing alone.
Around 20% of industrial water pollution in the world comes from textiles. Also, about 8,000 synthetic chemicals are used to turn raw materials into textile.
As per another report, about one garbage truck of textiles is either burnt or landfilled. This happens about every second!