How Can Clothing Companies Be More Sustainable?
With the global market becoming increasingly more conscious of sustainability, it is no surprise that clothing companies have also had to consider their own practices. Here is an overview on how clothing companies can make their processes more sustainably.
Source Sustainable Materials
Many clothing companies are beginning to switch their material sources for those that are more sustainable. This includes switching to materials such as:
- Organic cotton
- Recycled materials
- Lab-grown materials
Organic cotton, for example, is grown without the use of pesticides, making it a much more environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional cotton. Similarly, recycled materials are derived from post-consumer items, such as plastic bottles, that have been re-purposed into building materials. Finally, lab-grown materials use significantly fewer resources and chemicals than traditional materials.
Create Reusable Clothing Systems
Another way for clothing companies to become more sustainable is to create reusable clothing systems. This model of sustainability involves companies leasing, rather than selling, items of clothing to customers. This allows customers to not only save on money, but also on the environmental burden of constantly buying new clothes that then end up in landfills.
Eliminate Wasteful Practices
Clothing companies also need to take into account their in-house processes, ensuring that these practices are as minimally wasteful as possible. This includes reducing energy consumption by doing things such as:
- Installing energy-efficient machinery into factories
- Investing in long lasting machinery that is built to last
- Reducing water use and finding ways to purify and reuse water
By making these changes, clothing companies can drastically reduce the environmental impacts of their operations.
Conclusion
Making more sustainable choices is not only the right thing to do for the environment, but it can also benefit clothing companies. By investing in the most sustainable processes and materials, clothing companies can not only sell their products to a wide range of customers, but also do their part to help the planet.