In the past two decades, our planet has been infiltrated by the fast fashion industry. With trends being in one week and out the next, it's become a real challenge for both consumers and brands to keep up with the ever-changing fashion landscape.
Have you ever thought about your carbon footprint? How big it is or what actions have attributed to its growth? What, in your life, can be defined as eco-friendly actions? As humans, we forget how much impact our everyday choices have on the earth we are so lucky to live on. Looking to be a bit more eco-friendly in the year 2022? An easy place to start begins with your clothing.
What is Eco-friendly Clothing?
Clothing that is eco-friendly is considered to be comprised of qualities that are NOT harmful to our environment. Eco-friendly clothing puts sustainability at the center of its purpose, leaving no room for chemicals, animal-cruelty or unethical practices.
Qualities to Look Out For
Chemical-free
A lot of our clothes contain chemicals without us really knowing. From sulfates and dyes to metals and solvents, there's countless negative elements out there that likely is being produced with your garments.
No harm to animals
Eco-friendly clothing also aligns with the morals of sourcing materials naturally and ethnically, therefore, animal testing in any way, strictly violates this principle.
Durability
Eco-friendly clothing tends to be fairly durable, making the products last longer than most. Touch is a great sense to activate when determining durability. How do the threads feel when you pull or shift the fabric?
The Best Sustainable Fabrics
Recycled Organic Cotton/Linen
Recycled cotton or linen is a great choice when it comes to fabrics to make eco-friendly clothing with. The fact that it is recycled means the energy, water, and dye cycle has already been processed and is offsetting the production of new materials.
Bamboo
Bamboo is a natural fiber, originating from Taiwan and China. Bamboo actually has the same manufacturing process as Rayon, yet is considerably better for the environment due to it's water-saving and biodegradable qualities.
Hemp
Did you know that hemp has four times the strength of cotton? Making it an obvious choice for durability and shelf-life, hemp is also a great eco-friendly clothing fabric to look out for.
Wool
The process of making wool has nearly zero negative repercussions on the planet. It's actually considered to be one of the most eco-friendly fabrics due to the lack of harm on the environment.
Fabrics That Harm Our Environment
Polyester
Polyester is a non-compostable type of plastic fabric that is almost impossible to recycle. Even garments that are 100% polyester can take a minimum of 20 years to decompose.
Nylon
Made from polymer (a type of plastic), nylon is considered to be a harmful fabric to the environment. In addition, Nylon creates a greenhouse gas that is over 300 times stronger than carbon dioxide, making it extremely toxic and hurtful to our planet.
Spandex
Spandex is a petroleum based, non-biodegradable material. Furthermore, spandex requires a ton of toxic chemicals to produce, not making it an eco-friendly fabric.
Acrylic
Acrylic fabric tends to have a short product life and has the ability to release toxic chemicals into the environment, making it a clear bad fabric choice if you're trying to be conscious of our planet.
Clothing Brands That are Doing Good for Our Planet
Thread Logic's eco-friendly logo apparel has an array of conscious brands, putting sustainability at the forefront of the products they produce. See below for a few of the brands we work with to help make a difference for the planet.
Port & Company
Port & Company prides themselves on providing long-lasting clothing that is priced at the best value possible.
Adidas
Adidas is on a mission to end plastic waste as it's heavily affecting our planet.
The North Face
From sustainable packaging to responsibly-sourced fabrics, The North Face is known for their constant sustainable commitments.
Econscious
Driven by creating a positive impact on the world, Econscious is on on a never-ending quest for global economic empowerment.
How You Can Shop and Support Sustainability
Thrift and Secondhand Shop
One of the best and easiest ways to shop sustainability is by purchasing used clothes. Thrifting clothes is great for a lot of reasons, one of them being providing a new home to a piece of clothing that would've soon been on the way to the landfill. In addition, the process of creating new pieces of clothing in itself has it's repercussions on the environment.
Practice Being an Ethical Consumer
Being an ethical consumer can mean different things to different people. Many millennials and Gen Z activists have begun to challenge the current environmental efforts by our government. People are constantly being encouraged and challenged to use aluminum/reusable water bottles, shop with a canvas tote to carry your groceries, or to compost your food waste. Little actions really can go a long way here!
Read the Labels
Make it a habit to check the materials listed prior to purchasing a garment. If you know, generally speaking, which materials to look for and which ones to avoid, you're already en route to thinking and acting on sustainability rather than impulse.
Recycle Your Clothing
Do you habitually purge your closet once or twice a year? It's pretty common to go through your wardrobe, but we all know the feeling of getting a garbage bag full of clothing just for it to sit in the back of your car for months. Make it a yearly pact to clean out your closet and (actually) donate or recycle your items. Although it's crazy to think, only 15% of consumer-used clothing is recycled. Join the pledge and help that number grow in 2022.
Check Out Our Sustainable Clothing
At Thread Logic, we proudly put sustainability at the forefront of the clothing we provide for our customers. When browsing our online store, you can feel confident in your decision to shop with Thread Logic knowing we have eco-friendly clothing options available. Contact us today for any and all quality logo embroidery apparel needs.