Are you ready to take your sustainable lifestyle up a notch? You might already be making strides in areas like eating plant-based foods, reducing your carbon footprint, and buying eco-friendly clothing. But there’s one often-overlooked category that could make a bigger impact than you think: your underwear drawer.
As sustainable fashion continues to rise in popularity, more and more people are looking for ways to make their entire wardrobe eco-friendly — and lingerie is no exception. Companies that produce sustainable underwear are shifting toward organic fabrics, avoiding harmful dyes and chemicals, and striving to eliminate textile waste altogether. Considering that almost everyone wears underwear, making this part of your wardrobe sustainable can have a significant impact on the planet.
But first, let’s take a look at how the fashion industry evolved to its current state.
Is the Fashion Industry a Menace to the Environment?
Our ancestors likely had far fewer clothes, repairing and reusing what they had. With the advent of mass production, shopping malls, and online retail, the fashion industry has undergone a massive transformation, and not necessarily for the better. Fast fashion — the rapid production of low-cost clothing designed to capture trends quickly — has led to environmental destruction on a massive scale.
Fast fashion companies churn out new collections every few weeks, pushing consumers to buy clothes that might only last a season or two. Take, for example, how certain items like belly shirts or oversized jeans come and go in the blink of an eye. Fast fashion often involves low wages for workers in poor conditions, while producing massive amounts of cheap clothing with subpar materials. This not only creates waste but also contributes to pollution from shipping products across the globe.
The low cost of production results in cheap prices for consumers. That five-pack of underwear for $25 may seem like a great deal, but after a few washes, it’s clear that these garments won’t last long. This cycle encourages overconsumption and perpetuates the fast fashion model.
The environmental cost is steep. Between 2000 and 2015, clothing production nearly doubled, and if these garments aren’t repurposed, they end up in landfills. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, discarded clothing is the largest textile waste contributor in municipal landfills. Furthermore, about 60% of fabric textiles are synthetic and made from fossil fuels, and fabric dyeing contributes to 20% of global wastewater. The fashion industry overall is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions, making it the second-largest industrial polluter, right after the oil industry.
Fortunately, sustainable fashion is on the rise, providing an alternative to these harmful practices.
What Constitutes Sustainable Underwear?
Sustainable underwear follows the same principles as sustainable fashion. It's the opposite of fast fashion: more durable, ethically made, and eco-conscious. Sometimes referred to as "slow fashion," sustainable underwear focuses on longevity, ethical sourcing, and minimal environmental impact.
Here are the key factors that make underwear sustainable:
Sustainable Materials
Sustainable underwear is made from eco-friendly materials that are responsibly sourced. This means the production process minimizes environmental harm and upholds ethical standards.
Organic Textiles
Certified organic fabrics, such as GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified cotton, are free from toxic pesticides and fertilizers. These materials have a much smaller environmental footprint, and many brands proudly display these certifications on their product labels.
Zero Waste
Traditional fast fashion often results in excess textile waste — fabric scraps that get tossed into landfills. Sustainable brands, however, go out of their way to minimize waste by repurposing leftover materials or using deadstock (unsold inventory).
No Polluting Chemicals and Dyes
Sustainable brands avoid using harmful dyes or chemicals that can pollute the environment. Eco-friendly dyes and low-impact printing methods are often used, with certifications to back them up.
Vegan Materials
Not all sustainable fashion is vegan, but many sustainable underwear brands prioritize cruelty-free fabrics. Vegan alternatives to silk, leather, and wool, such as vegan silk (often made from citrus fibers) and vegan wool, are used instead.
Fair Labor Practices
Ethical fashion brands prioritize the well-being of their workers. They ensure safe working conditions and fair wages, and many brands are transparent about their supply chains, often providing insight into the conditions at their production facilities.
By choosing sustainable underwear, you're not only taking a step toward better personal comfort but also supporting a more responsible and ethical industry. Whether it’s the materials, manufacturing processes, or the treatment of workers, sustainable underwear offers a way to care for both yourself and the planet.
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INTERFILIÈRE SHANGHAI is an international leading body fashion show that has been serving the China's market for 20 years. INTERFILIÈRE SHANGHAI 2024 offers you the cutting-edge perspective and resources for the global intimate apparel body fashion industry, helps all exhibitors enhance brand influence in both domestic and overseas markets, and accelerates all attendees’ business development as well as the intimate apparel body fashion industry continuously breaking through aesthetic accomplishments from garments, accessories to apparels, and gaining insight into the latest fashion lifestyle trends.
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