Crash Course Fashion

In today's episode, we delve into Triarchy's journey as a sustainable denim brand, exploring its commitment to ethical practices and environmental integrity, the partnerships involved in scaling sustainably, and the challenges of what it takes to walk a different path.

In today's fast-paced world, sustainability is not just a buzzword, but a business imperative. More than ever, companies are being tasked with balancing profitability with responsibility while also considering the environmental, social, and economic impacts of their decisions. But as many of us have seen, it's all too easy for sustainability initiatives to become siloed and disjointed from a company's overall strategy. So, how can brands effectively integrate sustainability into their business operations in a way that's good for the planet, drives growth, and satisfies consumer demand?

In this episode of the Crash Course Fashion Podcast, we're joined by Chris Fox, Chief Sustainability Officer at HanesBrands, who shares insights from his 25-year career on integrating sustainability into the core of business operations. We delve into how HanesBrands aligns environmental responsibility with profitability, exploring the challenges and complexities of implementing global sustainability initiatives. Chris offers an inside look into how HanesBrands meets evolving consumer expectations while prioritizing transparency, authenticity, and data-driven strategies to avoid the pitfalls of greenwashing. We also discuss the company's future sustainability goals, including technical innovations and its evolving role in shaping the industry's sustainability landscape. This episode is a deep dive into the realities of corporate sustainability, offering practical examples and valuable lessons on flexibility, learning, and adaptation for long-term success.

A large portion of a garment's environmental footprint is determined at the raw material level, so for many designers and brands, the easiest first step on their sustainability journey is to begin by replacing existing materials with sustainable alternatives. However, sustainable material sourcing is no easy task.

Whether plant-based, animal-based or synthetic manmade fiber, every material choice comes with trade-offs. The extraction, processing, and manufacturing of materials is inherently accompanied by challenges that can have short-term and long-term implications on people and the planet.

Whether a fiber is better or worse depends on the numerous factors influencing the life cycle of fabric – from the cultivation of the crop through to processing, assembly, transportation, use, and the subsequent disposal of the garment by the consumer. Adding another layer of complexity, just like "sustainability" can mean many different things depending on personal ethos, the same can be said for determining sustainable materials. A sustainable material could refer to it containing no animal byproducts, or it can mean no plastic (not even recycled). It could be defined as less water use, fewer carbon emissions, or fewer chemicals.

How should brands approach material sustainability with so many contradicting and differing perspectives? What makes a sustainable material? What questions should brands ask when determining what materials to use? How should data be used to compare and contrast materials? What is the role of third-party ranking systems and certifications?

During the 2022 Sustainable Fashion Forum, Dr. Amanda Parkes, Chief Innovation Officer at PANGAIA, Diana Rosenberg, Sr. Manager, Product Sustainability at GAP Inc, Adam Taubenfligel, Creative Director at Triarchy Denim, and Tara St James, Founder of Re:Source(d) and Vice President of Supply Chain and Sustainability at Another Tomorrow, hit the SFF digital mainstage for an industry roundtable moderated by Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal's Sourcing and Labor Editor, exploring the nuances layers of material sustainability. 

At the root of fashion’s most pressing problems like climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution sits overproduction and overconsumption. Each year, an estimated 100 billion garments are purchased, and 92 million tonnes are thrown out. The truth is, we’re making and buying more than the earth can sustain. Motivated by the threat of limited resources and a growing concern among consumers about the environmental impact of their purchases, brands are looking to circular fashion as a solution to fashion’s most pressing problems.

If fashion could achieve a closed-loop system, nothing would ever go to the landfill. Clothes would just be endlessly looped through textile and garment factories, stores, your closet, secondhand retailers, textile recyclers, and then back to textile factories again. The problem, however, is that we currently can’t do that.

According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, less than 1% of the fiber used to produce clothing is recycled to make new clothing. Garments that are recycled are mainly downcycled (recycling something so that the resulting product is of a lower value than the original item) into items like insulation, mattress stuffing, and industrial wipes, which surprise, surprise, ultimately ends up in the landfill. Recycled clothing typically comes from plastic water bottles, not old textiles.

In this episode of the Crash Course Fashion podcast, SFF founder Brittany Sierra chats with industry vet and For Days founder Kristy Caylor about the root of overproduction, whether durability or recyclability is more important when designing for circular systems and, why understanding the psychology of human behavior is key to customer participation in the circular economy, how For Days engages its customer in the conversation without greenwashing. And, true to the name, Kristy also shares crash course lessons on how to connect and effectively market to Gen Z in a way that aligns with your values, communicates your message, and speaks to the digitally-savvy consumer group.

As consumers increasingly want to align their spending with their values, brands are responding by making sustainability commitments, setting climate goals, and vowing to minimize their environmental impact. However, as interest in sustainability has increased, so has greenwashing.

Diluted by vague claims and untraceable statistics, greenwashing is unknowingly spread in media by journalists who lack the training to spot greenwashing when it finds its way onto their desk.

In this episode of the Crash Course Fashion podcast, Marie Claire style director Julia Gall explains how media can become a positive force in fashion through greater education of fashion’s supply chain.