exposing the fashion industry: what true transparency & sustainability looks like

Do you really know all the industries involved in making your clothes? What about all the people impacted along the way? I break down the entire fashion supply chain and everything we should know as consumers to make truly ethical & sustainable choices. Timestamps/resources:

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It’s important to note that true sustainable and ethical fashion can’t exist under capitalism or in the free market. Companies will always exploit and choose profit over ethics and responsible production. More on this in a future video!

However, I think it’s still important to be aware of what a sustainable supply chain may look like. And I know for a fact it will be a model supporting small slow fashion brands that:

• use a diverse range of compostable fibres to support biodiversity
• have a fully traceable, hyper-localized and carbon neutral supply chain
• support artisans and preserve traditional craftsmanship
• partner with factories using closed loop processes and botanical dyes
• don’t need warehouses or retail (minimizes emissions & unnecessary packaging waste)

Also, as much as our individual impact matters as consumers, our votes also matter. We need governments to commit to clean/renewable energy and net zero emissions, because that forces companies to change across industries. We need better regulation to force compliance to a higher standard for emissions, waste, chemical-use, labour rights, and we need it across borders too. PLEASE VOTE!

*I'm Canadian but keeping up with US politics. Highly reco reading up on the Green New Deal: https://www.sunrisemovement.org/green...

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Intro
01:37 The full fashion supply chain (all the bad)
01:43 Fibre industry
02:20 Uighur cotton (forced labor camps)
03:25 Yarn industry
04:00 Textile industry
05:45 Garment industry
06:40 Trims
07:00 Distribution/warehouses
07:28 Retail
07:40 Consumers
07:53 Landfill
08:02 Emissions/waste of the entire supply chain
08:16 Environmental impact

09:08 A sustainable fashion supply chain
09:19 Individual/consumer impact matters
09:46 Responsible fibre
10:42 Traceable, ethical raw materials
11:28 Artisanal/traditional craft
12:20 Responsible textile production
14:02 Ethical labour
14:30 Traceable trims
14:55 Localized distribution
16:38 Retail (do we need it)
17:11 Conscious consumers
17:35 Thrifting
19:25 Minimizing waste
19:38 Recycling industry
20:33 Bio-based fibre is key

21:20 We need true transparency
22:14 Why don't they teach us this stuff?

OUTFIT DETAILS
Thrifted cardigan and jumpsuit!

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THOUGHTS

So much research went into this and I feel like I haven't even broken the surface. Education is so important for a sustainable future and I'm really wondering why we aren't taught this in schools. Or even, why can't I find a breakdown of the industry and supply chain like the one I made? Why aren't more people pushing for traceability, accountability and transparency?

We hold so much power as consumers so I hope this video can help us become more aware of what actually goes into fashion. The industry isn't as simple as it's made out to be. Fashion spans multiple industries, across almost every single border. And that makes it even more important for us to continue pushing for ethical labour (for all workers involved), and sustainable production processes at as many steps of the way as possible.

What are your thoughts? x


RESOURCES/FURTHER READING

Uighur crisis and forced labor cotton:   / cdjfdpujbp6  
Fashion's contribution to biodiversity loss:   / cfcdqwrbf9e  
River Blue documentary: http://riverbluethemovie.eco/
Fast fashion killing the world's rivers: https://www.ecowatch.com/fast-fashion...
Ethics of sandblasting denim: http://riverbluethemovie.eco/sandblas...
Responsible fibres: https://www.sustainyourstyle.org/en/f...
My blog post on this: https://inspiroue.com/blog/fashion-su...


#sustainablefashion #consciousconsumption