ethical and organic clothing
Many brands promote themselves to be ethical nowadays. But what does this entail and does ethical mean that the clothing is organic and fairtrade as well?
In this article will we be illuminating these questions and more for you to have a transparent and knowledgable shopper experience.
So first what does ethical clothing mean?
The term Ethical Clothing is quite new and only emerged in 2002 where a paper explored the question of how can fashion designers be more ethical, using a broad definition of what constitutes ethical behavior.*
Since then has the term ethical clothing become more popular and more ethical clothing brands are emerging.
Ethical clothing means that the focus of the production of the clothing is put on the well being of the people that are involved, usually working with smaller businesses, families or local communities to support their growth.
Ethical clothing companies may as well be involved with charities and maybe animal cruelty-free/ vegan.
Therefore, ethical is more focused on human rights, rather than on the fabrics being made sustainable and organic.
It is possible that ethical clothing companies as well work with organic fabrics and maybe focusing on using fabrics that create less damage to the environment, but it is not a must in the field of ethical clothing.
What does Sustainable/Organic Clothing mean?
Sustainable clothing focuses on environmentally friendly fabric. Sustainable means that the fabric can be upcycled from old materials, that the fabric is organic (see below for further description) or that fabric leftovers are used which would be thrown away otherwise.
Second-hand clothing could as well be considered sustainable because these do not affect the supply chain anymore as it is reused clothing.
Organic clothing means that the fabric is made without pesticides and chemicals and is therefore eco-friendly and as well friendlier to the skin which could absorb the chemicals from non-organic materials.
For an organic fabric to be certified as organic it does take many standards. For example, the soils around the organic corps have to be pesticide-free and the process of getting the certification is quite costly. Therefore it can be difficult for small farmers to get a certification for their organic textiles and they rely on the trust of their customers.
Sustainable clothing may as well entail the care for ethics and positive social effects.
At nomadica do we believe that if someone who works in the field of ethical or sustainable clothing out of love for a better earth would naturally bring both aspects into their production process.
We at nomadica use mainly certified organic fabrics and some uncertified organic fabrics that come from a trusted supplier. We work with a small production company in India run by a woman, therefore do we incorporate the ethical aspect too. Our dye is not 100% plant-based, yet do we work with chemical-free dye which is eco-friendlier.
Our vision is to be able to create a charity project in the future to support orphans and to continue to create beautiful organic and ethical garments and find further sources where textiles are made locally and with plant dyes.
We feel grateful and inspired by every other ethical & sustainable fashion company that creates garments from a heart-based space and hope that more of these gems will emerge as the planet as a whole is waking up to the importance of sustainable living.
Thank you to all the beings that support nomadica & the movement of ethical & sustainable clothing for a green planet.
