Q & A - Sustainability

“My dream is to launch my own womenswear brand, but at each step of the planning, I become overwhelmed by how to address Sustainability. There are so many issues and many seem to contradict each other! Organic vs. Fair-trade vs. Recycled…..where do I begin?”

I understand why you are overwhelmed! There are many issues around the ecological and ethical production of fashion product and it’s often unrealistic for small brands to address everything. The key is to think about your values and how sustainability fits into both your brand and the qualities of the product you want to deliver to your customer. 

A great place to start is with the UN Sustainability Goals (SDGs). These 17 integrated goals balance social, economic and environmental sustainability with topics ranging from climate change and poverty to sustainable consumption and clean water. Begin by researching the issues and choose a few of the goals which resonate the most for you. Then you can develop a Sustainability Statement for your brand to outline the specific practices you will commit to throughout your business to address those goals. Because small businesses work closely with their suppliers, producers and customers, they can have considerable impact and lead the way by weaving sustainable practices throughout their product cycle.