There’s nothing like getting on a plane with the excitement of going on a new adventure. But with travel comes the stress of baggage, especially those moments of panic when you don’t know if your bag will arrive at your final destination. And we all remember those photos of lost bags that went viral, which caused everyone to travel with carry-on bags, which is stressful on its own. What if I told you that you didn’t need to bring a bag anymore? What if you could rent the clothes you need for your vacation? And to top it all off, you’d be doing it for the good of the planet.
Japan Airlines is launching a pilot project to allow international travellers the option to rent sets of clothing. Their “Any Wear Anywhere” rental clothing service offers a range of clothing choices which start at less than $30 for two bottoms and three tops. Travellers can rent as many as eight outfits for up to two weeks. All rentals are delivered directly to where the visitor is staying.
The Any Wear Anywhere service is designed to reduce the weight of cargo carried on flights and reduce carbon emissions. Japan Airlines will keep track of the baggage weight reductions and corresponding carbon dioxide emissions reductions due to the clothing rental service and inform their customers.
The airline has already reported that for each kilogram of weight avoided from a flight from Tokyo to New York, the carbon emissions from the aircraft are reduced by 0.75 kilograms. As you can imagine, the more weight you put in an airplane, the more fuel you need to burn to keep it in the air. Which is why airlines have weight restrictions for your baggage.
The Any Wear Anywhere service helps to reduce clothing waste experienced in the fashion industry. All available rental clothing is recuperated from overstock of apparel or gently used clothing that might’ve ended up in the landfill. This helps to reduce the amount of clothing that is produced and discarded, which is a major contributor to environmental problems such as climate change and pollution.
The company offers a variety of clothing options, from casual to smart casual, depending on what you are travelling for. There is an option to rent seasonal clothing, depending on where you travel. This means you can always find the perfect outfit for your trip, regardless of the occasion or the weather.
Any Wear Anywhere also offers clothing sets in a variety of sizes. This is a great option for people travelling with limited luggage space. You can simply rent a set of clothes that are all coordinated, and you will be sure to look your best on your trip. For example, if you are travelling for a business trip, you could rent a set that includes a suit, dress shirt, tie, and pair of shoes. This would ensure that you are always dressed appropriately for meetings and events.
If you travel for a vacation, you could rent a set that includes shorts, t-shirts, and sandals. This would allow you to pack light and have everything you need for a relaxing trip.
The clothing sets offered by Any Wear Anywhere are all high-quality and stylish. They are also available in various sizes, so you can find the perfect fit for your body.
Japan Airlines believes that providing a travel experience with minimal luggage creates environmental value for travellers. Therefore, They can create an environment where travellers can use local options for all aspects of their clothing, food, and accommodation and make their trips more sustainable experience.
It’s an innovative way to reduce carbon emissions when travelling and the waste we’ve generated from the fashion industry. It’s also not an obvious solution but could impact encouraging sustainable travel. In one year, we will see what Japan Airlines passengers thought of the Any Wear Anywhere service and if it will influence other airlines to offer rental services.
Fast fashion is a sector of the fashion industry whereby business models rely on cheap, rapid and large-scale production of low-quality clothing. Today’s clothing is made of durable and cheap materials such as nylon or polyester. Approximately 60% of fast fashion items are produced with plastic-based fabrics. The microplastics in these garments leach into the waterways with each wash and dry. Half a million tons of these contaminants enter the ocean each year. The fashion industry is also the world’s second-largest water supply consumer. On top of it all, more than 85% of the textiles and clothing purchased will end up in landfill every year.
Modern Synthesis, a biotechnology company, has created a biomaterial made from bacterial fermentation that can be used to create a low-carbon alternative to traditional clothing fabrics. The material the bacteria produces is called nanocellulose, which the company takes from waste feedstocks, including fruit or other agricultural waste. The bacteria will grow on that sugar and naturally produce nanocellulose.
The nanocellulose fibers are very strong and so small that they create strong bonds when they stick to each other. The fibers are eight times stronger than steel and stiffer than Kevlar. With the nanocellulose, the company is creating a material similar to nylon, ripstop fabric (woven fabric made out of nylon) or a coated textile. The material is designed to feel dry and warm, resembling cellulose or paper.
The process of creating the fabric can be adjusted by using different types of thread, some of which can biodegrade, while other threads can be recycled similarly to other cellulose. The project started with the creation of a shoe. Still, thanks to the material’s versatility, the company thinks it can be a good alternative to traditional textiles as it can also be dyed and given different coatings.
They believe their nanocellulose fibers are a significantly more sustainable fabric alternative to cotton, which takes a lot of resources and energy to transform. This material creates significantly fewer emissions than traditional textiles as it only requires transforming waste sugar into usable material. While the material is not yet available for consumer use, the company offers research, development, and consultation services to help brands make better, more environmentally friendly material choices.
As the fashion industry looks for more sustainable ways to make garments, many companies are moving towards using biomaterials to create new textiles. We are now seeing leathers made from fruits and vegetables, sequins made from algae, and so much more. As fast fashion continues to be a problem, the efforts that companies like Modern Synthesis are taking will help the industry reduce its environmental impact while continuing to clothe the world.
For sports company PUMA, becoming a more sustainable company is a constant journey, which involves all parts of its business. This attitude is best expressed in the name of its sustainability strategy: “Forever Better.”
PUMA made sustainability an important part of its strategy when it introduced its first Code of Conduct in 1993. A lot has changed since then. Today, more than ever before, consumers and retailers expect companies to be a part of the solution to the world’s environmental challenges and ask for more sustainable product initiatives and ways to decouple consumption from carbon emissions.
PUMA knows that it cannot become more sustainable by only focusing on a few individual collections, but it has to make an impact at scale. To achieve this, PUMA has set goals across 10 target areas such as climate change, circularity and plastics, which it aims to meet by 2025.
As a member of the Fashion Charter for Climate Action, PUMA wants to reduce its CO2 emissions by what scientists say is necessary to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.
Here the company recently announced some important results. Between 2017 and 2021, PUMA reduced its own carbon emissions worldwide (from offices, stores and warehouses) by 88% by buying renewable energy or renewable energy certificates and by moving its car fleet to engines without tailpipe emissions. In Los Angeles, PUMA introduced its first electric trucks to shift goods from the port to its warehouse in Torrance, California.
Despite its strong growth between 2017 and 2021, PUMA also managed to reduce the carbon emissions coming from its supply chain. The company achieved this by helping its suppliers source more renewable energy and by using more sustainable, and therefore less carbon intensive, materials.
The use of such materials is crucial to make more sustainable choices at scale. In 2021, PUMA expanded the use of recycled polyester to 55% in its Apparel products, as part of its strategy to use 75% recycled polyester in its Apparel and Accessories by 2025. It is also on track to remove plastic shopping bags from all of its stores this year.
By 2025, PUMA aims to have more sustainable components in 90% of its footwear. This includes developing recycled options for leather, rubber and polyurethane. The first repurposed leather materials were already introduced in PUMA’s RE:Gen collection in 2021.
But sustainability is not only about the production of new items. With the RE:SUEDE and RE:JERSEY projects, PUMA has also started two crucial experiments to explore ways to take more responsibility for the afterlife of its products. With RE:SUEDE, PUMA made an experimental version of its classic SUEDE sneaker with special materials such as biodegradable TPE and chromium-free leather. The RE:SUEDEs were distributed to 500 volunteers in Germany, who wore them for six months before returning them to PUMA. The company will now establish with a recycling partner, whether the RE:SUEDE can biodegrade in a controlled industrial setting.
With RE:JERSEY, PUMA trialed a chemical recycling process to turn old polyester jerseys into new products. With this process, PUMA can filter out colors and other impurities to create a recycled polyester yarn with the same performance characteristics as virgin polyester. PUMA plans to scale up chemical recycling in the coming years.
In September 2022, PUMA hosted its first “Conference of the People.” At this event in London, PUMA invited industry peers, experts and NGOs to meet with representatives of Gen Z to discuss some of the fashion industry’s most pressing sustainability challenges such as waste, materials and climate change.
Because of all of these efforts, PUMA was named the most sustainable brand in the industry according to Business of Fashion, which ranked the 30 largest companies in the fashion business.
PUMA is proud of the progress it has made with regards to sustainability over the past decades. However, the company is also well aware that much remains to be done to become even more sustainable and to be “Forever Better.”
A new bill in the state of New York could require fashion brands to disclose social and climate impacts as well as order these global companies to work toward reducing their environmental impact.
The bill, if passed, requires major fashion retailers that make over $100 million in revenue globally and operate in New York “to disclose environmental and social due diligence policies [and] establishes a community benefit fund for the purpose of implementing one or more environmental benefit projects that directly and verifiably benefit environmental justice communities,” the bill states. That includes luxury brands, like Prada and Armani, alongside fast-fashion retailers, like Shein.
Under the proposed Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act, retailers that do not disclose environmental and social policies nor work toward environmental benefit projects would face penalties of up to 2% on revenues of $450 million or higher. All fines collected from companies violating the law would go into a fund used to support projects for environmental justice.
If the new law is passed, fashion brands would need to show at least 50% of their suppliers by volume, Bloomberg reported, as well as the type and materials used to make apparel and how much of the materials are recycled. The companies must also identify impacts based on their emissions, water consumption and chemical use.
The law would also hold companies accountable for reporting wages paid to suppliers, with analyses on how that pay compares to minimum wages and living wages. All of these disclosures would need to be listed on the brands’ websites. New York’s state attorney general would then create an annual report listing any brands that do not comply with the law, and citizens could then file civil suits against the retailers.
“As a global fashion and business capital of the world, New York State has a moral responsibility to serve as a leader in mitigating the environmental and social impact of the fashion industry,” said State Senator Alessandra Biaggi, co-sponsor of the bill. Biaggi also noted that the law would make the state a leader in holding the fashion industry accountable and that the law would prioritize “labor, human rights, and environmental protections.”
As reported by The World Bank, the fashion industry is responsible for about 10% of all annual emissions globally. Fashion consumption is only speeding up, too, and experts estimate that the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions will surge 50% before the end of the decade.
The law, first introduced in October 2021, is currently in committee..
Can sustainable and luxury fashion really go hand in hand?
When we think of the term ‘sustainable fashion’, words like cruelty-free, ethical, organic, and recycled spring to mind. The word ‘luxury’ however isn’t an idiom we tend to associate with the phrase ‘sustainable fashion’. Thankfully, spurred on by consumer demand and in part the pandemic, this is all set to change.
In fact, a whole host of luxe sustainable fashion brands are sashaying their way down Paris Fashion Weeks (albeit virtual) runways, making themselves known as champions for our planet’s dwindling resources, opting instead to use sustainable threads and manufacturing processes that have less of an impact on the world and the people in it.
This guide features everything you need to know about sustainable luxury fashion today, as well as the low-down on the latest luxury lines to embrace ethical fashion and the new eco-luxe labels who have seized sustainability from the start.
Even though Paris Fashion Week has been a quieter, more virtual, affair this year, the sustainable message has been at its heart. Photo by Dimitri Kuliuk from Pexels
Can High-end Fashion truly be sustainable?
There are many ways in which the fashion industry impacts the environment. From fabric sourcing to manufacturing, to distributing, sales, and dealing with returns. Sustainable fashion brands must ensure their design journey is one that avoids exploiting the planet and the people in it.
Despite what many think, with the right motivation from designers, sustainability and high-end can go hand in hand. Top luxe brands, including the famed Stella McCartney and Vivienne Westwood, are just a handful of the high-fashion houses producing ethical clothing ranges today – creating trends that not only complement our wardrobes, but our planet too – focusing on embracing quality working standards, organic materials or the latest sustainable fibre inventions.
This isn’t purely down to a luxury brands’ good nature, of course. A greater percentage of high-end shoppers are beginning to ask questions about the sustainability and ethics behind their favourite labels. If they are paying a premium, they want to know brands are also paying the appropriate premium to the people and planet they profit from.
A greater number of shoppers are starting to ask questions about sustainability and ethics when shopping. Photo by Heidi Fin on Unsplash
Joining the dots between luxury and sustainability
If, like many, you’re failing to join the dots between a high-end brand and it’s sustainability credentials, you’re not alone. Research shows that more and more of us are willing to pay a premium for sustainable clothing, but many of us don’t know what the word sustainability now entails.
There is so much noise in the industry now, such as false sustainability claims and contradictory data on a brands eco-credentials that it can be overwhelming. Many consumers who try to do their research end up with analysis paralysis. Even Stella McCartney said recently in her latest Spring presentation that she ‘Barely knows what sustainability means anymore’. So it’s not just consumers that are getting confused!
“I barely know what sustainability means anymore” – Stella McCartney
However, whether you’re a luxury shopper embarking on a greener journey, or a seasoned sustainability pro entering the luxury market, we can all do our part to ensure this segment of the fashion industry leads the way in the fashion revolution.
Be it learning more about the latest initiatives or lobbying our favourite eco-luxe designers to embrace their ‘green game’ in the most effective manner. As consumers, we hold the power.
Consumers hold the power to influence the fashion industry through their purchases. Photo by kyonntra on Getty Images Signature (Canva)
Sustainability Issues Facing Luxury Brands Today
High-end fashion brands are now, more than ever, facing a plethora of challenges. External stakeholders in the industry have expanded their attention from fast fashion to include designer brands. Challenging them to address sustainability issues through experience, innovation and collaboration.
Because of this, more and more of the big-name brand designers are getting on the sustainability train, fashioning garments that promise to outlive the fast-fashion pieces in our current wardrobes. The top improvements in luxury sustainable fashion brands is either through an amalgamation of innovative textile inventions, progressive production techniques or taking it back to the roots of traditional slow fashion production.
However, ensuring the wellbeing of customers, employees, and supply chain communities isn’t an easy feat, especially amidst a pandemic. The pressures to seem like a sustainable brand can lead to claims that are not 100 percent honest.
With high-end fashion comes power and money, and some brands will use their ample resources on campaigns to make them appear philanthropic and eco-friendly, while often cutting corners. This is when knowing what to look for is key to a sustainable investment.
Greenwashing
Put simply, greenwashing is a method used by many luxe brands to convey misleading information about how their products are manufactured and distributed. In a nutshell, companies using this method are making you believe that they are doing more to safeguard our planet than they are.
With a huge amount of greenwashing going on, it can be almost impossible to know which ethical clothing brands are 100 percent ‘ethical’, and which high-quality labels are putting what they preach into practice.
From clothing that features eye-catching labels to clever wording that suggests the threads you are about to buy are ethically sourced – words like clean, earth-loving, quality, happy, and green are being used to trick consumers into thinking they’re doing their bit for the planet.
Misconceptions of luxury vs sustainable fashion
When it comes to high-end clothing, many shoppers are under the misconception that the higher the price, the more ethical the attire. This is far from the truth. In most cases, you are paying for the label and not the quality or quantity of the fabric.
Other factors used by powerful labels to delude buyers into thinking they are sustainable is the introduction of small sustainable ranges to make them look like they are doing their bit for the environment.
Similarly, using recycled bags or packaging is a great sustainable incentive, but of little use, if the garments being housed in this packaging are made from a poly fibre or other non-degradable material.
Many ethically-created sustainable luxury fashion brands believe one of the biggest issues preventing their growth is this sustainable smoke-screen that large powerful labels create. This leads to a lack of understanding among consumers or an unwillingness to pay more for sustainable brands if a high-street brand is selling at a lower price and also (wrongfully) claiming sustainability credentials.
However, even though the majority of eco-labels’ price margins are slightly higher, these products are likely to last a lot longer, meaning you’ll spend less in the long run on replacement garments.
Before we go into our list, it’s important to remember that the most sustainable option is to not buy anything at all! If you are in need of a new purchase however, here is some advice on keeping your carbon footprint down when buying fashion.
How do I reduce my carbon footprint through buying fashion?
So, what can we do to lower our carbon footprint? Even if you’re already shopping for ethical and sustainable labels, there are several other things you can do to lower your footprint.
These include:
Supporting ‘circular’ or zero-waste labels
Investing in labels who support social and environmental organisations
Opt for in-store pick-up options if locally based and opt-out of speedy shipping
Prolong your favourite purchases by following aftercare guides, hand washing clothes and using eco-detergents
Pick clothing created from high-quality materials like organic cotton or community silk, which cause less harm to the planet
Try to reduce your clothing consumption in general by making your clothes last longer through repair and/or upcycling
So now to the list! One more quick point, if you find the majority of luxury brands on this list a little over your price limit, don’t worry, be sure to check out our article on how to shop ethically on a budget.
Top Luxury Sustainable Fashion Brands
From low luxe to high-end, many companies are doing their bit for the environment, incorporating innovation into their manufacturing and distribution methods to embrace brand sustainability in the fashion industry.
Thanks to these sustainable luxury fashion brands, who have taken it upon themselves to tackle flaws within the industry’s manufacturing methods, it’s easier than ever to keep sustainability firmly on our radars and invest in designer, conscious attire. Change starts at the top, and these guys are definitely at the top of their games!
As well as manufacturing clothing and products that are kind to the environment and sustainably sourced, a number of these green brands also support environmental organisations and fair trade working conditions.
By investing in these eco-luxe labels, you too are doing your bit to support the environment, ensuring we’re on the right track to embracing a more sustainable fashion industry in the future.
When it comes to sustainability, this is a designer label that won’t compromise on quality, constantly pushing boundaries and embracing new technologies to create an on-trend brand that is as stylish as it is sustainable.
In 2014, Stella McCartney launched Clevercare, an easy-to-understand, five-step labelling method, helping to educate consumers on clothing care and how to prolong the life of their favourite pieces. The result? A lot less waste, and probably the reason many fashionistas own at least one vintage Stella McCartney item.
To ensure the brand is always ahead of the game, regular audits are conducted to measure environmental impact.
In addition, the McCartney label is a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative, which ensures the careful selection of ethical-renowned suppliers, as well as collaborations with several environmental conservation organisations and NGOs, including Parley for the Oceans and Wildlife Works.
2. The Social Outfit
Eco-Luxury Values | Social responsibility, community engagement, waste reduction
Sustainable Materials | Repurposed and reused fabrics, donated deadstock
Australian-based brand, The Social Outfit, are a social enterprise and charity with an amazing mission. The label provides employment and training to refugees and migrant communities in all aspects of the fashion world, from clothing production to marketing. In many cases, working at The Social Outfit will be their first paid job and the first step of integrating into the Aussie way of life.
They also take their sustainability seriously. With a focus on waste reduction, they have saved tonnes of waste from landfill, through their goal to repurpose and reuse fabrics destined for the skip. So far they have partnered with over 28 Australian brands in this mission, including Alice McCall and Bec & Bridge!
3. Vivienne Westwood
Eco-Luxury Values | Environmental and human rights campaigns, cutting-edge sustainable technologies
Practising exactly what she preaches, Vivienne Westwood’s legendary label is setting an example to fashionistas across the globe by slowly transforming her brand into a sustainable masterpiece. How? Through adopting recycled and eco-friendly fabrics and using the label’s voice to educate people on Human Rights and Climate Change.
Her latest initiative is one that embraces modern-day sustainability, using collaborations and catwalk events as platforms to create awareness, encouraging ethical fashion fans to protect Mother Earth. The campaign focuses on three areas; Quality V Quantity, Gaia and Arts & Culture.
Eileen Fisher has been creating elegant and ethical womenswear since 1984. She designs luxury sustainable pieces with a focus on minimalism and inclusivity, that flies in the face of constantly changing fashion trends.
Always leading from the front, her company started their first recycling programme back in 2009, taking back old purchases to repair, clean and sell at discounted prices. Now a Certified B Corp corporation, the brand has a strong focus on supporting women, the fair treatment of workers and creating a circular fashion economy that reuses and replenishes the resources involved.
5. Rare & Fair
Eco-Luxury Values | Sustainable natural fibres, social responsibility, community engagement, transparent supply chain
This boutique slow fashion brand focuses on the promotion of handmade clothes and accessories, created by artisans using sustainable, raw materials. Their aim? To embrace the ethical treatment of workers, use planet-friendly materials and reduce waste.
Their hand-loomed, natural clothing and products come straight from the hands of the artisans, then directly to you. Opting for this method allows Rare & Fair to fully back artisan communities and handloom weavers.
The styles, despite embracing traditional methods, boast modern designs, allowing customers to look and feel great, knowing that they’ve done their bit towards supporting these ancient production techniques.
6. Reformation
Eco-Luxury Values | Local production, carbon neutral, waste reduction
Sustainable Materials | Repurposed clothing, upcycled fabrics and salvaged deadstock
LA based contemporary fashion label, Reformation, was doing sustainable before sustainable was…well, fashionable! All of their production stages, from design to shipping and everything in between, takes place at their innovative eco-facility in downtown Los Angeles.
Each collection is made using salvaged deadstock, offcuts, upcycled fabrics, repurposed vintage clothing or new sustainable materials. Their gorgeous new leisurewear, Ref Active, is produced using recycled plastic bottles.
It’s always been a problem finding sustainable office wear, especially that also ticks the comfort box as well. Dai’s creator, ex investment banker Joanna Dai, was so unimpressed with her workwear that she decided to create her own. Setting out on collections that delivered performance, versatility and function but which she was as comfortable to wear as her yoga pants!
The brand is also big on the sustainability front. 88% of their textiles are eco-certified and their Eco Luxe Essentials range is made from trees certified sustainably managed forests, meaning biodegradable and compostable. On top of that, they pay all of their staff above the London Living Wage.
8. Acne Studios
Eco-Luxury Values | Sustainability targets and reporting, External monitoring of labour conditions
Celebrated for their contemporary, uber-cool style, Acne Studios increased their collection in 2020 with the addition of a sustainable line titled ‘Repurposed’. Using a series of discarded offcuts and recycled fabrics, which otherwise would have gone to waste, the Swedish brand has created a variety of capsule lines, which have since been launched quarterly.
Acne Studios have been a member of the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) since 2008, who supports the brand to monitor and improve labour conditions, including an external and independent ‘Brand Performance Check’. This means the brand is open to their faults and constantly trying to improve year on year, all of which can be found in their annual sustainability report.
Sustainable Materials | Recycled and repurposed demin, cotton and upcycled mixed fabrics
Re/Done, another guilt-free, sustainable brand, offers on-trend pieces made from recycled materials. They first hit the scene in 2014, and have been renowned for upscaling worn Levis into bespoke, contemporary styles ever since.
The eco-conscious brand is extremely focused when it comes to adopting the latest tech to create the best sustainable fashion results. Since its launch, their offering has grown in a big way. On top of their celebrated jeans, they now design high-quality t-shirt styles, sweats and dresses, as well as a select few suits.
Often seen hanging off celebs, this cult sustainable brand is a must buy if you’re looking for a guilt-free, chilled vibe with affordable price points.
Maggie Marilyn is a New Zealand based designer who creates glamorous luxury designs using organic cottons and ethically produced silks. All manufacturing is done in her home country of New Zealand. She is on a mission to transform the fashion industry to one that is “transparent, circular, regenerative and inclusive”.
What we love about this brand is that they don’t just talk the talk. They produce their own sustainability strategy in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as well as a suppliers code of conduct. This isn’t a box ticking exercise for the brand, with regular updates on the performance of their strategies and new targets set annually.
Hopefully you’ve managed to find your next perfect ethically-made luxury item within this list. It would be great to hear from you what is your favourite eco-luxe label or the latest sustainable initiatives from your favourite brand. Comment below!
By Maxime Ducker (Founder and Chief Editor, Our Good Brands)
