What is your definition of ‘sustainability’?

“We are a sustainable brand”;

“Our company is committed to building a sustainable world, and we have branded our goals as NetZero2030”;

“It is not the decade of sustainable education, it is THE decade of sustainable action“.

Sounds so promising, wouldn’t you agree? But the citizens of today should pause before being influenced by this greenwashing.  Every individual should explore their personal definition of sustainability and reassess against the brands and companies they have gifted their invaluable loyalty to.

A few years ago, a spokesperson of a retail brand shared the success story of their ‘new sustainable collection – a limited edition’ at an industry event.  While I do applaud the forward step, what I quickly learnt was that this brand did not change its raw materials and continued to use virgin synthetics in their product lines.  This brand did not switch to eco-friendly practices in production or logistics.  This brand did not commit to recycling of their used products.

Then HOW, one might ask, are they sustainable? This brand began to pay fair wages to their overseas farmers and manufacturers. Specifically, to those who made the products that were sold in their limited collection alone. They also conducted a periodic education session for these farmers on innovative farming practices. To them, their goals for the decade were met! Their reports and advertising proudly captured images of smiling farmers! 

And what better way to embark on this success than by placing pretty pictures of our blue planet on tags with the words “SUSTAINABLY MADE” stamped on their products that were then sold at a sizable premium!

Smug customers paid the premium because they believe they have done right for the environment and could announce so on their social media! But one must ask if the product is not entirely responsible, the production is not environmentally conscious, then as a society has our benchmark come so low that we are now rewarding companies for what should be a basic expectation of any business?

We should not diminish the steps taken by this brand.  The sad reality is that paying unfair wages to international contributors in the value chain is far more pervasive than any player would willingly admit. However, the buzzword “sustainability” is so often used, but so inconsistently applied and loosely adopted by the various players –  jarringly more so in the textile industry. Companies “pick and choose” the low hanging fruit that offer quick PR gains.

Therefore buyers, customers, individuals and families should define what area of sustainability is at the core of their identity. Maybe it’s lowering environmental cost, maybe it’s social and economic wellness of its contributors, maybe it’s a ‘clean and green’ product make up or maybe it’s currently not even defined.

Your conscious definition paired with informed purchasing may drastically raise the standards we expect from the brands we buy. Use your buying power wisely!

From the creators of Mud Patch. Learn more at www.mud-patch.com