What is fashion sustainability

and

how do we at Outplay

play our part?

It's no secret the fashion industry is one of the worlds biggest polluters. The fashion industry accounts for about 10% of global carbon emissions, and nearly 20% of wastewater.

The industry is changing though. Some might say not fast enough and others see a light at the end of the tunnel as change is happening. And it's happening at every level. Those who don't change will be left behind as the consumer is more educated everyday and cares more about where their clothes came from, who made it, and what it's made of.

Fashion sustainability is a growing movement in the fashion industry. It's a process of fostering real change in the fashion industry all around. Moving the fashion industry towards greater ecological integrity and social concern. And a great deal of innovation is going into crafting lower-impact fabrics.

So what makes a fashion brand a sustainable brand? Making sustainable clothing means the brand is contributing to the well-being of planet Earth by producing garments that are made from environmentally-friendly materials as well as minimizing waste (materials and water) throughout the entire process.

Making sure those in the produce each garment are paid fair living wages, forced child labor isn't being used, and everyone works in safe and clean environments. It also includes minimal exposure to chemicals that can harm workers as well as the end consumer later wearing the garment. How do we do that and still deliver a great quality product? Technology, and a lot of integrity and heart.

Wearing a garment for just nine months longer could diminish its environmental impacts by 20–30%.

Sustainable fashion isn't easy or inexpensive to produce. But knowing no one or nothing was hurt, forced, or destroyed in the making of the quality garment you can wear for a very long time is so much more valuable. Wearing something that was made by a child forced to work under horrific conditions, will last only a couple of washes, and later end up in a mountain of garbage somewhere for decades is the sad alternative. There are small changes you can make today. Think about investing in higher-quality clothing. Wear them more often and hold onto them for longer. This is the not-so-secret weapon for combatting the carbon footprint from your garments. Wearing a garment for just nine months longer could diminish its environmental impacts by 20–30%.

At Outplay we keep all of this very present with the design and production of each and every product we offer. We only work with the best factories and we visit them often. It's important to us we get to know the people making each and every one of our products. Our packaging is made out of recycled/recyclable plastics, or environmentally friendly fabrics and we highly encourage you to reuse them as much as possible before throwing them out or putting them in recycling bins. We work with amazing people who are constantly looking for ways to incorporate greener and more sustainable materials into our production. Our fabrics are digitally printed in order to avoid water waste and made with environmentally friendly textiles.

There is still so much to do in the fashion industry. So many more steps to take but we're in it for the long haul. For example, switching to recycled polyester fabric can help to reduce the carbon emissions. Recycled polyester releases half to a quarter of the emissions of virgin polyester. As we find more and better ways to create and make great quality clothing that is good for you and won't harm our planet, we'll bring them to you. And of course, we'll let you know what we've done to make it a bit better than before.