How to Make your Fashion Brand more Sustainable

Sustainability isn’t a trend—it’s a necessity! But what does that entail for fashion brands? 

In this blog, I will give you a few actionable steps you can take to make your business more sustainable. I will also refer to GANNI because - yes, I am a fan and - I do think their approach to sustainability can benefit many brands.

I like how real they are, ultimately their goal is not to be recognised as a 100% sustainable fashion brand but to be a brand that makes "shit-hot products" more responsibly and inspire others to follow along because "we are all frogs in a pot of boiling water" - The GANNI Playbook.

1. Start with Design

“80% of a product’s environmental impact is influenced by decisions made at the design stage” - Ellen McArthur Foundation.

This percentage shows that every brand should think of ways of reducing their products’s lifecycle emissions from the collection ideation phase feeding into designing:

• Be Selective with Trends: Focus on macro trends with longer lifecycle and avoid fast-fashion trends that fade quickly.

• Optimize Fabric Usage: Create patterns that minimize waste and explore zero-waste techniques.

• Use Digital Tools: Use 3D software for prototyping to reduce the need for multiple physical samples.

GANNI takes it up a notch as they adopt a circular mentality; “we think about the product in its design phase and how we can design our clothes to be durable, repairable and recyclable within the current recycling infrastructure".

This is what you can take from this: 

• Design for Durability: Design high quality core pieces that balance style and wearability, encouraging customers to wear them for years - like GANNI' iconic wrap dress that has become a signature item.

• Plan for Repairability: Ensure designs allow for easy repairs - design garments with replaceable features, such as buttons, zippers, or straps, that can be easily swapped out if damaged.

• Consider End-of-Life: Use materials and construction methods that make recycling easier - you can create garments made of mono-materials or easily detachable parts.

In 2023, GANNI tested the recyclability of their organic cotton t-shirts by switching to 100% water-based dyestuff for screen prints, ensuring that the printed areas could be fully recycled into new cotton fibers.

2. Source Sustainably

What type of materials you use for your designs matters as much as how and where you source them.

In fact, materials considered sustainable - like hemp, for example - do not automatically mean that they are created following a process that does not involve child labor or that they are made without harmful pesticides. The same way that flying in sustainable fabrics from 5 different countries might not be the most eco-friendly thing to do.

So here is what you can do to counteract these issues:  

• Choose Certified Fabrics: certifications ensure environmental, ethical and quality standard - if you are going to use organic cotton, make sure it's GOTS-certified.

• Prioritise Sourcing Locally or in Close by Countries: Reducing the distance materials travel cuts down on your carbon footprint.

• Choose Ethical Suppliers: Work with manufacturers that prioritise fair labor practices and environmental responsibility. 

• Opt for Lower Impact Shipping*: Choose sea freight over air shipping and optimise your shipments to reduce the frequency and size of deliveries.

*This is valid throughout the whole product development and production stage.

GANNI categorises fabrics into "Preferred, Better, and Avoid" to guide material decisions, aiming for 90% of their materials to fall under the "Preferred" category by 2025.

In 2019, they launched 'Fabrics of the Future' to explore innovative alternatives, with a goal for 10% of their materials to come from these innovations that “will change the industry as we know it today."

This is what you can take from this:

• Use ‘Preferred’ Materials: choose fabrics with lower carbon footprints and certifications, like organic cotton (GOTS certified), Tencel™ (FSC certified), or recycled polyester (GRS certified).

• Explore Innovative and Next-gen Options: Investigate new sustainable materials emerging in the industry.

• Set Material Goals: Establish clear targets for incorporating sustainable materials into your products. The change does not have to be drastic, you can start by swapping one fabric in your collection for a more sustainable option and keep doing that consistently.

3. Embrace Circularity

Think further than the sale - what will happen to the garments once your customers are done wearing them?

a. Extend Garment's Life

GANNI is striving to achieve "5% of their revenue from circular business models by 2025" through initiatives like:

• Resale: peer-to-peer marketplace and in-store second-hand rails where customers can trade in past purchases for GANNI gift cards.

• Rental: via their platform repeat.ganni.com and partnerships with rental services.

• Repairs: customisation pop-ups and an online tailoring service.

These operations are great for garment reuse, reducing waste, and extending product lifecycles.

On top of that, offering repair services is also a good way to build customers' loyalty while saving money by avoiding refunds or sending replacement.

b. Manage Garment's End of Life

You can offer Take-Back Programs which will motivate customers to return old items for recycling, upcycling, or repurpose into new products. However, as good as this solution sounds, it isn't an easy task! They are processes that require significant energy, infrastructure, and resources.

Which is why GANNI is "reliant on innovations and external partnerships" to make this work. They set a goal to develop localised sorting and recycling partnerships in EU, US and China. They are partnering with companies like SOEX to downcycle unsold inventory and experimenting with fiber-to-fiber recycling technologies to ensure that old GANNI products can be recycled into new products without losing quality or value.

4. Re-think your Packaging

Your packaging is your customers' first interaction with your brand and often the most visible indicator of your sustainability efforts.

It’s also one of the quickest and easiest areas to improve when adopting more sustainable practices:

• Go Plastic-Free: Use compostable mailers, recycled paper, or reusable bags.

• Keep It Minimal: Reduce excess packaging and unnecessary fillers.

• Include Care Instructions: Encourage your customers to extend the life of their garments with proper care.

• Optional: Include carbon or sustainability impact labels on your products, even if it's a small step like highlighting lower-impact materials.

In 2023, GANNI achieved a 20% reduction in emissions compared to the previous year, and a 7% decrease relative to their 2021 baseline. This progress is attributed to various factors, including the adoption of recycled materials in their packaging.

5. Improve your Social Impact

Behind every garment are real people. Making a social impact in your brand is about valuing those people, supporting their communities, and creating something meaningful with them. In this context, you should at the very least work with certified factories by WRAP or SA8000.

• Commit to Ethical Practices: Partner with suppliers who pay fair wages and ensure safe working conditions - which can be guaranteed by the Fairtrade certification.

• Support Local and Marginalized Communities: Collaborate with local artisans or underrepresented groups to create unique products while providing economic opportunities.

• Focus on Worker Well-Being: Make sure workers in your supply chain have safe working environments, access to proper tools, and benefits where possible.

For example, 'People Tree' provide training programs to their artisans, including technical skills to improve product quality.

• Give Back to Communities: Donate a portion of your profits to causes aligned with your brand's values or create initiatives that directly benefit the communities you work with.

GANNI's 2023 Responsibility Report showcases their dedication to social impact, for example:

• They’ve implemented living wage premiums with suppliers in India and Turkey, increasing the proportion of workers earning at or above the living wage from 19% to 73%.

• By collaborating with the Fair Wear Foundation, they ensure ethical practices in their supply chain.

• They promote gender equality and inclusion through workplace policies supporting diversity and underrepresented groups.

6. Reduce Waste in Production

Production can be very wasteful, but there are a few things you can do to minimise waste:

• Repurpose Fabric Scraps: Use leftover fabric for accessories, linings, packaging or even garments.

In 2023, a significant portion of GANNI' conventional cotton was "sourced from recuts, leftover fabrics from their factories that were repurposed to recreate existing styles with equal value".

• Produce On-Demand: Only manufacture what you need to prevent overproduction and dead stock.

• Work with Efficient Manufacturers: Collaborate with factories that use energy-efficient equipment or renewable energy sources.

GANNI has transitioned from carbon offsetting to carbon insetting, focusing on reducing emissions directly within their supply chain. In 2022, they initiated pilot projects with Portuguese suppliers, including the installation of solar panels at Ramil's facility, aiming to achieve a 50% absolute reduction in carbon emissions by 2027.

These insetting initiatives not only lower GANNI's carbon footprint but also empower their suppliers with sustainable operational methods, contributing to wider industry benefits.

7. Educate Your Audience

A 2022 survey from Statista found that over 70% of consumers expressed concern about sustainability when making fashion purchases. This shows that people want to support sustainable brands, but we know that the numbers are not as high when it comes to people actually buying from sustainable brands.

There are multiple reasons for this, including price and accessibility but that's not all! Many consumers lack the understanding of what "sustainable" truly means - we can also thank the greenwashing for that - so they need guidance from brands themselves:

• Be Transparent: Share your sustainability story and your process through newsletters, blogs, and social media.

Each year, GANNI publishes Reponsibility Reports on their website where they provide detailed information about their materials, goals, and progress.

• Sustainability Ratings: Provide easy-to-understand scores or badges for each product based on its environmental and ethical impact.

Some time ago, I participated in a workshop by the 'Green Donut' and one of the exercise consisted in placing socio-environmental stickers within the supply chain areas we thought were impacted. And oh boy! this was pretty distressing but also very enlightening.

• Customer Engagement: Host events, workshops, or online sessions to teach customers about topics like fabric care, circularity or the true cost of fast fashion.

• Inspire with Impact: Share the positive environmental impact of their purchases to encourage loyalty.

Educating your customers is great for trust building which ultimately will facilitate purchases but this is not always 100% guaranteed. For a lot of customers, you will need that cherry on the cake that we call "perceived value".

Most sustainable brands are often too focused on the negative aspect of fashion or talking about subjects that, for most consumers, are difficult to relate to.

But 'People Tree' is built different!

What is interesting here is that the messaging is about the durability of the product justifying why these linen products are a better choice: no damage done on the planet, properties that are beneficial to the consumer, gets better with time, can be loved forever.

It speaks directly to your customers in a language they understand; they now see it as 1/ a valuable product for themselves that 2/ has a positive impact on the environment.

Why am I saying all this? If you want to make a sustainable impact with your brand, you need people to buy your products and also care for them for as long as possible, as simple as that.

CONCLUSION

“Sustainability is a journey, not a destination. Progress over perfection is what drives us.” – The GANNI Playbook.

Building a sustainable fashion brand is a journey, not a one-size-fits-all approach. Start with what’s within your reach, create systems to sustain your efforts, and strive for progress over perfection while holding yourself accountable to your community and the planet.

At Modaminds, we believe that start-ups and small brands have the power to drive change in the fashion industry for the better. They may not have the scale of giants like Zara or H&M, but they have something more valuable: the ability to innovate, inspire, and lead by example. #smallbutmighty

If you’re looking for guidance on building a sustainable fashion brand, reach out to us! We will brainstorm ideas and create a plan just for you so you can get closer to your sustainable goals.