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Sustainable Children's Clothing: Why It Matters?

Sustainable Children\'s Clothing: Why It Matters? - Sustainable children\'s clothing: Why it\'s important to go for eco-friendly fashion

We dream of a good life for our children. We strive for them to receive a good education, grow up in a good environment, and lead a happy life. However, the future of our kids is affected not only by what we provide to them but also by our choices.  Choosing sustainable clothes for them is also one of the important issues that shape the future of our planet and therefore our most precious ones.

So, what is sustainable children's clothing? Sustainable children's clothing is actually a part of sustainable fashion. Sustainable fashion is a movement that aims to minimize the undesirable effects of fast fashion. While fashion is one of the most developed sectors in the world, it is also one of the most damaging to the environment. Approximately 8% of all global carbon emissions and 20% of wastewater originate from the fashion sector, and this sector is expected to cause a 50% increase in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 [1].

The fast fashion approach adopted by many global brands is one of the main reasons that increase the negative effects of the sector on the environment. Fast fashion is a term used by the clothing industry to copy the latest fashion trends and high fashion designs into mass production at low cost and quickly bring them into retail stores when demand is at its highest. Fast fashion aims to maximize profit share by using labor, capital and natural resources at the maximum level. In line with this target, instead of presenting new collections only at the beginning of the season, brands launch a new collection almost every seven days and support consumption with discounts. So, what are the negative effects of fast fashion on the environment?

Water consumption: The fashion industry is responsible for 79 trillion liters of water consumption annually and contributes about 20% of industrial wastewater [2]. Cotton also has an important place in this consumption. It takes 10,000 liters of water to produce 1 kilogram of cotton. In other words, about 2,700 liters of water are consumed to make a cotton t-shirt [3]. Choosing organic cotton in clothing production reduces this water consumption by approximately 91% [4].

Textile waste: 92 million tons of textile waste is generated every year due to fast fashion and ever-changing trends [5]. Most of the clothes that cannot be sold during the season and are not kept on sale because they are out of fashion are destroyed. Adopting a controlled production approach by brands and recycling unused or out-of-season clothing can be an effective way to prevent this waste.

Carbon emissions: The clothing industry ranks second in carbon emissions after petroleum, which is number one. From the production of the cotton to the delivery of the final product to the store, it takes approximately 3,781 liters of water to make one pair of jeans. This equates to approximately 33.4 kilograms of carbon emissions [6].

Unfair working conditions: Around 75 million workers worldwide work for the fast fashion industry [7]. Due to cheap labor and lack of supervision, these workers are generally chosen from developing countries, and they are employed for very low wages, long working hours, and unhealthy conditions.

On the other hand, sustainable fashion aims to minimize all these environmental and social damages caused by fast fashion by adopting concepts such as fairness, sustainability, and recycling at every stage from production to marketing and distribution. Clothing brands that prefer an ethical and sustainable fashion approach aim to reverse the damages of fast fashion by following strategies such as:

Using organic cotton in the production phase.

Creating fair working conditions for employees.

Using non-toxic dyes.

Designing seasonal collections.

Producing clothes by pre-order.

Recycling and remarketing of waste clothing.

Avoiding plastic packaging.

Sustainable children's clothing brands also adopt the ethical understanding of sustainable fashion, they dream of a sustainable future for both the little ones and the environment by consciously using the resources of our planet, choosing organic materials, and creating fair working conditions.

As a GOTS-certified brand, we also believe in the importance of sustainability in fashion. First of all, to avoid artificial pesticides and fertilizers used in cotton production, we prefer to use organic cotton in our products. Because these chemicals contaminate the environment by leaking into the soil and water and may affect the health of farmers and those who use clothing made of this cotton. In contrast, completely natural fertilizers and pesticides are used during the production of organic cotton. Therefore, organic cotton does not harm the environment and health. As we mentioned before, organic cotton also greatly reduces water consumption. It also provides 62% lower energy consumption, 46% lower CO2 emissions, and 26% lower soil erosion [8].

In addition to using organic cotton, we are on the way to becoming a sustainable children's clothing brand by creating fair and safe working conditions for our employees, developing an environment and human-oriented social responsibility projects, and working with pre-orders to prevent overproduction. We know that the secret of creating a good future for our kids is in sustainability… and it is up to us to support it.

[1] https://mdpi-res.com/d_attachment/water/water-14-01073/article_deploy/water-14-01073.pdf?version=1648528212

[2] https://mdpi-res.com/d_attachment/water/water-14-01073/article_deploy/water-14-01073.pdf?version=1648528212

[3] https://www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/consumption/clothing/cotton-farming-water-consumption

[4]

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/organic-cotton

[5]

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340635670_The_environmental_price_of_fast_fashion

[6]

https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2019/09/23/costo-moda-medio-ambiente

[7]

https://www.solidaritycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Garment-Textile-Industry-Fact-Sheet.8.2019.pdf

[8]

https://www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/clothing/cotton-farming-water-consumption

We dream of a good life for our children. We strive for them to receive a good education, grow up in a good environment, and lead a happy life. However, the future of our kids is affected not only by what we provide to them but also by our choices.  Choosing sustainable clothes for them is also one of the important issues that shape the future of our planet and therefore our most precious ones.

So, what is sustainable children's clothing? Sustainable children's clothing is actually a part of sustainable fashion. Sustainable fashion is a movement that aims to minimize the undesirable effects of fast fashion. While fashion is one of the most developed sectors in the world, it is also one of the most damaging to the environment. Approximately 8% of all global carbon emissions and 20% of wastewater originate from the fashion sector, and this sector is expected to cause a 50% increase in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 [1].

The fast fashion approach adopted by many global brands is one of the main reasons that increase the negative effects of the sector on the environment. Fast fashion is a term used by the clothing industry to copy the latest fashion trends and high fashion designs into mass production at low cost and quickly bring them into retail stores when demand is at its highest. Fast fashion aims to maximize profit share by using labor, capital and natural resources at the maximum level. In line with this target, instead of presenting new collections only at the beginning of the season, brands launch a new collection almost every seven days and support consumption with discounts. So, what are the negative effects of fast fashion on the environment?

Water consumption: The fashion industry is responsible for 79 trillion liters of water consumption annually and contributes about 20% of industrial wastewater [2]. Cotton also has an important place in this consumption. It takes 10,000 liters of water to produce 1 kilogram of cotton. In other words, about 2,700 liters of water are consumed to make a cotton t-shirt [3]. Choosing organic cotton in clothing production reduces this water consumption by approximately 91% [4].

Textile waste: 92 million tons of textile waste is generated every year due to fast fashion and ever-changing trends [5]. Most of the clothes that cannot be sold during the season and are not kept on sale because they are out of fashion are destroyed. Adopting a controlled production approach by brands and recycling unused or out-of-season clothing can be an effective way to prevent this waste.

Carbon emissions: The clothing industry ranks second in carbon emissions after petroleum, which is number one. From the production of the cotton to the delivery of the final product to the store, it takes approximately 3,781 liters of water to make one pair of jeans. This equates to approximately 33.4 kilograms of carbon emissions [6].

Unfair working conditions: Around 75 million workers worldwide work for the fast fashion industry [7]. Due to cheap labor and lack of supervision, these workers are generally chosen from developing countries, and they are employed for very low wages, long working hours, and unhealthy conditions.

On the other hand, sustainable fashion aims to minimize all these environmental and social damages caused by fast fashion by adopting concepts such as fairness, sustainability, and recycling at every stage from production to marketing and distribution. Clothing brands that prefer an ethical and sustainable fashion approach aim to reverse the damages of fast fashion by following strategies such as:

Using organic cotton in the production phase.

Creating fair working conditions for employees.

Using non-toxic dyes.

Designing seasonal collections.

Producing clothes by pre-order.

Recycling and remarketing of waste clothing.

Avoiding plastic packaging.

Sustainable children's clothing brands also adopt the ethical understanding of sustainable fashion, they dream of a sustainable future for both the little ones and the environment by consciously using the resources of our planet, choosing organic materials, and creating fair working conditions.

As a GOTS-certified brand, we also believe in the importance of sustainability in fashion. First of all, to avoid artificial pesticides and fertilizers used in cotton production, we prefer to use organic cotton in our products. Because these chemicals contaminate the environment by leaking into the soil and water and may affect the health of farmers and those who use clothing made of this cotton. In contrast, completely natural fertilizers and pesticides are used during the production of organic cotton. Therefore, organic cotton does not harm the environment and health. As we mentioned before, organic cotton also greatly reduces water consumption. It also provides 62% lower energy consumption, 46% lower CO2 emissions, and 26% lower soil erosion [8].

In addition to using organic cotton, we are on the way to becoming a sustainable children's clothing brand by creating fair and safe working conditions for our employees, developing an environment and human-oriented social responsibility projects, and working with pre-orders to prevent overproduction. We know that the secret of creating a good future for our kids is in sustainability… and it is up to us to support it.

[1] https://mdpi-res.com/d_attachment/water/water-14-01073/article_deploy/water-14-01073.pdf?version=1648528212

[2] https://mdpi-res.com/d_attachment/water/water-14-01073/article_deploy/water-14-01073.pdf?version=1648528212

[3] https://www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/consumption/clothing/cotton-farming-water-consumption

[4]

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/organic-cotton

[5]

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340635670_The_environmental_price_of_fast_fashion

[6]

https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2019/09/23/costo-moda-medio-ambiente

[7]

https://www.solidaritycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Garment-Textile-Industry-Fact-Sheet.8.2019.pdf

[8]

https://www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/clothing/cotton-farming-water-consumption


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