Ethical fashion and sustainable fashion are synonymous terms, which are used interchangeably. Despite using these terms interchangeably, it can confuse consumers.
Only the savviest, meticulous, sustainable, and ethical clothing manufacturers insist on distinguishing between the two fashion types.
Understanding the difference between these two options is essential to help environment-conscious textile consumers make more intelligent purchases.
Ethical fashion
Ethical fashion concerns itself with ensuring the sanctity of the manufacturing process. The rising trend of altruistic consumerism primarily seeks clothing made with ethically sourced raw materials.
This refers to manufacturers who offer safe, fair-wage working conditions to workers and producers who distribute garments as per fair trade policies.
Labor standards on both sides of the globe are improving, with the rising awareness created by organizations such as the Ethical Trading Initiative in India and ShareHope in the US.
These entities are fighting to reduce exploitative practices and gender-based wage gaps in the manufacturing industry and their counterparts in other geographies.
Sustainable fashion
Sustainable fashion is yet another initiative by organic clothing manufacturers that focuses on ecologically safe textile manufacturing practices. It is well-known that a lot of contemporary artificial fabric is grown using harmful chemicals.
Modern mass-production and manufacturing plants are also guilty of resorting to practices that continue to rank high on their carbon footprint.
Bodies such as GOTS are unifying and certifying some prominent organic garment manufacturers and producers. The initiative aims to eliminate the practice of resource-intensive fabrics that leave a negative impact on the environment.
Such phenomena have become synonymous with end-to-end, morally-safe practices, right from resource production to production means, manufacturing process, labour conditions, and trading.
Hence, notable sustainable and ethical clothing manufacturers in India, such as VCI Exports, are spearheading the adoption of both processes across the subcontinent.