Humanities Lab: Sustainable Fashion

• B Corporation Certification B Lab Global remains committed to ensuring our movement champions every company that meets a high standard of social and environmental performance. During this pause, we will evaluate how best to support and sustain the growth of the B Corp Community. 
• CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America), Sustainability Resources Hub

  "As part of the CFDA’s ongoing commitment to sustainability through education and professional development, this sustainability-centered resource hub is designed to provide open access resources and information specific to fashion design x business sustainable strategies."

• CO (Common Objective)

  CO is a business network for the fashion industry with the mission of providing industry resources, such as sourcing, and industry connections around environmental sustainability and social good. While paid membership is required for complete access, some articles, resources, and blog are available for free.

• The Fashion Law

  "Founded in 2012, The Fashion Law (TFL) is dedicated to providing unparalleled insight into the legal and business aspects of the rapidly evolving fashion industry. Well known for helping to shape the dialogue in fashion and beyond, we do not only break news stories, but we also define and decode critical legal and business trends." Users can search terms such as 'sustainability' and 'garment workers' to bring up posts of interest.

• Fashion Revolution

  Fashion Revolution's mission is "a global fashion industry that conserves and restores the environment and values people over growth and profit." The site has several great resources, including the annual Fashion Transparency Index, which evaluates major levels and their transparency around many issues, including traceability, policies and commitment, and governance.

• Global Fashion Agenda

  "Global Fashion Agenda is behind the renowned business event on sustainability in fashion, the Copenhagen Fashion Summit, which has led the movement for over a decade. Global Fashion Agenda’s work as a thought leader is further evident in its insightful reports throughout the year. These include the annual CEO Agenda, which outlines the crucial sustainability priorities for fashion’s leaders; Fashion on Climate, an analysis of the industry’s GHG emissions and how fashion stakeholders can focus efforts to meet climate targets."

• MISTRA Future Fashion Program

  Sweden's MISTRA Future Fashion Program consists of eight projects designed to "generate new knowledge and recommendations that can be used by the Swedish fashion industry" to advance sustainable fashion. Watch videos, read updates, and learn about the different research projects on this site.

• New Standard Institute: Fashion 2030

  The New Standard Institute is an organization that aims to "transform the global apparel industry into a force for good by unifying and driving it to achieve critical, science-based environmental and social objectives. Visitors to the site can go to the action deck to download their slidedeck.

• Responsibility in Fashion

  "Responsibility in Fashion is a nonprofit founded to empower and inspire responsibility in the global fashion industry through international collaboration, open-sourcing of information, and innovative initiatives."

• Social Alterations: An Education Lab for Social Responsible Fashion Design

  Social Alterations is a website that provides social responsibility resources to fashion and textile design educators. In addition, the site is also intended to be "a networking platform for anyone interested in social responsibility and fashion design."

• Sustainable Apparel Coalition

  "The Sustainable Apparel Coalition was founded by a group of sustainability leaders from global apparel and footwear companies together with leading environmental and social organizations who recognize that addressing our industry’s current social and environmental challenges are both a business imperative and an opportunity." The SAC developed the Higg Index, "a suite of tools for the standardized measurement of value chain sustainability."

• Textile Toolbox

  "Textile Toolbox is TED’s (Textiles, Environment, Design) web platform project with MISTRA in Sweden, aimed at creating systemic change within the fashion industry through ‘interconnected design thinking and processes for sustainable textiles and fashion’. This open innovation website allows designers and experts to engage with new ideas." Read about TED's Ten ideas for innovative design thinking and sustainability.

Several resources from Kent State Libraries

• The Green Queen

  The Green Queen is a news feed website focusing on sustainability including a channel for eco-fashion.

• Peppermint magazine

  "Peppermint is the green fashion and lifestyle magazine, celebrating eco and ethical style with a fun, fresh, intelligent and positive spin."

• Sublime magazine

  This print magazine bills itself as "the first international sustainable lifestyle magazine." Visitors to the site may read many of the magazine's articles (with limited illustrations) online.

Resources from Kent State Libraries

• Better Cotton Initiative

  "The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) aims to promote measurable improvements in the key environmental and social impacts of cotton cultivation worldwide to make it more economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable. The BCI works with organisations from across the cotton supply chain and interested stakeholders to facilitate a solution for the mainstream cotton sector. The BCI's philosophy is to develop a market for a new mainstream commodity: ‘Better Cotton’ and thereby transform the cotton commodity to bring long-term benefits for the environment, farmers and other people dependent on cotton for their livelihood. "

• Blue Sign

  The Blue Sign system manages all of the input streams in the manufacturing of textiles in order to reduce impacts on people and the environment. Site visitors can download criteria lists for participants, see participating brands and read about the process.

• Cotton Today, Cotton Incorporated

  This website of Cotton Incorporated focuses on efforts to create sustainability within the cotton industry. Visitors can watch informational videos, read reports and investigate pages that focus on soil, water, energy, and environmental issues related to the growth of cotton.

• Ecotextile News

  Exotextile News, published by Mowbray Communications Ltd promotes itself as "the monthly magazine for the sustainable and ethical textiles and apparel industry." Although the magazine is subscription based, viewers can open a sample copy and access news headlines.

• Ellen MacArthur Foundation

  The Ellen MacArthur Foundation was established in 2010 with the aim of accelerating the world's transition to the circular economy. Visitors can find resources such as reports on a new textile economy and read about the Circular Fibres Initiative.

• Fashion Positive

  Fashion Positive offers a database of Cradle-to-Cradle certified suppliers of "yarns, dyes, fabrics, zippers, trims, finishing, and more—creating a growing collective of "positive" materials with which to design from the beginning." In addition, visitors may view educational webinars and review the "Fashion Positive Critical Materials List," a list high-priority, critical materials needed for circular fashion.

• Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)

  The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is recognized as the leading processing standard for textiles made from organic fibers worldwide. It also defines high-level environmental criteria along the entire supply chain of organic textiles and requires compliance with social criteria. Visitors to the site may download the current GOTS certification standards. Visitors may also search the public database for suppliers of GOTS-certified textiles and products.

• OEKO-TEX

  The International Association for Research and Testing in the Field of Textile and Leather Ecology (OEKO-TEX) is a union of 18 independent textile research and test institutes in Europe and Japan that "offer companies of the textile industry certifications and services to have their products tested for harmful substances by independent institutes, and to optimize their production conditions and their supply chains concerning sustainability."

• Sustainable Cotton Project

  Based in Central Valley, California, the Sustainable Cotton Project (SCP) "provides growers with information about biological farming techniques" and "educates the public about the importance of reducing chemical use in food and fiber production" through its BASIC campaign aimed at growers and its Cleaner Cotton campaign aimed at manufacturers and consumers. Visitors can access information about all of these campaigns on its website.

• Textile Exchange

  Textile Exchange is a non-profit, member-based organization dedicated to expanding the organic/sustainable textiles market. While membership is required to access some site features, viewers may access the Marketplace database to search for member companies and suppliers, download the monthly newsletter, and access several educational materials through the Learning Zone and Farm Library sections, including audio and videos.

Resources from Kent State Libraries

• Clean Clothes Campaign

  The Clean Clothes Campaign is an alliance of European organizations "dedicated to improving working conditions and supporting the empowerment of workers in the global garment and sportswear industries." The site provides several resources for labor organizers and those interested in garment working conditions, including publications, videos, recent news, and campaign updates.

• Ethical Fashion Initiative

  A United Nations program, the Ethical Fashion Initiative, "connects artisans from the developing world to the international value chain of fashion, " specifically focusing on African artisans. Visitors can learn about specific African fashion designers, read reports on the Initiative's work, and review the blog, The Hand of Fashion.

• Ethical Trading Initiative

  The British-based Ethical Trading Initiative 'exists to improve working conditions in global supply chains by developing effective approaches to implementing specific ethical codes of labor practice.'

• Fair Trade USA

  "Fair Trade USA is the leading third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States." Fair Trade labeling aims to make the consumer aware of the circumstances under which their product was made. Visitors to the site can go to the Apparel & Linens program for additional information.

• Fair Wear Foundation

  Working in Europe, Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is "an international verification initiative dedicated to enhancing workers' lives worldwide. We work closely with many companies that produce clothing and other sewn products and take responsibility for their supply chain." Visitors to the site may search for brands and companies that participate, review labor standards, and examine FWF policy documents and country reports.

• Fashion For Good

  Fashion For Good promotes 5 'Goods': Good Materials  –  safe, healthy, and designed for reuse and recycling; Good Economy  – growing, circular, shared, and benefiting everyone; Good Energy  – renewable and clean; Good Water  – clean and available to all; Good Lives  – living and working conditions that are just, safe and dignified. The organization focuses on developing sustainable fashion businesses, and users may find several resources on circular fashion.

• Fashion Revolution

  Fashion Revolution is a not-for-profit organization with the mission to "unite people and organizations to work together towards radically changing the way our clothes are sourced, produced and consumed, so that our clothing is made in a safe, clean and fair way." Visitors can access educational information, including their Fashion Transparency Index, ranking the world's largest fashion companies regarding issues of supply change accountability, environmental impact and policies.

• Fibershed

  Fibershed is a project that "envisions the emergence of an international system of regional textile supply chains that enliven individual community connection and ownership of ‘Soil-to-Skin’ processes." Visitors can watch videos, search producer and retailer directories and even consider joining or creating a fibershed community.

• Fur Free Alliance

  "The Fur Free Alliance brings together international animal protection organizations to create a unified front in our campaign to end the animal cruelty in the fur industry."

• Garment Worker Center

  "The Garment Worker Center (GWC) is a worker rights organization whose mission is to organize low-wage garment workers in Los Angeles in the fight for social and economic justice." Check out reports and resources for information on working conditions.

• International Trade Center (ITC), Ethical Fashion

  "The ITC's project, The Ethical Fashion Approach, enables international fashion companies and distributors to source from African communities, without bias in price or quality, thus allowing groups of marginalized artisans to become part of the larger value chain."

• Labour Behind the Label

  "Labour Behind the Label is a campaign that supports garment workers' efforts worldwide to improve their working conditions, through awareness raising, information provision and encouraging international solidarity between workers and consumers."

• The Model Alliance

  "The Model Alliance promotes fair treatment, equal opportunity, and sustainable practices in the fashion industry, from the runway to the factory floor." The organization focuses on fair treatment of models working within the fashion industry, and site visitors can find petitions, essays, and information addressing such issues, including sexual abuse, body image, freelance work conditions, and more.

• Responsible Jewellery Council

  The Responsible Jewellery Council is an industry organization that maintains a "well-known standards and certification organization for the jewelry supply chain, from mine to retail."

• Victoria and Albert Museum, Ethical Fashion

  This museum page provides a brief definition of Ethical Fashion along with a list of several key issues. The site also includes links to interviews with several ethical fashion designers and a reading list.

Resources from Kent State Libraries