Dan’s Guide to Ethical Fashion
Practicing ethical fashion is important, fun, and easy!
Cover photo: Second-hand clothes shopping at Spinns Vintage in Amemura, Osaka, Japan (2025).
Intro
Have you heard of “ethical fashion”? My ninth-grade students are learning about it! It’s broadly defined as fashion that is kind to people, animals, and the environment. This includes safe working conditions, living wages, animal welfare, sustainable practices, as well as efficient energy and water use. Please read on for more information and practical tips!
Importance
Why is “ethical fashion” important? Everyone wears clothes! Fashion is one of the world’s largest industries, valued at 1.7 trillion U.S. dollars. Annually, it employs over 300 million people, generates 92 million tons of textile waste, up to 20% of all waste water and 10% of global CO2 emissions. In short, fashion has a profound effect on the planet.
Today, “fast fashion” — low-quality, trendy clothing — is popular because it’s cheap and exciting. These clothes are inexpensive because many hidden costs are externalized; businesses are not held responsible for the environmental or social effects of fashion, such as poverty wages, worker health, carbon emissions, plastics pollution, and landfill space. Our insatiable desire for new clothes is unsustainable and dangerous.
The average American buys 53 new articles of clothing every year, about one piece a week. That’s four times as much as in the year 2000. Now, nearly three-fifths of all clothing is disposed within a year of being produced. Much of it ends up in landfills across the southern hemisphere, where clothes may take hundreds of years to degrade.
The Rana Plaza disaster of 2013 marked a turning point in the fashion industry. It was “the deadliest accident in the history of the garment industry,” in which over one thousand workers lost their lives in the collapse of an unsafe building in Bangladesh, the world’s second-largest clothing exporter. More people are becoming aware of fashion’s broader cost.
Change
While fashion’s impact may be daunting, as a consumer industry, it’s a business uniquely responsive to average people. This means that our choices can have a direct influence.
Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump has announced new tariffs on Chinese imports. With the future of trade between two of the largest players in the fashion industry uncertain, this moment presents a unique opportunity to rethink our relationship with clothes. Let’s practice “ethical fashion.”
1. Reuse & Repair
Of course, the most sustainable — and cheapest — fashion option is to wear clothes we already own. We can improve the longevity of clothes by washing them less often and spot-cleaning visible stains. According to Levi’s, we can wear denim up to ten times before washing! Air-drying is superior to machine-drying as it causes less textile strain, plus it’s free and eco-friendly.
Other ways to extend clothing life include tailoring and mending. Instead of replacing ill-fitting or damaged clothes, consider alteration. Today, more brands such as Patagonia and Arc’teryx are offering free repair services!
2. Refuse & Reduce
It’s important to practice mindful shopping. Why are we buying more clothes: novelty, habit, or need? After all, we can save money if we don’t buy something.
If we do buy new clothes, let’s remember the mantra “buy less, buy better.” It’s helpful to consider “cost-per-use” or “cost-per-wear” when shopping. Clothes are a commitment; these are items that can and should last us a long time.
My personal goal is one dollar per wear. For example, to buy a 40 USD shirt, I should be confident that I will use it — and that it will last — for 40 wears. This helps me avoid trends and impulse buys in favor of reliable pieces.
3. Try Second-hand Shopping
When we need more clothes, let’s first try second-hand shopping. Buying clothes second-hand is good for the environment because it reduces clothing waste and energy-use. It’s fun and cheap too.
In recent years, second-hand shopping has become more popular and more accessible. I enjoy second-hand shopping because vintage clothes are often better constructed and I’m more confident in buying tried-and-tested pieces.
4. Focus on Materials
When buying clothes, it’s especially important to consider materials. Today, half of all clothing fibers produced are polyester. It’s a major source of microplastic pollution, shedding particles with every wear and wash. Synthetic fabrics are responsible for one-third of the ocean’s microplastics.
Because microplastics are a threat to human and animal health, it’s crucial to buy and use polyester sparingly, such as for swimwear and sportswear. Natural fabrics like cotton, silk, wool, and linen are better for the environment, fashion workers, and our skin.
5. Recycle
Lastly, don’t throw away good clothes. We can “remake” or upcycle them into something new. Or, if we don’t use them, we can trade clothes with friends, donate, or sell them.
Researchers propose a maximum 74 articles of clothing per person. It’s helpful to track which clothes we actually wear. Last January, I flipped my closet hangers backwards so I can easily see which pieces I haven’t touched by the end of the year.
I hope these tips help you practice ethical fashion! Do you have more ideas? I’d like to hear your advice too!
