The fashion world has no secret for you. Since you were a child, you’ve always enjoyed learning more about trends, styles, designs, colors, fibers, and materials. You remember watching your first fashion show on TV since you were five. In fact, having your own clothing line was always your dream. Yet, you’ve also heard that this industry is one of the main responsible for climate change and has a disastrous impact on our environment. And the truth is that, while you don’t want to let go of your deepest wish, you are also a bit of an Eco-Warrior.

 

Take a deep breath and let off the pressure because we have good news for you! You can still bring your biggest dream to life without harming the planet by launching a sustainable fashion brand. Here’s how:

 

Master Your Craft

 

The fashion business is a complex industry, and it can be challenging to thrive among well-established brands. That’s why you first need to “sharpen your saw,” as Stephen Covey put it. In his famous book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the author explains that we should always be looking for ways to improve continually in order to be effective.

This advice could not be more applicable because you need to spend time learning everything about the industry. For instance, you can do this by completing a fashion course, taking internships, forming networks, and keeping up to date with the latest trends.

 

Understand the Term Sustainability

 

Many people confuse sustainable with ethical fashion. While a brand can be both, the two words have distinct meanings. When we refer to ethical fashion, we are talking about moral (ethical) issues, including human rights, employee working conditions, and animal welfare. However, a sustainable brand is about how it can have a positive impact on the environment. Several factors can determine this, and you need to decide what will work for your brand.  

 Whether you want to use only sustainable materials like 100% organic cotton or make sure that your production is sustainable by not emitting greenhouse gases, it will be up to you. You can even decide to be a fully sustainable brand while also considering aspects like shipping methods and packaging materials. The important thing is that you define your sustainability ethic.

 

Source the Right Materials

 

While you can choose otherwise, producing your clothes with eco-conscious materials will have a more significant positive impact. You just have to find the right ones. Find suppliers that are entirely transparent about their supply chain and where they source their raw fibers. Although the choice is limited when sourcing for sustainable fabrics, compared to standard textiles, you can find popular options used by other sustainable brands.

We also recommend that you choose natural and organic fabrics over synthetics that tend to have higher negative impacts on our planet. Eco-friendly fibers include organic cotton, hemp, bamboo, and linen.

 

Create a Powerful Design Concept

 

But first establish your brand identity! What is your vision and mission for your brand? What type of clothes do you want to sell? Who is your ideal customer type? You want to find answers to those questions to come up with a strong design concept.

Then, do your research on your target market, competitors, and trends in sustainable fashion. Create a mood board with designs, colors, and ideas that you think will suit your brand. From there, make sure you know how your brand will stand out from the crowd with a unique selling point.

 

Put Your Label Out There

 

Last but not least, promote your brand. And do it as soon as possible. While this may seem obvious, many new brands fail to follow this step. But you should put your label out there and announce your future launch! Social media is a great place to start, but you can also create your website. 

Don’t forget that you want to reach your target audience, so make sure you use words like “eco-friendly”, “sustainable”, “recycled” and “natural”.

 

Those basic steps will allow you to launch your sustainable fashion brand. Yet, as a startup, there will always be challenges and mistakes but remember it’s for a good cause. If you recently build your eco-brand, let us know in the comments how your journey has been so far!