Sustainability in the textile industry

The textile industry is one of the world's most polluting and ethically irresponsible industries. In fact, the fourth on the list of the most environmentally damaging industries. We account for 8 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. We accounts for 8 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.

In recent years, we have seen a major change in the fashion industry with a greater focus on sustainable textiles. This change is an improvement, but far from a solution. The biggest problem in the textile industry is overproduction, so producing with other types of materials is not necessarily the solution.

The problem with sustainable textiles

When a clothing brand chooses to focus on the use of sustainable textiles, such as organic cotton, the consumer gets the impression that they are making a good choice when buying a garment from them. In principle, it is better to choose the garment in organic cotton rather than the garment in conventional cotton - the problem doesn't lie with the garment itself, but with the clothing brand.

Unfortunately, there are many clothing brands that don't really know where the materials they use come from, and where and how the garments are produced - this takes place through many stages over which the clothing brand doesn't always have control. Which means that the garment can be produced in conventional cotton, but still be labeled as organic, or the cotton can be organic, but the garment is of poor quality. In this situation, it is useful to know what the certifications mean - if the garment is GOTS certified you can be a little more certain about which material has been used and what the production conditions have been like. But many clothing brands can hide behind these certifications.

The clothing brand can still carry out environmentally harmful overproduction, just using an initially environmentally friendly material. Because even if 1000 garments produced in organic cotton are less harmful to the environment than 1000 garments in conventional cotton, they are still 1000 garments. These 1000 garments must be produced – cotton must be grown, spun and woven, perhaps bleached and dyed, materials must be transported, the garments must be cut and assembled, transported again, used and washed, and finally thrown away. All these steps are responsible for their own environmental impact, no matter which material is used - the material only accounts for a fraction of the responsibility.

The fact that we as consumers get the impression that we are making a better choice by buying a garment produced in an environmentally friendly material may mean that the threshold for buying it is lower. We may feel that the clothing brand is responsible for the environment and that we are doing a good deed by choosing to shop with them. This is part of what we call Greenwashing.

What can we do to contribute to a more sustainable textile industry?

The most important thing we can do is to reduce our consumption – this will, over time, ensure that less is produced.

By spending more time in advance of a new purchase, and carefully considering what you buy, you can reduce the chance of buying something you won't keep. At the same time, you reduce the chance of having to buy new clothes often, and you avoid having to throw clothes away often.

Second-hand shopping is clearly a good option. By buying used clothes, you avoid clothes being thrown away and you do not contribute to the production of new clothes. But the second-hand market is also flooded with poor quality garments that are not durable enough to last long. So you must be aware that what you buy new must be carefully thought out, even if you have the option of reselling it on the second-hand market if it turned out not to be the right garment after all. The fact that you can donate clothes you no longer want is not a great solution, as it is only a small fraction of clothes that are sold by thrift stores, donated, or recycled - the sad thing is that most of the clothes end up on landfill in developing countries where they remain for years to pollute.

Avoid impulse purchases - it is easy to be influenced by trends and Hype

These are phenomena in the fashion industry that often pass faster than they started - we barely had time to fall in love with a garment before we got tired of it. A Hype is an illusion that makes us believe that a garment is much more important to own than it is, and makes us shop irrationally. The hyped garment is often made in limited edition, and we have to act quickly to get our hands on it, so we don't have time to think carefully about the choice before we have clicked the buy button. Trends and hypes make us shop more than we need, and we like to buy clothes based on what our role models are wearing - not based on what we need.

Focus on ownership and durability

When buying a garment, new or used, it should be about finding a garment that you will love and wear for a long time, a garment that you will need now and next year, and preferably for several years. Wish list is a good tool - if you suddenly have a piece of clothing in mind that you feel you must have, put it on a wish list and give it some time, if it is still on your wish list next month or next year, there is a greater chance that it will be something you will use a lot and have for a long time.

Do your research before buying

Say, for example, you want an oversized linen shirt - it's a classic and timeless garment that's not based on a trend, and you've had it on your wish list since last summer. You are convinced that this will be a good purchase and added it to the shopping cart in the online store you just received a newsletter from with a discount code that applies to all shirts. The shirt is made of linen, which is a sustainable material, so it's an environmentally friendly choice to buy the shirt regardless of where you buy it? Check whether the online store provides information about where the shirt is made and where the material comes from. Growing, spinning and weaving linen is a time-consuming process, and a lot of linen is grown in Europe, which is a more expensive part of the world to buy textiles from than, for example, Asia - linen is thus an expensive material, which is reflected in the price of a linen shirt compared to a cotton shirt. It is also time-consuming to make a shirt versus, for example, a t-shirt – all of us who've sewn a shirt ourselves or haven't dared to venture into know this. So if the shirt costs just NOK 500, you might ask yourself if it is actually an environmentally friendly choice to buy that particular one?

If it's a garment you plan to own and wear for years to come, time after time, is it necessary to spend as little money as possible on it?

Those who have the finances to buy clothing items with a slightly higher price tag also have the opportunity to make even better choices - choices that have an even less environmental impact. Cheap clothes are one of the reasons for overpurchasing, it is so easy for us to buy much more clothes than we need when it costs us so little. Choosing to spend more money on the shirt is not really that expensive if you think you will wear it several times per month for several years to come. Price per use is lower for something you wear often and have for a long time than something with a lower price tag which you use a handful of times and then sell on or throw away. And if you actually have the finances for the more expensive garment, but still don't feel it's worth the investment, then maybe it's not a garment you really wanted after all? so still fancy?

Independent shops and clothing brands

Is the garment on your wish list available in a local store? Shopping at an independent, local store rather than a commercial online store that's part of a large chain, supports the self-employed, can reduce contributions to the transport industry (which is above the textile industry on the list of most environmentally damaging industries), and avoid supporting the big chains that promote overproduction and overconsumption.

An oversized linen shirt is also something that doesn't have to be difficult to find at smaller clothing brands. An independent clothing brand will often have a more sustainable way of running a store - with lower production, more control over the production stages, more focus on ethical responsibility and choice of materials. This often also means that the clothing brand is more transparent with its customers about where the clothes are produced and where the materials come from. The clothes are often of better quality and are made to last a long time, which helps to prevent you from buying the same linen shirt again next year. It also often gives a different feeling of ownership to buy clothes from clothing brands that are more transparent. For example – knowing that the garment is made from linen grown and woven by a family business in Lithuania, designed by a Norwegian designer with lots of time and consideration, and then sewn in an ethically run factory in Portugal, or even by the designer her/himself - that gives the garment a completely different story and meaning. You get a relationship and an ownership of the garment and a bit of this history, you know who is left with the money you paid for the garment, and you like to think about this when you take it out to wear it. The threshold may be higher to buy such garments, but it may also be higher to get rid of them again.

By choosing to buy a carefully thought-out garment from an independent clothing brand, preferably from a local shop, you can help support a more sustainable textile industry.

Is it better to sew your own clothes?

You may be sitting now and thinking that this doesn't concern you much since you don't buy clothes, you sew your own clothes. But is it really better to sew clothes yourself?

The same conclusion as what you have read so far also applies here - the very best thing we can do is to reduce our consumption.

If you consider the same tips and advice when starting a new sewing project as when purchasing a new garment, you contribute to a more sustainable textile industry. Home sewists are also part of this industry. The fashion industry and the textile industry are one in the same - if we sew the clothes ourselves, we remove some of the production links, but we still contribute to the production of textiles. We can choose more or less environmentally friendly textiles that we know a lot or little about regarding where they are grown and produced.

Think carefully about your sewing projects before embarking on them. Our sewing projects can be just as influenced by trends - we've all had an impulse project or two, right? Try to imagine that you will wear the garment a lot, whether it fits into your wardrobe and you can use it together with other garments you already have. Write wish lists in the same way for your sewing projects, for example, you might really want a fabric from us right now because it's new and exciting, or you saw someone else make something cool out of it, but does it suit you, and does it fit into your existing wardrobe? you, and does it fit into your wardrobe?

It's perhaps ironic to run a shop and encourage your customers to shop with care - but the aim of Indigo is not to have the highest amount of sales, it's more about spreading a message and contributing to a more environmentally focused sewing society.