As we begin the new decade, one thing that has very much been on our mind is the discussion of sustainability and more specifically sustainability in fashion. Given that the fashion space has a huge global impact making up about 8% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, we felt it was of the utmost importance to prioritize in 2020. The fashion industry is the third highest polluting industry in the world and with many saying climate change is outpacing scientific predictions, there is so much to be done around sustainability to make the world a little better today, tomorrow and in the future.
The sustainable fashion movement is one that we are fully behind. The approach of sustainability is three-pronged: social, environmental and economic. The economic and social pillars go hand in hand for us. We are very much a slow fashion brand which means that our goods are designed and created with greater care and attention to the longevity of the product. Our best selling styles are intentionally seasonless which promote longer wear and less consumption. We make an effort through our social channels and website to show different ways to wear our pieces for every season. Additionally, we make sure to include elastic and waist cinchers to grow with your kids. Our pinafore dress can be worn as a tunic as your child grows taller and the elastic expands as they get bigger, our shorts can be let out with our hidden buttons and our ruffle sleeve dress has adjustable straps making many of our pieces last an entire year for your growing children.While we do introduce season specific styles, our core pieces are intended to be seasonless.
In addition to slowing consumption, Worthy Threads makes socially responsible clothing in the USA while paying fair wages to our seamstresses and manufacturers. We partner with art school graduates to employ the next generation locally and manufacturer clothing in Baltimore and New York that is built to last. Because our clothing is so thoughtfully created, we encourage customers to pass down pieces once their children outgrow them. We are also beginning conversations with a non profit to set up a program where they can accept Worthy Threads donations of gently worn garments.
As a business that ships goods, we require a lot of stuff to get our products into the hands of consumers. To manage this impact, we have been adamant about reducing physical waste. We have requested all of our manufacturers to send our complete orders in bulk without individually wrapping each piece in plastic bags as is the norm. Our consumer packaging is plastic-free and made from 100% recycled paper products, with the exception of our stickers. Currently, adhesive on the back of stickers are not recyclable, but we are excited to have identified a company making recyclable adhesive and will be switching over to those in the next few months. Additionally, our new poly mailers are 100% compostable made with cornstarch which break down into carbon dioxide, water, and organic fertilizer. While sustainable packaging is something we are very proud of, there is there is still so much more to do for sustainability in fashion.
Worthy Threads is a female founded and led company that prioritizes working with other female founded brands and partners. In addition to current strides that we have already made, we are looking forward to continuing our efforts towards a sustainable fashion brand and reducing our carbon footprint in 2020. If you have any ideas or contacts in the space, we’d love to hear from you!
