Sustainability is one of the biggest trends in recent years and for good reason. With the growing issue with climate change, more people are becoming more conscious of their buying habits as more people are now wanting to do their bit for the environment. One of those is to shop more sustainably.

One of the main barriers with this market at the moment is that they are much more expensive to purchase, but this is due to the change in methods of creating the clothing so if you are wanting to go down this line, start saving. There are many companies that are unfortunately labelling their clothes as sustainable when they are not. In this article, we will go through some of the top sustainable fashion trends in 2021.

Second-hand and Vintage

This trend is huge in America but for those living in the UK, it has only recently started becoming a thing. When was the last time you went to your local charity shop? Next time you pass have a look in as there are always some hidden gems in there that will be right up your street that people just have no use for anymore. You may even find some designer stuff in there at a significantly lower price than usual. There are many things that this involves as vintage jewellery is also a huge trend within this sector like antique engagement rings.

There are also some great options for doing this online via websites or apps such as Vinted or Depop. These allow people who have some great quality clothing that people don’t use anymore. If you are looking at alternatives, then you can also shop locally to save the delivery carbon footprint.

Re-wear Outfits

Gone are the days of where you can’t wear the same outfit more than once. More people are now much more accepting of this now as they realise that this is not a way of life. Instead, people are now opting to use the same clothes but are making multiple outfits out of them.

There is another trend in recent years called a capsule wardrobe which is basically a line of clothing that goes with each other but can be repurposed for other styles and outfits. This has been so popular due to more people wanting to reduce their carbon footprint and to become more sustainable with what they have in their wardrobe.  The thing to remember is that you can still feel good in your old clothes if you pair them with something else such as a seasonal piece.

Complete Transparency

One thing that is happening in recent years is that many brands are now being shamed for their poor working conditions and atrocious wages they pay their workers. Now consumers are wanting more transparency from brands, they are wanting to know how their clothes are being made sustainably and whether they follow corporate social responsibility legislation. They are also wanting the production methods to be more circular in the way that water is recycled and re-used, waste materials are being re-used or recycled and how sustainable the materials they use are. If you don’t feel you can trust a brand, then you can do your own research on platforms such as the Good On You app. The app itself will rank brands on how sustainable they are.

Circular Fashion

Circular fashion is not a well-known topic of interest, but it is extremely relevant and is a growing trend in the fashion industry. Consumers are now insisting that more brands are doing this as well as other models of production. This is due to customers wanting to know that their clothes are being made in the most sustainable way possible. This includes recycling materials as this often helps customers feel at ease purchasing their brand due to the less negative views on harming the environment.

Bio-based Materials

Bio-based materials, there are so many innovative materials that are being used in recent years. From cactus leather and bamboo socks to rose petal silk, there is a range of different materials that are now being used in the fashion industry to improve the carbon footprint. This is fantastic news as they use less water, reduce carbon footprint and don’t harm animals in the process. What’s the next challenge you ask? Well, at this point it is much more expensive than other methods so it’s all about scaling these materials p for a bigger consumption, this will in turn bring the price down due to the technology being better as well as the demand will be so high that they will need to lower them. We are already seeing a huge change and much more investment such as the brand Pangaia adopting this method and partnering with other companies to make a biomaterial that simulates the dreaded polyester but in a much more sustainable material where microfibres are released into our oceans.

There are so many different trends in sustainability that it is hard to keep up. This, however, is not a bad thing at all, this is an amazing thing to see. It really does put our trust in humanity by seeing the amazing work that is being done around the world, it just needs to hurry up and make things easier and cheaper for more people to afford.