#WisdomWednesday with Loop Swim - October '24

A Dose of Eco Wisdom Every Wednesday

👏 This month, we kicked off WISDOM WEDNESDAY by celebrating Loop’s re-entry into the esteemed hall of brands rated “GREAT” by Good On You. Read more about this and other sustainability hightlights from October in our monthly recap below.

#WisdomWednesday 10.09

🌟 From GOOD to GREAT! 🌟

🥂This week we celebrated another “GREAT” rating for Loop by Good On You, illustrating our exemplary commitment to sustainability in fashion. This assessment reviews our supply chain and transparency to understand how we treat workers, our approach to materials, and the treatment of animals. It is the highest rating possible on the platform.

Since 2015, Good On You has earned a reputation as fashion's leading source of brand sustainability ratings, evaluating a range of brands from LVMH and Gucci to Uniqlo and Zara. With over 6,000 brands rated and millions worldwide relying on this information, our inclusion represents leadership in this space, and it is indeed GREAT to have our hard work acknowledged.

Every few years, the Good On You team reevaluates listed brands based on publicly available data, maintaining its status as the leading sustainability rating platform for fashion. Loop first joined their database with a "GREAT" rating in 2021. As the bar is set higher each year, our rating was revised to "GOOD" around a year ago, and we worked diligently to reclaim our original rating.

🪡🌏 "75 million people around the globe, predominantly in marginalized communities of poorer nations, are employed by the fashion industry. Nearly 80% of this workforce is women.

This statistic, which is not often highlighted, makes you take a step back and view the entire industry and your role in it as a consumer differently. It underscores that the slightly less popular measure of PAYING MORE for better quality clothes must go hand in hand with buying less, buying better quality, urging brands for supply chain transparency, and advocating for governments to introduce legislation to protect the planet and its people.

A question that many brands in sustainable fashion often get asked by consumers is how they can make more sustainable choices given the lack of transparency in the fashion industry. This WISDOM WEDNESDAY, we shone the light on Good On You, a fantastic resource not only for finding the best-in-class sustainable fashion and beauty brands but also for continuing our education as customers and reflecting on what we truly value.

So, if you love fashion and want to make more mindful purchasing decisions, visit their website and download their app. Good On You's ratings can empower you with knowledge about brands' practices - everything from their greenhouse gas emissions and water use to worker safety, living wages, and animal welfare - so you can decide whether brands align with your values. This is especially important considering that your consumption choices can provide living wages to many people around the world, particularly in marginalized communities.

 

#WisdomWednesday 10.23

♻️ Redress Design Award at Shanghai Fashion Week Spotlights Sustainable Fashion 💚

Redress Design Award, Shanghai Fashion Week 2024

 

This week for WISDOM WEDNESDAY the spotlight was on Redress, a Hong Kong-based, Asia-focused environmental NGO on a mission to accelerate the transition to a circular fashion industry by educating and empowering designers and consumers to reduce clothing’s negative environmental impacts.

The Redress Design Award is the world’s leading sustainable fashion design competition, educating emerging fashion designers around the world about sustainable design theories and techniques to drive growth towards a circular fashion system. By putting sustainable design talent in the global spotlight, the Redress Design Award creates a unique platform for passionate and talented fashion game-changers to transform the global fashion industry and rewards the best with career-changing prizes to maximize long-term impact.

 

Redress Founder, Christina Dean at Founder's Breakfast, Shanghai

Loop Swim has long been a dedicated fan, active audience member, and contributor at their conferences and shows. This year, our team attended Redress founder Christina Dean’s talk at the Founder’s Breakfast on October 15, followed by the fashion show at Shanghai Fashion Week on October 16, 2024. The styles were jaw-dropping, the show sublime, and we left feeling energized to continue our mission towards a regenerative fashion industry. Here are the highlights:

• Fashion’s current linear system of ‘take, make, and waste’ is unsustainable.
• Our impact is increasing. By 2030, we will be buying 13% more, trashing 60% more, and we are on track to use 25% of the world’s carbon budget by 2050.
• 80% of the impact of clothes is at the design stage, where designers have the greatest influence.
• The biggest constraint on sustainability is at the fabric and fiber processing stage. As raw materials have become more expensive due to global inflation, it is the people/labor that gets shortchanged.
• Fashion doesn’t just need to turn circular; it needs to start with regenerated resources and be regenerative. The industry needs to BE LIKE A TREE – everything can be repurposed.
• China’s Big Picture – By 2030, China aims to be able to recycle 30% of its textile waste and produce 3 million tons of recycled fiber annually.

Read more about Redress here and follow them on Instagram: @getredressed.