Jacket | Crop Top | Jeans (similar) | Boots (similar)

Since starting my journey to a more eco and sustainable lifestyle, I realized that there is so much more to this new world I live in. I’ve found myself in a revolution of so many individuals fighting for eco-friendliness, conscious consumerism, fair trade practices, sustainable living, zero waste, and the list goes on.  I consider myself part of this revolution because I see that although I don’t actively write about every topic in the list above, I see that we are all part of the same team.

Some of you are readers from two years ago when I wasn’t pursuing a more eco-friendly lifestyle, and some of you are newer readers that have been doing sustainable and eco-friendly longer than I. Wherever you are in this spectrum, I use so many words interchangeably and I thought, I’m going to try to define some important terms that you need to know if you are interested in living more sustainably. That way you know exactly what I’m talking about when I recommend brands that are”sustainable ” or “fair trade”, etc.

The eco fashion dictionary:

• Conscious – usually used with consumerism where conscious consumerism is a movement of people who seek out ways to make positive decisions about what to buy and look for a solution to the negative impact consumerism is having on our world.
• Cruelty Free – (of cosmetics or other commercial products) manufactured or developed by methods that do not involve experimentation on animals.
• Eco friendly – not harmful to the environment; refers to products that contribute to “green” living or practices that help conserve resources like water and energy. Eco-friendly products also prevent contributions to air, water and land pollution.
• Ethical Fashion – Ethical Fashion is an umbrella term to describe ethical fashion design, production, retail, and purchasing. It covers a range of issues such as working conditions, exploitation, fair trade, sustainable production, the environment, and animal welfare.
• Fashion revolution – a global movement that believes in a fashion industry that values people, the environment, creativity and profit in equal measure. Read more
• Fast fashion – a term used for fashionable and trendy clothing that is designed and manufactured quickly and inexpensively. Retailers such as H&M, Zara and Forever 21 are well known as fast fashion brands.
• Organic -ingredients that are non genetically modified plants, that is believed to be grown without the use of any synthetic agricultural chemicals such as fertilizers or pesticides.
• Recycled – waste, converted into reusable material
• Slow fashion – Slow Fashion is the movement of designing, creating, and buying garments for quality and longevity. It encourages slower production schedules, fair wages, lower carbon footprints, and (ideally) zero waste. – Study NY
• Sustainable – Sustainability is defined as a requirement of our generation to manage the resource base such that the average quality of life that we ensure ourselves can potentially be shared by all future generations.
• Sustainable fashion – Sustainable fashion, also called eco fashion, is a part of the growing design philosophy and trend of sustainability, the goal of which is to create a system which can be supported indefinitely in terms of human impact on the environment and social responsibility
• Vegan – (of cosmetics or other commercial products) manufactured or developed by methods that do not contain animal products or byproducts.

Quiz time:

Time to show off! Fill in the blank with one of these words, based on the outfit I’m wearing above.

1. My velvet jacket is from Eileen Fisher. Their fabric is ______________ because their the finished product meets the bluesign® standard for chemical, water and energy usage.
2. A new favorite brand of mine is Nobody’s Child. Although they create ___________________ by producing so many trendy pieces, their supply chain has been able to produce ____________________ ensuring ethical practices from design to retail.
3. I prefer makeup that is  _______________ and _________________ because I know the products are safe and chemical free and are not tested on animals.
4. My denim and boots are from the Salvation Army Thrift store. Thrifting is one way to shop that is ________________ because one article of clothing can be passed from person to person.

Answers:

1. eco friendly
2. fast fashion, ethical fashion
3. organic, cruelty-free
4. sustainable

xo,