Can Fashion apps help you become more sustainable?
Obviously yes… here are one writers tried and tested apps
For the last five years the terms ‘conscious fashion,’ ‘sustainable fashion’, and ‘ethically produced’ have become a major talking points in the fashion industry due to public awareness around the negative environmental impact and massive carbon foot print the clothing and textile industry has been causing. So, the consumers are starting to shift their purchasing habits slowly but surely, which has created a ripple effect on the tech industry.
As the fashion industry is shifting into sustainable fashion practices there have also been many unsettling examples of false, misleading or untrue set of claims made by organizations about the positive impact that their companies have. (More commonly known as ‘Greenwashing’.)
The most efficient and responsible fashion app, (in my opinion) should make it crystal clear which brands are truly sustainable and don’t engage in greenwashing. With the use of such apps, the customer shift into conscious fashion would be smoother - an ideal sustainable fashion app should help you build on your capsule or sustainable wardrobe.
It takes an average of 66 days for a ‘phase’ of ours to form into a habit. (To break a habit however, it can take up between 18 to 254 days). With that in mind let’s see if these fashion apps can help you become a conscious consumer as a habit…
A breakdown of the Sustainable Fashion Apps you need to know about:
The Hero Apps
If you don’t want to rent or buy second hand you can still build an eco-conscious wardrobe. We vote with everything we buy so if you purchase from sustainable and local brands, you’re helping them grow their business and supporting slow fashion. As aforementioned Greenwashing has become quite an issue, so you might ask how to identify sustainable brands to buy from. Renoon & Good on You got you covered.
Renoon
Renoon is the shopping app that won’t actually sell you anything. I know you are very much surprised but it is true, they want to help you get all the information you need to make responsible choices before you buy. The Amsterdam based company believes that consumers have the right to see where the products are made and how also sustainability should be as easy as finding the colour or the price of the garment.
Good On You
Good on you is one of the most known apps for finding which sustainable brands to shop from. They aim to empower the consumer to know the impact of brands so they can purchase better. Their comprehensive rating system is endorsed by the fashion industry.
The Second Hand Apps
To change your shopping habits you can search on second hand apps such as Vestiaire Collective, Depop and The Luxury Closet.
According to these apps, by using them you are supposedly lowering your carbon footprint because you aren’t purchasing a ‘newly made’ product. These ones are particularly good if you don’t want to give up on designer brands, but want to become a more conscious consumer. These apps are some of the best for sourcing vintage pieces. You can also sell your unused pieces on all of them to support a circular economy. Likewise with clothing rental apps, using what is already existing and creating a circular wardrobe is a focal point.
Vestiaire Collective
Vestiaire Collective are very aware of the environmental impact of the fashion industry. The company believes that our world’s favourite fashion is the one that already exists. It’s called pre-loved fashion for a reason. Through Vestiaire collective you can shop or sell pre-owned designer clothing and accessories. They have a qualified curation team that takes care of listings, checks quality and authenticity before sending items to buyers. If you are a seller be aware of the commission fee you’ll get charged.
Depop
Depop is a London founded company which is a social app-based marketplace that can help you revive old trends and also sell your clothes too.
The Luxury Closet
Dubai based company The Luxury Closet is very similar to Vestaire Collective in terms of selling and buying pre-loved luxury products. They accept items and also deliver globally.
The Rental Apps
By renting, consumers can lower their environmental impact and also make money by renting out their pieces as well, which is the business model for ByRotation.
Hurr
Hurr was founded in 2017 and has received B-corp certification for their circular practices, making it the first-ever fashion rental to achieve the accolade. They have a permanent physical space in London’s Selfridges where you can see the garments in person before renting them.
Rotaro
Rotaro have taken their sustainability vision further by partnering up with Ecologie which is a leading social enterprise, to plant trees and offset carbon footprint. Since each order needs to be shipped to the consumer there is still a carbon footprint and by taking this in account Rotaro plants a tree (2 trees for gift cards) for each rental
By Rotation
By Rotation, the world’s first social fashion rental app, was launched in October 2019. Users or Rotators can rent and lend their designer fashion directly with each other, thereby creating a community of sharers.
The Alteration Apps
A crucial point in sustainable fashion discussions is the ‘product life cycle.’ Using what already exists is crucial, so in that spirit if something is broken or damaged damaged don’t just throw it and get a new one. Mending or altering something to fit you increases the life span of that garment.
Sojo
One of my newest discoveries is the Sojo app. They are the UK’s first clothing alterations and repairs app. What I love the most about this app is that they support local artists and tailors.
The Seam
According to The Seam “Extending the life of a garment by just nine months decreases its carbon, waste and water footprints by 20-30% each.” This platform (app coming soon) connects you with local, specialist ‘Makers’ to repair and transform your wardrobe.
With all of these new apps and platforms it is easier than ever to develop new habits and become more environmentally conscious. But easier doesn’t really mean accessible for everyone just yet, the level of education towards eco-friendly consumption needs to increase and sustainable brands and apps and tech platforms can support this.
To fight the high carbon footprint and environmental damage which our much-loved fashion industry is causing we need to speed up the transition of our habits and we as consumers need to put pressure on the industry.
The more customers demand responsible fashion the more industry will have to supply. We can increase the awareness of sustainable fashion, lead the change and these apps can make the transition smoother for us all. With more demand for eco-friendly fashion practices, we will also see different apps and technologies arising and that’s definately something to be excited about.