Top fashion brands around the world are working to make clothes as fast, in style, and sustainable as possible, for example H&M. Being sustainable includes using recycled material, having livable wages for company’s factory working and reduced the amount of waste the company ultimately produces.
GoodWill is a second-hand clothing store which is known to carry not only clothes but also used house items and toys. The company opened in 1902 and the idea of the store according to the company website was to “fight poverty not with charity, but with trade skills.”
Dana Jones (far left) searches through bins of clothes on Nov. 26, 2021, at the GoodWill Outlet Store in Indianapolis. This GoodWill covers a pound of clothes for less than $2.00.
Fashion design students at Indiana University design clothes, upcycling second-hand clothes and materials to make the sustainable apparel.
Senior Ivy Anderson has participated in Bloomington’s Trashion Fashion show which focuses on using second-hand material to design outfits. She is studying fashion design in the hopes of being able to influence the fashion industry to be more sustainable.
Customers grab for clothes at the GoodWill Outlet on Nov. 26, 2021. All clothes in GoodWill stores are used and bought second-hand and sold at a discounted price. This is an example of overconsumption of clothes. The items that are not bought after a certain amount of time get thrown away.
Anderson continues to sketch out designs for the next Trashion Fashion show. She is in the begging stages of the process which include sketching the design and measuring material.
Thrift store owner, Susan Williamson, searches through the bins of clothes looking for potential pieces she can sell in her Indianapolis shop.
H&M used recycled cotton for the majority of the brand's clothes, working towards a more sustainable company. According to the company website, “in 2013, H&M was the first global fashion retailer to launch a garment collecting program in all stores.” This is an example of one brand that is working towards more sustainable products.
Finished clothing designs, made from 90% recycled materials by Anderson. Her overall goal is to make clothing lines from all recycled materials.