The Green Glossary: Sustainability Terminology To Take Into The New Year
By Amy Nguyen, Founder and Editor of Sustainable & Social
When it comes to sustainable development in the fashion sector, education equals empowerment.
The current fashion landscape is experiencing pervasive greenwashing where ‘sustainability’ has become a buzzword used by marketeers to tout supposed ‘ethical’ credentials. But what do these words really mean?
In order to ask the deep questions that will further the direction of the fashion industry towards ethical and environmental justice, businesses and consumers alike must be equipped with the correct knowledge and appropriate definitions. When communicating climate issues, words are undeniably powerful. The simple interchange of one word can have a powerful effect when addressing sustainability topics. For example, switching ‘climate change’ to ‘climate emergency’ immediately conveys a sense of urgency and would infer that the communicator is more emotive.
Knowledge sharing can therefore, set the correct narrative for addressing matters of planetary importance and enhance the industry’s accountability to higher sustainability standards. Publishers, brands and grass-roots movements are working to democratise the climate and social justice conversation through their access to sustainable fashion glossaries.
A handful of organisations are sharing comprehensive sustainable fashion glossaries to democratise the conversation and turn fashion into a force for good.
In partnership with the Centre for Sustainable Fashion, London College of Fashion and University of Arts London, Condé Nast have produced a comprehensive bible of sustainable fashion terms.
The online catalogue is separated into four areas that review the climate emergency, environmental impacts and socio/cultural effects. It also provides a summary of data sources for additional reading.
This glossary, unlike others, covers critical legislative developments and events that have characterised international climate discussions. For example, it includes the Kyoto Protocol and the 2015 Paris Agreement, as well as outlining the Bruntland Report. This report issued in 1987 sought to define sustainable development as "the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
Other areas of the glossary hone in on the environmental toll the fashion industry has by raising awareness about the use of chemicals and materials as well as presenting microfibre solutions.
The publishers have dedicated space to discussing the complexity of social issues that are integrated into supply chains, including unregulated labour and collective bargaining. Importantly, this section also covers cultural appropriation – a common phenomenon amongst fashion brands. Too often, fashion houses and retailers find themselves in compromised reputational situations due to mis-researched and ignorant applications of slogans, patterns and modelling.
The end of the Condé Nast glossary addresses key elements of the intersection of sustainable fashion; it incorporates solution orientated terms to further stimulate the conversation such as accountability, localism, trust and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
The British designer Stella McCartney’s interpretation of a fashion glossary is the newly released A -Z. This alphabet offers phrases that are important to the fashion house and its brand identity. In contrast to the more scientific Condé Nast glossary, Stella’s A-Z is a visual dictionary to communicate the conscious intensions of the brand. Motivated by the fact that ‘fashion needs hope and humour’, the online source focuses on holistic elements of sustainability. For example, mindful design, intimacy and gratitude.
Lifestyle publication Highsnobiety have endeavoured to provide a ‘cheat sheet’ for its readers on the most commonly used terms in sustainable fashion. The team are motivated to share sustainability terms with their belief that “Knowledge starts on the labels of the products we buy and on the websites of the brands we buy from.”
The Highsnobiety glossary relays a broad overview for those completely new to the sustainable fashion forum. It explores introductory terms for circular fashion like ‘closed loop’. Alongside this, the authors deconstruct the meaning of ‘Tier 1 factories’, to help citizens recognise greenwashing of supply chain ‘transparency’ or the abuse of ‘Made in’ country of origin labels.
Other interpretations of the industry’s sustainability glossaries include ethical ratings app Good on You as well as the fashion movement Remake, both of which cover the aforementioned key terminology.
Important terms to take into the new year
Fashion’s conversation about sustainability is constantly evolving, and there is no doubt these glossaries will be routinely updated and expanded.
Refreshed scientific language will help to convey key concepts that distinguish authentic sustainability strategies from unsubstantiated and unambitious goals. These include:
· Science-based targets– these are the necessary greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions targets that a corporation needs to make in order to keep global warming in line with a 2°C pathway. It is important to note that only 16% of the 222 brands surveyed by Fashion Revolution’s 2020 Transparency Index published science-based targets. This highlights there is a large intention vs action gap when it comes to emissions reduction.
· Life cycle assessment (LCA)– is the analysis of the impact an object has on the world around it. It measures the environmental and social impact of a product from its raw material extraction, processing, transportation, retail/use and waste phases. Due to the fact that most of the carbon and water footprint of clothing is accrued in the supply chain, LCA’s will become increasingly important to mitigate this. They will also further initiatives for garment carbon labelling.
· Plastic offsetting– the process where organisations offset unavoidable plastic use by investing in projects that combat plastic pollution. These projects are becoming more common due to the problematic relationship with fashion and plastic. As it stands over half a million tonnes of microfibres into the oceans each year through production - the equivalent to 50 million plastic bottles.
Lastly, digital escalation of the fashion industry means consumers will become well-versed in terms such as digital twins, blockchain, augmented reality and virtual reality.
Collaboration and knowledge sharing are essential for fashion’s uptake of sustainable processes and business models. By clarifying and creating standardised definitions, all stakeholders will be able to identify misleading statements and disingenuous greenwashed communications.
The existing sustainable fashion glossaries are valuable resources that can empower organisations and consumers to make informed decisions that lead them on the path to sustainable development.
If you want to learn more about communicating climate issues, listen to Michael Rosen’s dedicated Word Of Mouth episode to communicating climate change.
Amy Nguyen, Founder and Editor of Sustainable & Social. For more from Sustainable & Social, subscribe to the monthly newsletter and join the conversation @sustainableandsocial.