As the Co-founder and CEO of Maison de Mode, the world’s leading ethical fashion retail, consulting, and communications company, I’m often confronted by people who are looking purchase with a purpose. As consumers continue to be trained to shop impulsively and discard clothing at the same fast rate, I’ve outlined a few ways one can tackle the notion of living sustainably along with the help of some of my closest friends and experts who have been championing sustainability for over a decade.

First things first, it’s time to slow down and reflect on what it is that you actually need and determine what products are going to add value to your closet and life for years to come.

An easy way to do this is by visiting and organizing your closet. You may have forgotten about some items that you already own that will take away the need to purchase something new. If there are unwanted items in your closet, don’t throw them away; instead, donate anything those you no longer want as this gives another person the opportunity to enjoy it and also extends the lifecycle of the garment. The longer a garment stays out of a landfill, the better it is for our environment. In the U.S. alone, about 85 percent of all textiles thrown away – roughly 13 million tons  – are either dumped into landfill or burned.

When shopping, try and stick to natural fabrics. Natural and ethically sourced fabrics such as silk, linen, leather, and cotton are not only gentler on the overall production process but also ensure that micro-plastics are not entering our water systems and oceans every time we wash our clothes. It has to be both the consumer and the designer who are responsible for the care of our people and planet. This is why I always encourage designers to think about reducing energy and water use from the initial design starting point. Somewhere around 60 percent of energy and water use in the total lifecycle of a T-Shirt occurs in the use phase— i.e. washing, ironing, and drying. In order to reduce energy use, designers need to consider all parts of the garment’s lifecycle.

Last and most importantly, live thoughtfully. Be aware of your habits and your daily impact on the planet and be compassionate towards other people, animals, and beings. Do your best to give back in any capacity; align your values and see how the brands you shop create their products and support those businesses that reflect the values that you resonate with.

In the world of sustainability, more information is always better and sharing is more than caring. I’ve asked Rosario Dawson, Amber Valletta and Nikki Reed to share their insights for a more holistic view on how to better fashion’s impact on our planet.

ROSARIO DAWSON

How can we as consumers create a social impact through our shopping habits?

Wow, there are so many different ways. This pandemic has hit so many stores, especially small stores really hard. Orders that had been produced and could not be fulfilled because people didn’t want to buy them and then these stores shut down. So going and supporting and finding those businesses that are aligned with your values, like sustainability, ethical, vegan and slow fashion, really make a difference. If you can afford to not take a discount, don’t take the discount. Little things like that can make a really big difference. Since we engage so heavily with social media, going online and promoting those small businesses and the things that you bought, is really critical and really helpful to promote brands in a way that maybe they don’t have the means to do so.

Especially when you’re thinking about wanting to support Black-owned brands, that’s a really big deal! What Aurora James did with the 15 Percent Pledge is really hardcore and really makes a big impact. When 15 percent of the population is Black, less than 1 percent of the brands on shelves are of color. That’s a huge disparity and problem. Seeking out and identifying and supporting those types of brands can make or break a business, which is really special.

You can find things that are supporting indigenous communities. You can find companies that are giving back to other companies. You can find and support companies that do recycling and better packaging and are really mindful of how much that they’re putting out into the world. For example, Eileen Fisher the brand collects old garments to refurbish. There are different kinds of companies that you can investigate and decide to support, which is voting with your dollar.

Why is it important to preserve craftsmanship and old-world techniques?

The people who are still doing artisan work are most of the time the people who still need to do it. But also, I think it lends itself to the credibility of that eraser— because we have a tendency of going to people who were inspired by things but that are not recognizing the supply chain. By starting to be more aware of how things are made and who is making them, we have an opportunity then to invest in those communities and invest in those people.

What you find oftentimes is that you’re not sacrificing style or relevance, since old is new all the time. But what you are doing is starting to recognize craftsmanship and the history and the people behind that legacy, which is so beautiful and so powerful. This appreciates and values history and people, making sure the industry and people at large do the same— that is sustainability!

Those things are made to last. That’s what’s filling up our thrift stores and is constantly being repurposed and reused. You’re not going to see a lot of waste. You’re going to see a lot of techniques that take from the Earth and are very natural and go back to the Earth in a beautiful way. That cycle and that circle of appreciation for quality material get sort of factored in in a beautiful way. It keeps us connected to our history and our legacy.

What are we going to leave behind? What are we creating that is going to be timeless and can be continued to be used? How can we keep up with things? The craft and creativity and beauty and power that is the human inspired spirit is a gorgeous thing to imagine. People passing on techniques and tools, skills and talents to us now are the ultimately legacy.

AMBER VALLETTA

What first got you interested in sustainability? What made you conscious of the need to raise awareness around sustainability?

I grew up in nature in Oklahoma and I played outside all the time. I went to my grandparents’ farm every weekend and spent all summer there, outside in the creek, catching crawdads and playing in the fields. It’s where I fell in love with nature.

When I lived in New York in my early twenties, I started studying at NYU and took a class called “Politics of the Environment,” which was the foray into really understanding the harm we were causing to the planet. Not longer after, I moved out to California and started working with a bunch of environmental groups. One was the NRDC: They started reporting scientific work and collecting data in China with the goal to improve process efficiency and reduce waste emissions in the manufacturing process. It was called Clean By Design, and I was on NRDC’s advisory board so I started learning all of this information.

When I decided to take a break from acting and come back to fashion, I didn’t want to come back into the fashion industry and just model. In truth, doing what I had done before didn’t interest me. I wanted to pair both my talent and values to my work. I knew as an industry, we must make significant systemic changes if we want to see a better future for all. Fashion thrives on ingenuity, creativity, and innovation, and those are the very things that will help our industry become true leaders in sustainable business practices globally.

In your eyes, how do you define sustainable fashion and what does it mean to you?

I look at the definition of sustainability very clearly, which is to not be harmful to the environment and deplete the natural resources that support ecological balance. To me, that means change has to happen throughout the supply chain. To create a sustainable fashion industry, we have to look at the very beginning— from seed through how we discard clothing. Instead of thinking about it as a linear line, we have to think about it as a circle.

We keep talking about circular fashion because we must start thinking about all that we have in the waste stream. We have to think about how people are being treated and if garment workers and artisans are being paid fairly. Sustainability to me means causing no harm. It’s about how can we leave things better than how we found them without causing harm to the people and planet. Right now, we’re causing a lot of harm and it’s just not economically sound; it doesn’t make any sense.

Conscientious consumption is as important as responsible design. I like purchasing with a purpose and the same goes towards for being mindful in design. Having the end game in mind is crucial.

When you are shopping, whether it be fashion, beauty or home, what important touch points do you look for in terms of sustainability? What do you look at personally when shopping a brand or product?

What I look at first is great design because I believe if something is not designed well and not desirable, you will never buy it. Ultimately, longevity is really what we’re going for here.

Second to me is materials. It’s important for me to understand what the product is made from. Because if I know I’m buying some gigantic plastic product, that’s not going to biodegrade or it’s not very healthy for me or anyone around I won’t buy it. I always ask myself: What is it made of and where it’s made? Does it have any certifications?

Knowing the company you’re buying from and becoming more educated about who the company is is super important to me. When I’m buying online, I always know what brand or product I am getting and I look at everybody’s CSR report. I ask: is there any sustainable angle here before I buy? If a new sweatsuit pops up on my Instagram, I think “okay that’s cute, let’s go and see what they’re doing.” Where did they make it? Are they talking about any transparency in their supply chain? Are they talking about transparency in their materials? I try to educate myself as best I can.

The last thing is about discarding the product if I do not keep it. A lot of people, when they buy something new, don’t think about what happens after. I just think if something is disposable, I really have to think about how I am going to dispose of it and discard it responsibly. For example, something at the grocery store that comes in a plastic container, I ask myself, how am I going to discard this? Is it worth it? Fashion should be looked at in the same way.

NIKKI REED

What should we look for when purchasing clothing to ensure it is actually sustainable?

The best way to determine what is truly sustainable is to take the time to research the company and ask questions about their process, supply chain, and manufacturing facility. I look for designers that design in small batches, made to order, in a facility that prioritizes conscious production. Water waste, what chemicals are used, and synthetic versus organic materials are all things to keep in mind. By refusing to design around seasonal trends, designers have the chance to produce less, but produce better.

There is always such a wave of noise with sustainable fabrics and what the best one really is (from organic cotton at one point and then hemp at another) that people get confused. Which fabrics are actually gentler for our planet? 

I love using materials that are a byproduct of waste like cupro and tencel twill. Cupro for example is a regenerated cellulose fiber derived from wood fiber and cotton linter aka a waste byproduct of cotton. Tencel, compared to cotton has a significantly smaller environmental impact, requiring much 10 to 20 times less water and no pesticides whatsoever.

How can we go cruelty-free in fashion while keeping it just as chic? 

In my opinion, the focus should be cruelty-free and environmentally conscious. When we only think about the animals and not the planet, we are essentially doing just as much harm in the end. We can’t avoid animal products but instead use synthetic materials that fill up landfills and pollute our oceans. We have to use organic material that has the ability to breakdown overtime while remaining beautiful and wearable for decades. We need to start making it cool to re-wear what we already have instead of forcing new new new fashion and fast fashion into our everyday lives.

What is the best way to dye clothing? 

I love dyeing with plants, but the inconsistency of that can make it tricky for brands to commit to it. There is tremendous innovation happening in this space with new and emerging plant dye processes coming out all the time that are making this much more doable, so in my opinion plant dyes are the way of the future! I also see a world where we can use regenerative farming techniques to grow the plants that are harvested to dye the materials used for fashion, so the Earth can benefit.