When considering any material on the journey to sustainably, one should use a set of questions as a starting point. In addition to fashion materials, this includes packaging, disposable cutlery, paper and any materials you might use in your business.
Raw Materials
What raw materials go into making a material or product?
Where do they come from?
What impact does the cultivation/ extraction of that raw material have on 1) the environment, 2) wildlife, and 3) the communities where it comes from?
What processes does a raw material go through before it becomes useful to you? What gets added or taken away (and from where does that stuff come and to where does it go)?
Be thoughtful about the intended use of your product. Are you using the material the best suited for your product over its entire lifecycle – production, use, and end-of-life?
Water
How much water is used in the cultivation/ extraction and processing of the material?
Where does the water come from?
Do you have a way to measure quantity and quality of water coming in and going out?
How much water is wasted? Can it be recycled?
Is your wastewater clean?
Is the process happening near any water sources (groundwater, lakes, etc.)? Is your process affecting that water in any way?
If your raw material involves animals, is their waste contaminating water sources?
Will the material require large amounts of water in terms of consumer care?
Energy
Where does your energy come from?
Is it renewable?
How much energy does it take to create a material? Can this be reduced?
How much energy will that material require when the product is 1) in use and 2) disposed of/recycled?
Air
What is the carbon footprint of a material? Are you measuring this?
Are any other parts of the process sending pollution into the air?
Is air safe for workers to breath in the fields/mines/factories/mills/refineries/etc. where your material is produced?
How much travel is required between all the different phases of production? Can you reduce this?
Chemicals
What chemicals go into the making of a material? (Don’t forget, these aren’t just synthetic, nature produces some harmful chemicals too!)
Are these chemicals harmful to the environment or people along any part of a product’s lifecycle?
Where does the chemical come from? How is it made? Who makes it? Chemicals are made out of raw materials, so don’t forget to ask all the raw materials questions for those too. • Do you use a Restricted Substances List? (If not, you should consider creating and using one.)
Waste
What raw materials go into making a material or product?
What are the bi-products of producing that material?
Where does that waste material go? Can it be used for something else? If not, how is it disposed of?
What kind of packaging is being used and discarded?
Biodiversity
Does the cultivation/extraction and processing help to maintain biodiversity and preserve the many different species of plants and animals? (For example, the use of GMO crops hinders biodiversity).
How does the material impact natural habitats along all stages of it’s lifecycle: cultivation/extraction, processing, use, disposal, and everything in between?
People
Think about all the people that play a part in that material’s lifecycle, including your employees, your local community, every worker along your entire product supply chain (raw material, fiber processing, dye, manufacturing, shipping, retail, etc.), all the different communities those people are a part of, customers/consumers.
Do you really know who all of them are?
Do workers in your supply chain have good, stable income (a true living wage, not just the national minimum wage)?
Are workers empowered? Do they have a voice in the workplace, the right to organize, and equal opportunity?
Are working conditions safe?
Are your customers safe?
Do workers have the resources they need for them and their families to live healthy lives?
Is there gender equality and empowerment for women?
We have a tendency to think of just the people with whom we work directly, but we need to think of entire communities, which are often effected by environmental pollution, cycles of poverty inflicted by poor labor practices, and more.
Does your supply chain have a negative impact on human health? (For example, if your dye process is polluting ground water and rivers you are hurting the health of entire communities, not to mention entire ecosystems).
How does your supply chain impact urban migration? (Which can also mean the destruction of smaller communities, rural life and artisanship, or the creation of vast urban slums that encourage dangerous living situations).
