Sustainable Fashion Glossary

Growing textile materials using living organisms such as mycelium, bacteria, or algae.

A curated, minimal collection of versatile garments designed to be mixed and matched.

A system designing garments for maximum use, reuse, repair, and eventual recycling or biodegradation.

Platforms allowing temporary access to garments, reducing production demand by sharing access.

A metric dividing garment price by the number of times worn, encouraging investment in durable pieces.

Surplus or leftover textile material from manufacturers that would otherwise go to waste.

Policy requiring brands to manage end-of-life garment collection, recycling, and disposal.

A certification ensuring fair wages, safe conditions, and environmental standards in garment production.

A global movement demanding transparency in fashion supply chains, founded after the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster.

A business model of rapid, high-volume, low-cost clothing production that mimics trends and encourages disposability.

The process of breaking down textile waste into raw fibers to produce new fabric.

Global Organic Textile Standard, the leading certification for organic fibers covering ecological and social criteria.

Misleading marketing that creates a false impression of environmental responsibility.

A semi-synthetic fiber made from wood pulp in a closed-loop process recovering 99% of solvents.

Tiny plastic particles under 5mm shed from synthetic textiles during washing, polluting waterways.

Colorants sourced from plants, minerals, or insects as alternatives to synthetic chemical dyes.

Cotton cultivated without synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or genetically modified seeds.

A petroleum-derived synthetic fiber that is the world's most used textile material but is non-biodegradable.

Farming practices that restore soil health, increase biodiversity, and sequester carbon.

A movement prioritizing quality, longevity, ethical production, and mindful consumption over speed and volume.

The public disclosure of supplier information, factory conditions, and environmental practices by a brand.

Discarded clothing and fabric scraps from production and consumption, totaling an estimated 92 million tons annually.

Creatively transforming waste materials into products of higher quality or value.

Clothing and accessories made without any animal-derived materials such as leather, wool, silk, or fur.

The total volume of freshwater used across the lifecycle of a garment, from fiber cultivation through dyeing and finishing.