by Kestrel Jenkins
Fashioning Change isn’t your typical online marketplace. Hailing from San Diego, the self-professed “green shopping intervention” helps consumers recreate name-brand looks using sustainable and ethical brands. By matching styles and price points, Fashioning Change goes beyond retail, becoming a “consumer-driven tool that will drive bottom-up systemic change in the fashion industry,” according to co-founders Adriana Herrera and Kevin Ball. The “Wear This, Not That” app even does the research for you, making it easy to style a more sustainable wardrobe. And, if you’re the sort of person who likes to dig deep, the site includes fact sheets that delve into the backgrounds of each label, so you know precisely what you’re buying into.
BUY THIS, NOT THAT
“Eight out of 10 shoppers say they would shop greener if shopping ‘green’ was easy, cost the same, and didn’t mean dressing like a hippie,” Herrera tells Ecouterre. Choosing an ethical product over a conventional casts a “vote” for positive change, she adds, while sending a message to larger brands that their production practices need work.
Megacorps are driven by financial success, which means the key to getting their attention is hitting them where it hurts: their bottom lines.
Megacorps are driven by financial success, which means the key to getting their attention is hitting them where it hurts: their bottom lines. “Mainstream brands have a fiduciary responsibility to their stakeholders to make as much money as possible,” Herrera says. “In order to regain market share, and regain profits, they will need to adopt authentic eco-friendly and ethical practices.”
Fashioning Change looks forward to the day when they can support larger brands transition in a more sustainable direction, she adds. In the meantime, options abound for consuming through a sustainable lens, without sacrificing style or security—you just need to know where to look.
(Source: www.ecouterre.com )