Below is an article from our guest authors Lisa New and William Lana, the directors of the Greenfibres brand. Greenfibres has been selling beautiful and ethical eco goods and garments since 1996. We specialise in offering customers organic and natural clothing and bedding, which protects the farmers, our environment, and the health and wellbeing of you and your family.
Fast fashion has become a mainstay of many peoples modern busy lives. It has become too easy to get that new t-shirt and only wear it once. Recently this has been challenged by many consumers becoming aware of the environmental and social impact of throwaway textiles, and being more conscious of where and how they shop.
Today, many big brands have responded to this by creating ranges of clothing and textiles using fibres from recycled plastic bottles, bamboo, and in-house cotton labels. But how do we really know where the materials are sourced from? How and where are they made into clothes? And under what conditions? Even if it says it is sustainable somewhere on the label, what does that really mean?
This grey area can lead to greenwashing. It encourages the consumer to believe that they are buying a good thing, without actually providing the traceability or third-party reassurances to prove it. There is a way around this, and something that Greenfibres has supported from the beginning, as a major contributor to the very first standards written in 2002.
The Global Organic Textiles Standards (GOTS) is the highest ethical certification for manufacturers and producers of organic fibres, and the recognisable logo gives you all the reassurance you need. GOTS certified products are grown and made under fair and safe working conditions, protecting the farmers, growers, pickers, weavers, and every step of the manufacturing line. This includes no child labour, fair wages, strict animal welfare, and no exposure to toxic pesticides and chemicals.
At Greenfibres, we source and offer GOTS certified textiles, because that is what we believe in, and that’s what our customers want. Greenwashing undermines confidence, and doesn’t change the extractive economic system; GOTS is trying to catalyse the way people make a positive difference by how they spend their money.
What we buy will be produced, what we don’t, won’t. If we buy products that have been GOTS certified, we are helping to bring about positive change – for the planet and the people.