Sustainable Fashion: More Than Just a Trend

Sustainability, particularly in fashion, is having a major moment. With the fashion industry being the second largest polluter, the change is long overdue. Fashion brands are highlighting sustainability in their collections and practices, but is there any substance to their claims? HAVAH, a sustainable activewear brand, proves it’s promises are more than just words. 

HAVAH’s mission is to promote sustainability through stylish activewear. The brand designs activewear for dancers but has quickly become a favorite for other sports thanks to its 4-way stretch, second-skin-like fabric. Here is how HAVAH is promoting sustainability. 

Supporting fair labor rights

Each product is handmade to order in Europe and North America, where the government has fair labor rights in place.

Producing clothes on-demand

All the pieces in the collection are made to order. By doing so, HAVAH avoids over-production and textile waste. Retail giants who produce in bulk often throw out or burn their excess stock, resulting in 92 million tons of textile waste each year. 

With their made-to-order approach, HAVAH can create as many collections as required on a monthly basis. Currently, they add three new trends every month, calling it “sustainable fast trends”. A lifetime product warranty is offered as a way to make sure the products get back to the brand so it can be recycled. 

Being mindful of materials and technology  

The technology used to make the clothing is made with sustainability in mind. The equipment uses almost no wastewater and less energy, lowering the carbon footprint. The inks used are water-based and free of harmful chemicals. 

HAVAH uses minimum materials to create their apparel. For example, the brand logo is printed on the inside rather than a tag, which always gets cut and thrown away. Printing the logo on the inside improves the second skin feeling of the garments rather than have the remnants of a cut tag annoying the wearer. 

Lowering the carbon footprint

4% of climate impact comes from distribution and retail. To minimize this impact, HAVAH exclusively sells online and produces all clothing to order. With production facilities in North America and Europe, it enables the brand to provide worldwide delivery without the need to move bulk orders around the world.

Using minimal packaging

Items are always packed with minimal packaging to decrease the impact on the environment and reduce the carbon footprint. For every HAVAH order that ships, the packaging is made from 70% recycled film.

While sustainable fashion still has a long way to go, it has proven that it is here to stay. If brands begin taking the steps discussed in this article, the fashion industry will be on its way to becoming more sustainable.