Theme Overview: Sustainable Fashion

Sustainable fashion isn’t just one issue — it’s more like a collection. From investigating the materials our clothes are made of, to the stores and brands that market them, to the work woven into every garment, shopping is an intensive — not an innocent — activity.

This month, two writers are helping us unbundle the idea of “sustainable fashion” both on a systemic level (exploring ethics in the fashion industry) and a personal level (picking out a new t-shirt). Jeff Camp draws from his own experience to help us practice being conscious consumers, while social enterprise founder Brad Jeffrey shares an inside view of fair trade factories. Both pieces challenge us to see beyond racks, labels, and products to recognize the stories tying us to the things we wear.

• Jeff Camp offers tips on how to decipher clothing labels, and shares how he strives to express his style with ethical consumer choices.
• In an interview, Brad Jeffrey shares about injustice in the fashion industry and the story behind Cause Gear, a Chicago-based social enterprise that employs self-sustaining artisans in India.