Sustainable Fashion: Circular Clothing Sets the Standard

In September, the Hudson Valley's first sustainable fashion show featured local, eco-friendly designs put on display for about 300 guests. Credit: Amelia Williams, courtesy Kaitlyn Murray.

When Kaitlyn Murray was a senior at the Fashion Institute of Technology, she took an elective course on sustainability in fashion merchandising. At the time, it was the only class offered on such a topic at the college.

Just over a decade later, “sustainability” has become the buzzword of the fashion industry — and all industries — in an eco-conscious world.

“You have to be talking about it,” said Murray. “Even if companies are talking about it without actually putting anything behind it, [the conversation has] really shifted in a good way.”

Upon graduating from FIT, Murray worked in the internet and merchandising departments for luxury design company Hermès. But after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the idea for her current business venture was born. Today, Murray serves as founder and CEO of la vie après l’amour, a sustainable fashion brand based in Ulster County, New York, that gives new life to upcycled, secondhand and donated clothing.

Hudson Valley Sustainable Fashion Week, which runs under Murray’s business, hosted the region’s first sustainable fashion show in September at Rose Hill Farm in Red Hook, New York. With a peach orchard serving as an organic silent runway, models showcased clothing from seven local designers and a collective of four Marist College alumni.

“It’s pretty amazing when you have a vision, share it and then people catch that vision and want to be part of it,” said Murray.

The show’s success is in no small part due to the mindset of today’s young people. One recent survey found that 73% of Generation Z is willing to pay more for sustainable products.

“We’re looking for that, and if we don’t see that, we immediately won’t shop there because we’re just that determined to make a change,” said Jami Rusczyk ‘26, treasurer of Marist’s student-run Ethical Fashion Initiative.

Industry leaders and thinkers came together to discuss this very topic in September at the Global Fashion Summit in Boston, the first time the event was held in the U.S. According to Anthony Millero, professional lecturer of fashion merchandising at Marist, attending the conference was a great way to share best practices with colleagues while working towards the shared goal of sustainability.

“The more we share, then the more prices for sustainable textiles go down because more and more people are using them, and it’s more accessible,” said Millero.

From production to product

As a whole, the fashion industry accounts for 10% of annual worldwide carbon emissions, which is more than maritime shipping and international flights put together. The industry also engages in wasteful ways of doing business, with 93 billion cubic meters of water consumed annually to manufacture clothing garments.

Now, picture a world where renewable production methods produce high-quality clothing that lasts longer and can be recycled into new garments. That is the circular economy in a nutshell, and it is an industry-wide answer to the calls for change.

“Fashion is getting incorporated into a sustainable sense, and I feel like there is a lot of action happening, but I feel it needs to be much more advanced and pushed further,” said Billy Teed ‘26, social media chair of EFI.

Indeed, current efforts are insufficient to supercharge the transition to a circular business model. In 2021, less than 1% of the global fiber market consisted of recycled textiles. According to the World Bank, 87% of total fiber input for clothing is either incinerated or dumped in a landfill. And the negative environmental impacts of fibers continue to materialize.

One such example is polyester, the world’s most used fiber. A type of manufactured plastic made from petroleum, polyester is a non-biodegradable material often found in athletic wear. Besides its fossil fuel-based origins, polyester also sheds microplastics in the washer — these plastic particles, not visible to the naked eye, pollute waterways and harm ocean life.

“The fashion industry can never be 100% sustainable, but the easiest thing is picking what kind of materials we’re using,” said Millero.

Natural fibers, such as cotton, are generally considered more eco-friendly than synthetic-based materials. But even so, they come with their own set of problems, like increased water and pesticide usage. Programs like the Better Cotton Initiative work to bring more sustainability to the cotton growing industry, training just under 3 million farmers in better practices during the 2021-22 season.

The circular economy stands in direct contrast to the dominant fast fashion market, in which clothing is mass-produced, inexpensive and changing by the minute. Billion-dollar online fashion company Shein is infamous for following this model, with cheap clothing coming at the cost of 75-hour shifts for workers and 6.3 million tons of annual carbon dioxide emissions.

“If you want to be a responsible business, you have to think about profitability, but you also have to think about environmental and social impacts that your business has,” said Millero.

More often than not, irresponsible businesses include brands whose familiar storefronts can be found in shopping malls nationwide. At the local Poughkeepsie Galleria mall, two such companies can be found: H&M and Forever 21, both of which are known for their unsustainable practices and unfair working conditions.

H&M has been accused of failing to pay workers a living wage, as well as greenwashing by way of making vague claims about sustainable clothing materials. Forever 21 has not joined the two retail organizations that would guarantee improved safety conditions for factories in Bangladesh while also failing to pay workers’ under-wage claims.

“If we know that in the industry, people are still not doing what they should be doing, then we need to send people that will say that isn’t the right way to do it; there’s a better way,” said Sónia Roy, distinguished professional lecturer of fashion design & merchandising at Marist.

For the 37th annual Silver Needle Runway show, Aleena Brown '23 won designer of the year for her collection, created with camping gear like sleeping bags and tents — as showcased by this model. Courtesy Sónia Roy.

Paving the Runway for Change

Other companies are making more of an effort, as recognized by the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards during Milan Fashion Week earlier this fall. Luxury Italian brand Gucci took home the Ellen MacArthur Foundation Award for Circular Economy for its Denim Project, which combines regeneratively grown cotton with post-consumer recycled fibers to produce durable garments.

Outdoor clothing company Patagonia is a prime example of a brand leading the way in the sustainability arena. Last year, founder Yvon Chouinard gave the company away and announced that all dividends that would have been distributed amongst shareholders will now go towards fighting the climate crisis.

“They’ve definitely made a major push over time that’s very largely seen on their marketing scale,” said Teed. “It’s a good representation of a company that’s taking action and will continue to take action.”

According to Roy, although effort on the part of individual companies is a step in the right direction, enacting industry-wide requirements can make the biggest difference. One time, she visited a denim factory in Brazil, which had a water treatment plant and even a vacuum system set up on the floor to collect extra cotton fibers. The production process was self-sustaining, but only because it was a requirement.

“I spoke to them about that; why is this happening? This has got to cost millions of dollars to set up a factory like this. And they said, ‘We have to, they make us do it,’” said Roy.

Part of making sustainability an essential part of the industry comes from the skills of the next generation of fashion designers and merchandisers, including those studying at Marist’s top-tier program. Students learn how to create digital samples of products to reduce material waste, dye fabric with flowers and leaves in a so-called “garden burrito” and produce capping collections for the annual Silver Needle Runway show, which features sustainable design principles.

Outside of classes, EFI is committed to raising awareness about sustainability and ethical practices in the industry. The organization hosts numerous workshops and events throughout the academic year, including the recent Fall Flea Market, which showcased a host of local sustainable brands.

“We get to reach out to smaller vendors who may not be able to get their market out there into the industry, and we let them come here and sell their clothing,” said Rusczyk.

Consumers themselves can also help advance a more sustainable fashion industry. For instance, the average American produces 82 pounds of textile waste annually, contributing to 134 million tons expected by 2030. Last November, Massachusetts offered one better model to follow — becoming the first state to make it illegal to dump textiles in the trash and convincing residents to recycle or donate their clothing instead.

Purchasing secondhand garments is another way to participate in the circular economy. The thrifting trend has especially become popular with Gen Z, but it has always served as a way to express personal style through unique pieces.

“I became a teenager in the 80s, and there were not a lot of options that were affordable in terms of fashion. I wanted something original, so all my friends and I went to shop vintage,” said Roy.

After the success of her regional fashion show, Murray is staying busy with her sustainability efforts. In August, la vie après l’amour opened its storefront in Kingston and now hosts monthly mending nights for customers to bring in garments for repairs. As for Hudson Valley Sustainable Fashion Week, the goal is to make it an independent entity in a separate space with a board in charge.

But for those looking to partake in sustainable fashion individually, Murray offers a simple suggestion: perfect the art of the clothing swap. “Come together at someone’s place, set it up, try on outfits,” she said. “Truly, the most sustainable piece of clothing is already in your closet.”