I’m conflicted.
I have a passion for fashion, and yet I am appalled by the Industry from which my passion comes.
The negative impact the fashion industry has on nature and human workers has been the forgotten frontier despite the tireless work to educate by the likes of Fashion Revolution, Business of Fashion, Common Objective, & Eco Cult, to name a few.
And even within the benevolent side of fashion, the hallmark term “Sustainability” has a cryptic quality as it is ambiguous to define, and is neither modelable nor measurable with any semblance of industry standard.
And while many brands are doing remarkable things with mission-driven integrity, other brands hide behind this greenwashed word as an illusionary stamp of goodwill. Eg. Doing one thing that has an altruistic component and stamping their brand with sustainability despite what else they may be (not) doing. An absence of an industry watchdog perpetuates this messiness.
In order to create harmony in an industry that is overwhelmingly more polluting than promising, to make true impact to reverse the curse that will live in landfills for a thousand years perpetually leeching and plasticizing our ocean, I stand that we must go beyond sustainability principles to mirror models of regeneration, as taught by other forefather industries, such as regenerative agriculture, and regenerative food systems.
At one golden thread, we exist to elevate consciousness through comfort threads fashioned by nature, within a regeneration model giving back more to nature than it takes to create from nature.
So how can an industry define Regeneration? We submit it occupies six components:
- Ethical supply chain
- Super nature materials
- Biodegradable properties
- Regenerative modeling
- Plastic free packaging eco-mailers
- Living wages for workers
Humans eat plants, farmers plant plants. Why can’t fashion adopt the same infinite harmonious practices as farmers?
Regeneration is being in infinite rhythm with nature, innovative with nature to connect our inner nature, and then replenishing back to nature. In an infinite cycle that is not separate, but rather connected. I remember my waking dream of seeing an infinity sign on its side, rather than an industry in Circular Fashion.
One of the most crucial components of Regeneration is clarity and accountability.
So we worked with our source manufacture to determine how many articles of clothing can be cut and sewn from the fiber from one regenerative Beech Tree. The answer: We can hand-craft (at least) 108 @onegoldenthread articles of clothing from one Beech Tree. And for every item purchased, we plant a tree through NGO reforestation partner @OneTreePlanted. Thus, our reforestation impact back to nature is 108x.
Our offering is to deliciously disrupt the industry’s pollutive disruption on Mother Nature.
Regeneration vs. Sustainability: what does it mean to you?
Thank you for listening to the heart beat of how you wish to see & be in the world...
With self & shared love,
Jeff
