By 
Fashion’s CO2 problem and VESEY’S Stand
by Alfonzo Collazo, Director of Public Relations at VESEY.
In 2018, CO2 emissions from the fashion industry were 2.1 billion tonnes, or 4% of global carbon emissions. If nothing changes, fashion will miss the year 2030 target to reduce CO2 emmisions by 50%.
So that fashion can contribute to eco-friendly circularity and sustainability, The Centre for Sustainable Fashion at the University of the Arts London, has released a guide for micro and small fashion businesses (MSEs) titled ‘Fashion as Sustainability in Action’. The guide compiled by professors at the University, covers innovative ways of thinking and doing business, as well as provides practical implementations for MSEs.
The team at VESEY has reviewed the guide in order to ensure we are on the right track for a sustainable future. We found that we are currently aligned with two of the five guidance factors as identified by The Centre for Sustainable Fashion at UAL: Social Prosperity and Environmental Prosperity, leaving room for improvement but ensuring we have our best foot forward!
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Social Prosperity:
- Moving away from designer clothing production as the sole creative
- Recognizing other contributors
- Creating and contributing to communities
- Flat (non-hierarchical) company structures
- Building long-term relationships based on trust and mutual respect
- Making a positive impact on employees, supply chains and customers. /Centre for Sustainable Fashion
How VESEY promotes Social Prosperity:
- Design collaborations with change creators and non-profit partners. Charities are chosen based on criteria such as their commitment to local communities. 100% of profits are donated to partner charities, such as;
Environmental Prosperity:
- Recognising humans as part of natural world
- moving beyond human-centric thinking
- climate emergency mindsets
- novel approaches to design practice and material use
- commitment to iterative improvements through lifelong learning on the environmental impact of fashion
- examples of lived sustainability
- care for nature at the core of all actions / Centre for Sustainable Fashion
How VESEY promotes Environmental Prosperity:
- Vesey is a registered California public benefit corporation.
- We were founded first as a custom clothing company, producing one garment at a time. We still only produce single size runs, and partner with vendors who do not impose order minimums.
- Long term supply chain trust: we purchase materials on a per-design basis, purchasing only what we need.
- We support underrepresented demographics and POC owned vendors and service providers – especially within LGBTQ+ communities.
What are ways that you can also do your part?
- One out of every five new purchased garments ends up in the landfill. You can offset this by ensuring that one out of every five articles of clothing you buy, is either repurposed, previously loved, or recycled.
- Skip one out of every six washing loads: get more wear out of your clothing before washing.
- Substitute one out of every six drying loads to air/sun drying.
Together, small brands and shoppers who support them, can make impactful gestures. Help us do our part, share this message, and continue to care for the environment for a better tomorrow!
– VESEY
