GLOSSARY
In our glossary you will find words we use within our articles that might need a little further explanation. Word by word this page will grow into a great dictionary of sustainable fashion. Never underestimate the power of words, just by having no or a wrong definition of a word the whole context of a sentence can change or seem to be too complicated to grasp. In order to become an expert in any field, one has to understand its words first.
definitions written by SARAH MARIE FRANKEN & HOLLY KELSEY
or derive from THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY, EDITION FIVE
-A-
Atelier (noun, definition from American Heritage Dictionary)
A workshop or studio, especially from a designer or an artist.
Editor’s Note: The word refers to the creation of exclusive made-to-order clothing. Ateliers often create custom clothing where the pieces are made from high quality, premium fabrics and are sewn together with meticulous detail by the most experienced and capable seamstresses.
-B-
B-Corps (noun, definition from B-Corp website)
Certified B Corporations (B Corps or B Corporations for short) are leaders of a global movement of people using business as a force for good. B Corps are for-profit businesses throughout the globe that have earned B Corp certification. B Corps are certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.
Editor’s Note: Certified B Corporations use profits and growth as a means to a greater end: positive impact for their employees, communities, and the environment. Certified B Corp is the most rigorous and demanding standards, requiring brands to answer 300 questions about their social and environmental impacts. Certified B Corp companies believe that we must be the change we seek in the world. It basically is an Oscar award of sustainability for brands.
Biodegradable (adjective, definition from American Heritage Dictionary)
Capable of being decomposed by biological agents, especially bacteria.
-C-
Carbon Footprint (noun, definition from American Heritage Dictionary)
The amount of carbon-containing greenhouse gases released into the environment by an activity, process, individual, or group, expressed usually as the equivalent in kilograms of carbon dioxide.
Editor’s Note: Currently, the fashion industry is responsible for 10 % of annual global carbon emissions. Solutions that brands can adopt to cut their footprint include initiatives such as energy-efficiency improvements and a transition to renewable energy, increased use of sustainable transport, improved packaging with recycled materials, reducing returns and avoiding overproduction of garments.
Circular Fashion (noun)
Editor’s Note: When the production of an item and the end of its life are seen as equally important, ensuring use and reuse for as long as possible. A circular brand will design, produce, sell and collect products which enables reuse and recycling.
Closed-loop Recycling (verb, definition from General Kinematics)
Closed-loop recycling is focused on supply chain sustainability. Closed-loop systems are developed so that all of the materials in manufactured goods can be recycled, usually for use in the same type of product.
Editor’s Note: When an item can be recycled into the same or a similar item over and over again. An example is reusing the yarns of a cashmere sweater for a new cashmere sweater. That process can be repeated without the garment ever ending up in a landfill. In closed-loop recycling, the item is designed with the idea of being recycled in mind. Recycling gets difficult when various materials are being mixed together. The opposite is open-loop recycling.
-D-
Dead-stock Fabrics (noun)
Editor’s Note: Fabrics from another company that has bought too much of it and needs to sell the leftovers. They are also called leftover-fabrics. Another possibility is that the fabrics are scraps from factories’ cutting room floor that can be made into something new.
-E-
Ethical Fashion (noun)
Editor’s Note: When a garment is designed, produced, and distributed in a way that focuses on protecting people and the planet. The term ethical fashion can cover issues such as working conditions, exploitation, fair trade, sustainable production, the environment, and animal welfare.
Ethics (noun, definition from American Heritage Dictionary)
The rules or standards governing the conduct of a person or the members of a profession.
-F-
Fashion (noun, definition from American Heritage Dictionary)
1. The prevailing style or custom, as in a dress or behavior.
2. Something such as a garment that is in the current mode,
3. Manner or way in which something is made.
Derivation: Old French façon = way, sort, form, manner or appearance, going back to Latin factiō = act of making, from Latin facere = to make
-G-
Greenhouse Effect (noun, definition from American Heritage Dictionary)
A phenomenon in which the atmosphere of a planet traps radiation emitted by its sun, caused by gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane that allow incoming sunlight to pass through but retain heat radiated back from the planet’s surface.
Greenhouse Gas (noun, definition from American Heritage Dictionary)
Any of the atmospheric gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect.
Greenwashing (noun, definition from American Heritage Dictionary)
The dissemination of misleading information that conceals abuse of the environment in order to present a positive public image.
Editor’s Note: When a company or organization tries to falsely appear sustainable with the help of marketing to gain consumers. Some brands will spend more time and money on marketing themselves as environmentally friendly than on actually minimizing their environmental impact. Rebranding is a classic greenwashing tactic. Companies will often rebrand or repackage their products to look more environmentally friendly.
-H-
Heritage Brand (noun)
Editor’s Note: A Heritage brand is a company with a strong legacy and usually family-owned businesses. They are the key players in the industry who have the most impact, they should lead in an aspirational way to make other companies follow in their footsteps. Smaller brands can research lessons learnt from larger companies to inform and educate themselves for their own business practices. For example, when Chanel announced they would no longer use fur, it set the tone of how the rest of the industry should follow. Another example is when Hermès announced they would introduce mushroom leather into their collections.
-I-
Inclusivity (noun)
Editor’s Note: One term of inclusivity involves including models of all different sizes and ages and who are racially diverse. This should also spread to the behind the scenes activities, not just for the shows and campaigns, but also for people who work in production, design, marketing, styling etc. Even in terms of a brand’s products there should be a range that includes everyone. Fashion has always had an image of being exclusive in the past, however this an outdated standard that plays no part in the world of fashion today.
-L-
Local (adjective, definition from American Heritage Dictionary)
Of or relating to a city, town, or district rather than a larger area.
Editor’s Note: Refers to producing and buying locally - more and more brands realise the advantages of keeping the production chains as short as possible. Next time you’re shopping, inform yourself where the garment you like is made. More and more, especially smaller brands, are shifting their focus to local production. But also some large companies follow the idea of reshoring, which means that they bring their production back from overseas. Vintage, thrift or charity shops are other options to shop garments made close to home!
-M-
Microplastic (noun, definition from National Geographic)
Microplastics, as the name implies, are tiny plastic particles. Officially, they are defined as plastics less than five millimeters (0.2 inches) in diameter—smaller in diameter than the standard pearl used in jewelry. As a pollutant, microplastics can be harmful to the environment and animal health.
Editor’s Note: Micro plastic are fibres that come from garments made from synthetic fabrics like polyester, rayon, and nylon. Fast fashion has a major problem with micro plastics in the way fabrics are processed, the materials are used and the short life-cycle of their garments. Even using the washing machine can distribute micro plastics, which eventually end up in the ocean. So invest in products such as a GuppyFriend bag to use for washing your clothes made from synthetic fabrics.
-N-
Net Zero (adjective, definition from United Nations website)
Net zero means cutting greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible, with any remaining emissions re-absorbed from the atmosphere, by oceans and forests for instance.
Editor’s Note: Being Net zero means creating a business model to achieve a zero carbon future. For fashion being Net Zero means changing their use of energy - such as the emissions that come from raw material production, preparation, and manufacturing. Or even how they inform the consumers on buying, washing, reusing, recycling and garments ending up in landfills.
-O-
Open-loop Recycling (verb, definition from General Kinematics)
Open-loop recycling is any recycling process where the recycled materials are converted into both new raw materials and waste product.
Editor’s Note: When an item can be recycled into a similar item only a few times or once. An example are plastic bottles that are made into a workout-outfit. The time the raw material ends up at a landfill is postponed. The workout-outfit will not biodegrade.
Organic (adjective, definition from American Heritage Dictionary)
1. Of, relating to, or derived from living organisms [including plants].
2. Of, marked by, or involving the use of fertilizers or pesticides that are strictly of animal or vegetable origin.
3. Raised or conducted without the use of drugs, hormones, or synthetic chemicals.
4. Simple, healthful, and close to nature.
Editor’s Note: Organic cotton is grown without chemical pesticides or harmful fertilizers, this is a more environmentally friendly version compared to conventional cotton. Other materials that can be organic include jute, linen, silk, ramie, and wool.
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Product Lifecycle (noun, definition from American Heritage Dictionary)
The span of a product’s existence from its initial development through the period of marketing and active use to eventual obsolescence.
-R-
Reshoring (noun, definition from Dana Thomas’ book Fashionopolis, p. 117)
The act of bringing back the manufacturing that went offshore during the post-NAFTA [North American Free Trade Agreement] globalization boom.
-S-
Supply Chain (noun, definition from American Heritage Dictionary)
The sequence or system of organizations or operations that work together to design, produce and deliver a product or service to a market, extending from the extraction of raw materials to the distribution of finished products or services. Also called supply stream.
Editor’s Note: The process of making clothes - from an idea to the customer. You can trace the steps of how a garment has been made. Whether that’s sourcing materials, how they are then developed and manufactured to then distribution to the customer in store. Usually in the design process it sets the tone for how the rest of the process will happen. Fast fashion brands are always trying to find ways to speed up their supply chain, which will often have an unkind impact.
Sustainable (adjective, definition from American Heritage Dictionary)
1. Capable of being sustained.
2. Capable of being continued with minimal long-term effect on the environment.
Editor’s Note: Sustainability is not a final state that a brand achieves but a state of consciousness and a process of making an effort to have as little of an effect on the environment as possible. One can always find an aspect that can be further improved and criticized. Take leather alternatives such as grape leather, where a tiny percentage or plastic needs to be added for durability or recycling factories where a percentage of virgin yarns need to be added to the recycled natural fabrics to ensure a desired quality. In each case the intention is good and that is what counts.
-T-
Transparency (noun, definition from American Heritage Dictionary)
Open to public scrutiny, not hidden or proprietary.
Editor’s Note: It means the company or brand is being honest about how they operate. Openly sharing information about how, where, and by whom a product was made.
-U-
Upcycling (verb, definition from Oxford Dictionary)
Reuse (discarded objects or material) in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original.
Editor’s Note: Transforming an old, worn out or damaged piece of clothing into something new and wonderful.
-V-
Vegan (adjective, definition from American Heritage Dictionary)
Excluding the use of products derived from animals.
Editor’s Note: Vegan fashion means not using leather, wool, cashmere, feathers or fur. In recent years vegan leather has become more and more popular. Stella McCartney became the trailblazer for this with her Falabella bag.
-Z-
Zero waste (noun)
Editor’s Note: Means little or no textile waste in the production of clothing. There are two types: Pre-Consumer Zero Waste Fashion and Post-Consumer Zero Waste fashion. Pre-Consumer Zero Waste Fashion is when brands use recycled fabrics or create patterns without any leftover waste. Hermès has a ‘diffusion’ called Petit h - where they have artisans who create new unique products from the leftover fabrics and scraps from the other Hermès métiers. Post-Consumer Zero Waste is when garments wouldn’t end up in landfills but would rather be resold, recycled and reused. Zero waste helps create a circular economy, it prevents the practice of single-use products.
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