What makes fashion "ethical" or "sustainable"?

Ethical fashion refers to clothing that's designed, sourced, manufactured, and distributed with minimal environmental impact and fair labor practices. This includes using eco-friendly materials (like organic cotton or recycled fabrics), ensuring safe working conditions with fair wages, minimizing waste and pollution in production, and creating durable products that last longer than fast fashion. Companies in this theme are working on different aspects of this sustainability spectrum.

What is the "circular economy" in fashion?

The circular economy in fashion moves away from the traditional "take-make-dispose" model toward systems that extend product lifecycles and eliminate waste. It includes resale platforms (like TheRealReal), rental services (like Rent the Runway), repair programs, and designing products to be recycled or biodegraded. Rather than producing clothes that quickly end up in landfills, circular fashion keeps garments in use as long as possible before responsibly recycling their materials.

How do environmental regulations affect fashion companies?

New environmental regulations are reshaping the fashion industry by requiring more transparency about environmental impacts, setting standards for material sourcing, and in some cases taxing pollution or waste. Companies already investing in sustainable practices (like those in this theme) gain a competitive advantage since they don't need to make costly rapid changes to comply. These regulations can also create barriers to entry for new competitors and force legacy brands to make expensive sustainability investments.

What are "projected sales" and "projected profit"?

Projected sales refers to the estimated revenue a company expects to generate in the future, typically over the next year or quarter. Projected profit is the anticipated earnings after subtracting all expenses from these sales. These forward-looking metrics help investors gauge a company's growth potential and financial health. For ethical fashion companies, strong projections may indicate growing consumer demand for sustainable products or successful expansion of their eco-friendly initiatives.

15 handpicked stocks

Ethical Fashion

Invest in companies shaping the sustainable future of fashion. These carefully selected stocks represent innovators who are transforming how clothes are made, sold, and reused while meeting growing consumer demand for responsible apparel.

Han Tan | Market Analyst

Updated 2 days ago | Published at juin 17