Conscious consumers are taking over the world of retail one purchase at a time thanks to a heightened awareness about their shopping decisions and how they impact the society that we live in. This has given rise to ethical fashion, which for us is more than just abiding by the rules (more on this later). This shift means that an overwhelming majority of global consumers are more likely to support or switch to a brand that represents moral business principles. As a result customers today have such a profound influence on businesses like never before, and rightly so.

Side note: (We are also living in a time where people seem to have fallen in love with being offended. People nowadays can take a perfectly normal situation and nonchalantly deduce that hundreds of offensive obscenities have been spewed their way. Over the centuries we have evolved into a masterful and proficient species that has developed the ability to manufacture controversy and outrage at a rate never before seen in the history of the world. Our fury and discontent in the space of a week can outdo what past civilisations could have conjured up throughout an entire age.)

That being said… As a business that is serious about ethical fashion, the foundations of our brand revolve around taking a proactive approach to minimising environmental impact and improving social wellbeing. A growing number of factors distinguish traditional fashion from ethical fashion practices. In order to achieve the latter Wear Panda as a company focuses on 3 key areas:

Commercial Success – Let’s just get this out of the way – without high quality products and a well-thought out business model all our intentions to save the world probably wouldn’t amount to much. Through the company culture we have fostered and the values we aspire to uphold at work everyday we can thereafter have a ruthless, unwavering focus on our mission to improve the environment and advance social responsibility.

Environmental Impact – Certain criteria must be adhered to before assuming the mantle of an eco-friendly brand. Environmentally friendly practices will aim to reduce the use of toxic chemicals, lower the use of water and land and minimise greenhouse gases to name a few. Playing our part – small as it may be – in lessening any harm done to the environment that we live in, is extremely important to us. 

Social Responsibility – Improving the wellbeing of people and communities is something we take great pride in being a part of. We want to be part of a system that does not take advantage of workers in any part of the supply chain. While we seek our livelihoods through fashion we do not want it at the expense of human exploitation. We have partnered up with different charities in the hope of creating positive social change.

The pressure that the highly competitive fashion industry places upon natural resources and people – especially those at the far end of the supply chain – is enormous and undeniable. Ethical fashion in itself is not a perfect practice but the strive to improve collectively as retailers and consumers is a step in the right direction – towards the betterment of us all as a society.

#SeriousAboutEthicalFashion