For many people, the step to making sustainable choices remains difficult. Maybe you recognize yourself in this? You want to live more sustainably, but are still being held back. There can be several reasons for this. For example, a number of studies have shown that people sometimes find sustainable clothing too expensive . This may be the reason why people do not take the step to actually buy them. But there are several logical reasons why sustainable clothing is more expensive than Fast Fashion clothing. And if you know those reasons, the step becomes a lot easier. We explain to you in this blog why sustainable clothing is actually more expensive.
Better working conditions at sustainable brands
With sustainable clothing, unlike Fast Fashion clothing, you pay the fair price. With Fast Fashion brands, the clothing must be produced as quickly and cheaply as possible. This way, as much money as possible is made from it. So fast that the workers are given the goal of making 100 to 150 garments per hour. Of course, this is impossible, and the workers often manage to make "only" 50 per hour. The workers often have to work unpaid overtime to meet their targets. And in doing so, they often work 6 days a week. In addition, they are also severely underpaid. If we look at India's living wage, for example, it is €256.50 per month. India is a country where a lot of Fast Fashion production takes place. Workers there are often paid even less than half the living wage. Thus, they earn between €65 and €98 euros per month. This applies to major Dutch clothing brands that produce there. Partly because of these low labor costs, fast fashion can be in the stores so cheaply. In Bangladesh, where much Fast Fashion is also produced, wages are even lower than in India. There, a seamstress keeps about 18 cents from a shirt that sells for €29 euros. Fortunately, in sustainable companies, wages are much higher. This is among other reasons why sustainable clothing is more expensive. The costs are simply higher. At the sustainable brand ARMEDANGELS, for example, they pay their employees 20% above minimum wage. Great right? So you really are paying the fair price for a garment with sustainable clothing.
Atelier Jan 'n June
Garments made of quality materials
Besides the higher labor costs calculated into the price with sustainable clothing, the material costs are also higher. This is because sustainable clothing uses materials such as: Organic cotton, Tencel™ or recycled polyester. These materials are more considerate of people, animals and nature. Therefore, they are also more expensive to buy. These costs are automatically reflected in the selling price of a garment. For example, a farmer receives on average between 33 and 53 cents for a kilo of cotton from India. A T-shirt requires about 1 kilogram. If we then look at the purchase price of organic cotton it is quickly at least double that. It is actually difficult to compare the price of a sustainable garment and a Fast Fashion garment. Therefore, you can also look at the "cost per wear". This means you calculate how much the garment costs per time you wear it. On average we wear a garment only 7 times. This is especially true for cheap Fast Fashion clothing. This is because these clothes are often of poorer quality and therefore sometimes no longer beautiful after a few times. This is because that is what fast fashion is made for, so you buy something new as often as possible. Also, the stores have so many collections each year that there is a new collection in the stores every week. So you always feel like you have to have something new and you end up with an overflowing closet. As a result, you only wear the clothes a few times. Say you buy €35 pants and you wear them 7 times, the cost per wear is €5. If you buy €99 durable pants, you can wear them at least 50 times. That comes down to a cost per wear of €2. That immediately makes it a lot more attractive. And on top of that, you also contribute to a more sustainable clothing industry where everyone gets paid fairly. Win-win situation!
More expensive clothing is not sustainable by default
The important thing to remember is that more expensive clothing is not sustainable by default. With some brands, you are purely paying an extra amount for the brand image. People like to wear a popular clothing brand and therefore the brand can slowly ask more and more money for the garment. Therefore, always be critical and look, for example, at the material the garment is made of. Or at the country and factory where the garment is made. Should you have any doubts? Then see if the brand is listed in the Good On You app. This app/website examines how sustainable brands are and gives a score.
