Now you can filter through clothes and accessories with a 'responsible' filter in action, safe in the knowledge that you are only buying ethical, eco-friendly clothing.
ADVERTISEMENTFashion titan ASOS has unveiled a new set of filters for its website, allowing eco-conscious shoppers to a limit their searches to sustainably-produced garments.
The two newly-revealed features have been dubbed the 'Responsible Edit'. Familiar filtering options like price, size and style, now also comprise instructions to refine by 'sustainable' and 'recycled' credentials.
Using these refining tools, shoppers can exclusively browse 'recycled' clothing and accessories or those made from ‘sustainable materials.’
The ‘recycled’ category includes garments made from upcycled fabrics, waste, plastic and textile offcuts to create new products. Likewise, ‘sustainable’ fabrics can be defined as those having used less water, and which are better for the environment by being paraben-free, using organic cotton or being handmade.
The additions have been hailed as a "huge move" for ASOS, as the brand known first and foremost for affordable, fast fashion that has made it a favourite among young consumers.
However, appealing to a younger demographic has meant that the brand has been slowly and surely becoming more environmentally conscious. The millennial penchant for vintage clothing triggered ASOS to set up a ‘marketplace’ platform, so young people can sell and recycle their clothes online. Ever since, other second-hand clothing platforms have appeared all over Europe, such as Depop and Vinted, described as a ‘social shopping' apps.
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Launching in the year 2000, the brand survived the “dot.com” bubble burst of 2001, where many online retailers did not, and is now one of the most popular clothing sites among ‘twenty-somethings’, mainly due to its affordability. The online destination has been criticised for its lack of sustainable credentials, rated ‘not good enough’ by sustainable fashion authority Good On You, due to the lack of eco-friendly materials in its own brand range. ASOS own brand clothing has not yet committed to eliminating the use of hazardous chemicals in production for example, which has been met with disapproval in the industry.
ASOS is a global online retailer selling fresh fashion from over 850 brands, shipping to 196 countries. With its own-brand range of clothing and accessories included, sales come in at around £2 billion year on year, making the online platform a one-stop-shop for 'cool' millennials all over Europe.
Below are three of our favourite products from the 'recycled' materials filter:
Selected Femme light knit jumper in Mykonos Blue, £45.00
Wolf & Whistle Fuller Bust Exclusive Eco checkers bikini in black and white, £20
Anaya With Love tulle off shoulder crop top co-ord in blue, £22.50
The move came in the wake of ultra-cheap streetwear brand Boohoo.com releasing a 34-piece range made with recycled polyester that had been destined for landfills, for example. It seems the movement is catching on, but, as one sustainable shopper scathingly told the BBC: "If someone really cared about buying ethically sourced, green clothes then they wouldn't shop at Boohoo".
