Becoming a sustainable fashion professional is a journey. It takes a lot of training, personal reflection, and mentoring. We feel you! We’ve compiled a list of our favourite sustainability books that we think will help you along this journey…
1. Green is the New Black: How to change the world with style, Tamsin Blanchard

This book is full of fantastic tips and tricks on how to save the world in style. It takes a thoughtful look at ethical consumerism in a fun and interesting way, and it investigates how you can shop greener even if you’re a shopaholic. We believe that this book is a fantastic introduction to sustainable fashion for consumers who want to make small changes to their shopping habits.
2. Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don’t Know You Have, Tatiana Schlossberg

A book that will inspire you to take action against climate change and pollution by making small but significant daily choices. Schlossberg delves into the key data and facts underlying human behaviour toward consumerism in a way that is both understandable and amusing.
3. This is a Good Guide, Marieke Eyskoot

A guide to what you can do to combat climate change and make the world a better place. The book includes; a list of go-to shops, beautiful brands, inspiring insights, surprising facts and useful solutions.
4. To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing out the World, Lucy Siegle

Siegle demonstrates how damaging fast fashion is to the environment, through investigation into the carbon footprint that low-cost fabrics leave behind, as well as our desire as consumers to have it “right now”. For us, it was a very informative read that undoubtedly expanded our knowledge on ethical living.
5. A Life Less Throwaway: The Lost Art of Buying For Life, Tara Button

The book that gets consumers thinking about their daily habits. Through well-balanced research, Button talks about the current “throwaway” culture and the changes we need to make in our consumption habits.
6. The Story of Stuff, Annie Leonard

Leonard highlights each step of the materials economy and its effects on the earth and the people living in the middle of it. This book will make you realise how much stuff you don’t need and how much of it is harming the environment. It emphasises many aspects of consumerism that are less frequently discussed or considered.
7. Imagine It! A Handbook for a Happier Planet, Laurie David and Heather Reisman

This is a book for individuals who want to start or continue on a path toward living in greater harmony with our planet. It motivates, encourages, and provides simple strategies to replace old, harmful habits with new, healthy ones. Each chapter focuses on a different environmental issue and contains advice and suggestions for anyone who wishes to make a difference.
8. Rise & Resist: How to Change the World, Clare Press

From the Women’s March to craftivism, the Fashion Revolution, minimalism, feminism, climate change & environmentalism, Press goes beyond fashion and explores the new wave of social and political movement sweeping the globe. We recommend this book to anyone who is interested in all areas of sustainability within the fashion industry.
9. All We Can Save: Truth, Courage and Solutions for the Climate Crisis, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katherine K. Wilkinson

This book includes a selection of essays by women who are at the forefront of the climate movement and are harnessing truth, courage, and solutions to lead humanity forward. We would recommend to anyone interested in learning more about what they can do to combat climate change, how to develop communities, and what feminine leadership looks like.
10. Circular Fashion: Making the Fashion Industry Sustainable, Peggy Blum

This book provides an accessible, practical, and holistic approach to the topic, circular fashion, for anyone studying fashion. It comprises case studies, brand profiles, and a business overview in the fashion industry.
11. Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, Michael Braungart and William McDonough

In this book, McDonough and Braungart argues that instead of minimising waste, we should strive to create value. Unlike our prior book recommendations, this one does not offer advise on how to improve, but rather investigates the concepts of environmentalism. It is a very interesting read and the ‘Cradle to Cradle’ design concept is continuously used in the fashion industry.
12. Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes, Dana Thomas

In this book, Thomas investigates the harm caused by the garment business and honours the visionaries who are campaigning for change, including activists, craftspeople, designers, and tech entrepreneurs. You won’t be able to put this book down because you won’t believe what you’re reading! It is well-written, detailed and full of fascinating, if at times overwhelming, facts that everyone should be aware of.
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