7 Myths About Sustainable Fashion That Shape How People Shop

Terms like sustainable or ethical fashion often get thrown around in conversations a lot. Several myths, however, shape the way people make sustainable shopping choices.

Despite information being easily available, it gets hard to break common myths that continue to affect our purchasing decisions.

In sustainable fashion, too, we have several such myths, for example, “using natural materials is automatically sustainable” or “buying secondhand always benefits the environment”.

Let’s break 7 key myths about sustainable fashion that we often believe.

Myth 1: Sustainable fashion is all about eco-friendly materials 

Yes, materials play a key role in determining the environmental impact of a piece of clothing. But the interesting part is that a garment may be made of the most sustainable material available and yet its production may still be harmful to the environment.

The fashion industry contributes 2-8% of global carbon emissions. But a large part of that comes from energy usage, transportation, dyeing clothes, and overproduction.

If a cotton t-shirt gets worn just twice, it may end up harming the environment more than a non-natural t-shirt that’s worn 50 times.

You need an average of 8,920 liters of water to produce one kilogram of cotton fiber. At this rate, a single cotton t-shirt can take roughly 2,700 liters of water. That’s enough for one person to drink for about 2.5 years.

So, if we want to know whether a shirt is environmentally friendly, we need to go beyond its material and think of how it was produced, transported, dyed, and how long it actually gets used.

Myth 2: Sustainable fashion means costly fashion 

If you just go by the price tag, many sustainable brands are costlier mainly because they pay better wages, follow a more responsible production system, and source materials ethically.

But when you think in terms of cost-per-wear, sustainable fashion may actually be more economical.

Not only are these clothes of better quality, but they are also often timeless in nature. The very idea of sustainable fashion is not to blindly chase trends, but to stick to products that you can wear for a long time.

It’s probably more sustainable to pay a bit higher price, purchase quality, and wear for a longer duration than buy cheap and throw away after five wears.

Myth 3: Secondhand clothes are automatically sustainable

They say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. While we may intend well, intentions may not always be enough. Buying secondhand is a smart choice only if it leads to an overall reduction in consumption. But does it do so?

The evidence is not always in our favor.

A study co-authored by Yale’s Meital Peleg Mizrachi shows that people who frequently purchase secondhand clothes also tend to buy more new clothing. So buying more new clothes can negate whatever good effects buying secondhand has.

The only way secondhand purchases can truly help is if they limit the purchase of new clothes. That, in turn, can reduce the problem of overproduction. Mind you, the fashion industry produces 80 to 150 billion garments every year, while a large chunk of that ends up in landfills or is burned.

Limiting overproduction can have a huge immediate impact on reducing fashion’s environmental dent.

Myth 4: If a brand says “sustainable,” it is

Greenwashing is more common than we think. In greenwashing, a brand claims to use sustainable materials or follow ethical sourcing and production, but may not do so in practice.

And many prominent brands have been caught in the act. Recently, the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) called out paid Google ads from Nike, Lacoste, and Superdry for greenwashing.

Image: The Guardian

The agency said these brands failed to provide evidence for environmental claims like “sustainable materials” and “sustainable clothing.”

Long story short, claiming “sustainable” doesn’t automatically mean that a brand walks the talk. Digging a bit deeper often reveals the full picture. Does the brand actually use sustainable materials? What do their impact reports say? How transparent are they?

Myth 5: Sustainable fashion means boring or unfashionable clothes

This myth holds many consumers back from exploring sustainable garments. But the truth is that sustainability doesn’t automatically mean out of fashion.

In fact, truly sustainable garments are often forever in fashion because they are classic, well-made, and designed to last. 

Sustainable garments often look unique because of their quality, craftsmanship, and thoughtful design. Moreover, many sustainable brands combine innovation with ethics to create clothes that set trends rather than simply follow them.

So next time someone says sustainable clothes look boring, it may be worth looking at what many cool sustainable designers are actually creating today.

Myth 6: Sustainable fashion only benefits the environment

The idea behind sustainable fashion is to benefit all stakeholders involved.

Environmental sustainability is a large part of the goal, but there are many other dimensions too. Ethical fashion can support labor rights, fair wages, and safer working conditions.

In fact, workers who make the clothes we wear are often paid extremely low wages. In many major garment-producing countries, monthly pay is far below what is needed to live with basic dignity. For example, garment workers in Bangladesh often earn around $113 per month, even though a local living wage estimate is closer to $460 per month.

Image: IFC

If a brand calls itself sustainable only because it uses cotton, but does not pay minimum wages or has unsafe factories, it cannot be seen as truly sustainable.

Sustainability includes people as much as it includes the planet.

Myth 7: Sustainable fashion is a niche trend, not something mainstream

Many people still think sustainable fashion is a small corner of the industry, something limited only to a few eco-conscious shoppers.

But it is increasingly becoming part of the mainstream conversation.

Governments are stepping in with stronger regulations, and consumers are paying more attention to what brands do, not just what they say. Plus, major fashion markets are pushing towards more accountability, whether through chemical bans, waste responsibility laws, or scrutiny of environmental claims.

The sustainable fashion market itself is also growing rapidly. According to Custom Market Insights, the global sustainable fashion market was valued at around $8.1 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $33.1 billion by 2033, growing at a compound annual growth rate of about 22.9%.

Sustainable fashion is slowly becoming a mainstream industry with a major impact on how clothes are made, sold, and consumed.