Sustainable Fashion Trends Around the World

Staying on trend can have a steep price when it comes to the environment, but 2023 is shaping up to be the year sustainability is sexy

- MEGHAN GUNN

Around the world, fashionistas, industry critics and lawmakers alike are calling for major change in response to recent years' record clothing waste, greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution. From returning to ancient dye methods to designing high fashion using bacteria to proposing continent-wide reforms, here are some of the innovative ways creatives around the world are making fashion a little more green

01 Upcycle Nation 
LOS ANGELES

A new FuseTV reality television series shows just how trendy upcycling can be. Reminiscent of Project Runway, Upcycle Nation invites designers and artists-many known for their viral clothing-repurposing videos on TikTok and Instagram-to take their talents TV-side. Contestants compete to turn everyday items into wearable fashion. Think: potato sack into fashion-forward pants.

02 Dumpster-Diving Activism 
DALLAS

Instead of influencer haul videos-unending "unboxings" of PR gifts sent to TikTok's elite-a new type of haul is taking over the app: dumpster divers' "trash hauls," calling out companies' wasteful practices. Tiffany Butler (aka Dumpster Diving Mama) posted a video of her discovery of slashed and trashed Coach purses thought to be destroyed by employees; after it went viral, Coach said it would no longer destroy and dump unsold bags. "I love that I'm making a change," Butler says. Another plus? "Free stuff, of course."

03 Fighting Fast Fashion 
ATACAMA DESERT, CHILE