While reading the process of EF’s steps toward sustainability, I was impressed by the company’s embracement of companies such as BlueSign Technologies and Oeko-Tex Standard 100 Certification. The BlueSign Technologies company “provides safe products, safely produced for the human and the environment,” while the Oeko-Tex certification ensures that the safety of clothes has been checked with testing to ensure safe pH levels. The fact that EF willingly sought these certifications shows that the company actually cares and transparency and sustainability in the production of their clothing. It seems that often in the current fashion industry, many companies claim to have a sustainability focus, however they rarely seek these sustainability certifications and partnerships, bringing up the question of their true commitment to true sustainability.
The Green Eileen program by the EF company supported women and girls by donating the profits from recycling clothes to programs for these women. This policy, along with the company’s focus on environmental sustainability through saving of water, forest conservation, carbon offsetting, etc, shows that the company put sustainability and ethics above mere profit. These values are something I appreciate in a clothing company, and it seems to me that the EF business model can, and should, be a model for the future of sustainable fashion.