Want to Work in Sustainable Fashion? Here’s What to Know

By Hawa Patel

A career in sustainable fashion seems glamorous to some, noble to others, and very much a mystery to those who want to work toward a just and equitable fashion industry. If you find yourself in the latter category, I’m here with firsthand experience to de-mystify landing a career that aligns with your values and still covers rent (and those Gucci eggs). 

Confused where to begin? 

Working on human rights issues has always been a goal of mine, but fashion was never not on my mind, be it thrifting vintage or Miuccia’s latest collection. I thought law school might the route to go, but when I landed there I felt unfulfilled and uninspired. Maybe you’re in a similar situation…interested in fashion and passionate about sustainability or human rights, but not sure how to make a living from your interests. It’s a hard nut to crack, because “sustainable fashion” is still a new industry (can we call it that yet?). As such, there’s no rulebook to follow that tells you how to get where you want to go.

I’m here, sharing my story, in hopes that you can use it as a springboard to jumpstart your career. Or at least glean a few tips from it.  

How I built my sustainable fashion career

Knowing my interests lie elsewhere, I dropped out of law school in 2017 and took a few months to regroup. I reconnected with myself by asking, “if I didn’t want to be an attorney, which I thought was the only path for a poli sci major, then what did I want? What did I really love?” Turned out, it was fashion above everything else and this time I was ready to give it a real go. I started writing fashion week articles for my university newspaper and designing costumes for the theater department. Then, I took a stab at running a style blog, StyleWithHP (may she rest in Prada Sport.)

By 2017 after a few years of dabbling in fashion, I started to hear learn about child labor issues, all while I was shopping at Zara (please don’t burn me at the stake, I didn’t even know the word fast fashion then). Taking in this harsh reality made me realize that I wanted to build a career in fashion, but I didn’t want to feed a problematic industry. From there, without a single industry connection to my name, I resolved to dig in and start fixing it. 

My journey started in the classroom 

I started someplace familiar: in higher education. I researched graduate programs that offered opportunities to intertwine my interest in human rights and labor law with fashion. Then boiled it down to two programs: London College of Fashion’s Sustainable Fashion graduate program and Rice University’s Master of Arts Global Affairs program. I chose the Global Affairs path because it allowed me to study fashion through a broader, global lens. Instead of following a set curriculum, I was able to look comprehensively at supply chains, governments, and NGOs and prepare to work within them. After a year at Rice, I chose international security as my concentration so I could focus on fashion’s risk to the planet and society.  

When I graduated from Rice in 2020, the world was locked down during COVID-19. To say the job market was tough is an understatement. I snagged whatever sustainability freelance jobs I could get my hands on. Luckily, they ended up being a mix of ESG (environmental, social, governance) research roles, writing sustainable fashion articles, and turning my graduate thesis into an online course. 

Where I got my start

But my big break into sustainable fashion was when the largest luxury fashion retailer in the U.S. reached out to chat about my work. They hired me as Supervisor Trade Compliance where I assisted with the implementation of the human rights due diligence. For a year, I helped build the trade compliance program from scratch with the Responsible Sourcing Manager. We were very much a two woman show…ensuring social compliance across the company’s entire supply chain. 

It was everything I worked for and didn’t knew existed, because the sustainable fashion industry is literally building itself from the inside out. Today, I’m the Supervisor of Global Responsible Sourcing and Trade Compliance and have spent three years ensuring there’s no forced, prison, child, or bonded labor in the retailer’s factories. I’ve also implemented a factory social audit program and helped map the company’s supply chain from Tier 1 – Tier 4.* 

Forging your career path in sustainable fashion

Whatever path you choose, it will look different than mine. Extra time in school may not be an option for you. Kasi, who founded this site, built her career through self-study, partnerships, and community building. We’re both proof that there are a lot of ways to go at it. You need a passion so deep that you’ll hustle to the point of, “Am I networking too hard?!” (the answer is no such thing.). 

And you need to be hungry to learn, be it about PFAS in your clothes or the exploitation of human capital through bonded labor in Asia. If you have both of those, the sustainable fashion community will welcome you with open arms. With that inspiration, I’ll leave you with more tangible pointers…

How to Have a Career In Sustainable Fashion

1. Choose a niche issue 

If sustainable fashion already feels like a niche, I’d encourage you to niche down even deeper within it. That’s because there are too many issues to tackle for one person and if you try them all, you may face emotional burnout. I suggest deep diving into the harmful aspects of the fashion industry. Then, choosing an issue that really grinds your gears (mine is labor issues; Kasi’s is sustainability). Then ask yourself, “Is this something I can have sustained energy and passion for?” If the answer is no, go back to the drawing board. See 2 and 3.

2. Join an aligned community

Use LinkedIn and Instagram to find professionals and advocacy groups and movements aligned with sustainable fashion, especially those who specialize in your area of interest. Examples include: Fashion Revolution, Remake, Extinction Rebellion Fashion Action, Sustainable Fashion Forum, and Conscious Fashion Collective.

Read up on their work in the fashion space, for example, the Sustainable Fashion Forum and  Conscious Fashion Collective both offer job boards but the former specializes in consumer psychology and posts more ESG and sustainability leadership roles, while the Conscious Fashion Collective is geared toward newer professionals and focuses on skill sharing and creative roles. If you’re local to Austin, Kasi runs the Central Texas Fashion Coalition, which hosts in-person events and business support to slow fashion professionals. 

You can also reach out to any publications writing on the topics of sustainable fashion and ask if they are open to submissions and pitch them your take of what it means to have a sustainable fashion industry or write about your research thus far. Seek community and contribute to it. This will put you on a map of the evolving world of sustainable fashion. 

3. Talk to your career crushes

Now the scary part, reach out to the people you’re career stalking. This can be especially helpful if you’re still not sure which niche to choose. If that’s the case talk to people working on real-world issues. You’d be surprise how many professionals are flattered by LinkedIn requests to share their perspective. 

 I know this may be daunting for some, so here’s an example of a message you can send:

“Hi (insert their name),

I’m a big fan of [SOMETHING ABOUT THEIR WORK]. I am interested in learning more about [THEIR WORK/NICHE], as I am beginning my sustainable fashion career. Your dedication and work inspired me to reach out and ask for 10-20 minute chat in the hopes of learning a bit more about your background, how you got here, and any advice you may have for someone like me who’s just starting their sustainable fashion journey. Specifically, I’d like to ask you about your work on [PROJECT/BOOK/ETC].

Are you available [DATE] for me to call you?

Thanks!

(insert your name)

See, that wasn’t so bad, was it? I highly recommend tailoring this template to your needs and to the background of your biz crush.

During your chat, be honest that you’re eager and passionate about ethical fashion, but you don’t have a career in it yet and that’s what you’re working toward. If the conversation seems to have gone well, at the end ask them if they know anyone who may be hiring for entry-level roles within the industry. Another good way in the door is to ask for freelance projects that would showcase your work if you already have some experience under your belt. If full time is your goal, this is a great way to build trust.

4. Attend sustainable fashion events

Look up any sustainable fashion conferences, summits, or events that are happening. If you’re able, buy a ticket. But many also offer badges in exchange for volunteering. I was able to attend the Sustainable Fashion Forum (SFF) in Portland in 2019 as a grad student by volunteering. At the event, talk to everyone! Do your research beforehand, check out the panelists and attendees list, and make a plan to have conversations where you introduce yourself, your passion and are able to learn more about them. 

If you have a presence on social media, you could also plan a sort of activation at the event. Kasi was able to land a bunch of interviews at the same 2019 Sustainable Fashion Forum by broadcasting them live on her IG. Don’t shy away from letting them know that you are seeking to start your career in sustainable fashion, they were in your shoes too once. Eventbrite is a great resource to look for events in your town. 

Otherwise, the two biggest events that are open to the industry and public are the SFF and the Global Fashion Summit by Global Fashion Agenda (but here we’re talking major corporate players and big ticket prices.) You might also look into Circularity by GreenBiz and the Global Change Award (by H&M Foundation), which is livestreamed to the public and better for learning than networking.

5. Dedicate yourself to job hunting

When you’re ready, start searching and applying to internships or early career positions that require very little experience in fashion and are hiring individuals who have passion and can learn on the fly. Apply to a wide range of sustainable fashion roles. Keywords for your search include: sustainability responsible sourcing, ethical sourcing, human rights due diligence, circular economy, social impact, esg reporting, compliance, standards manager. If you’re appling for a creative or business support role, you’ll probably need to keep a running list of brands and NGOs you want to work for and set job alerts. When applying, please always keep in mind that connections are everything! I know this can feel impossible but work every angle and third degree connection from undergrad you have to get your application to show up. 

Use LinkedIn to reach out to the people at the company who work on the team you’re hoping to join, and introduce yourself and ask to learn more about their work and if they have any tips on applying and interviewing. If you don’t have a premium account, one tip is to embed a short but intentional message in your invite to connect with someone. Once you’re connected you can message them. Another powerful tool, but one to be cautious and courteous with, is hunter.io, which helps guess emails. I like this tool for following up with hiringing manager or the person would be my boss in the role I’m applying for to gently flag my application. 

The biggest tip I can give you when navigating this step is to be patient. These roles are limited. You might have to get a temporary job and experience elsewhere while you’re waiting for the perfect role to open. 

6. Put your perspective on display

In business today, and especially in sustainable fashion, your informed opinion is your currency. It’s not enough to say you have an interest in sustainable fashion, you have to show it. If you haven’t done that yet. It’s okay. You can start now. It could be as small as starting a Threads account if you’re into fashion commentary, micro-blogging on LinkedIn, or sharing photos of garments you’ve styled, rescued, or upcycled. If you’re deep into theory or education like I was, start sharing digestible snippets of your research. 

What you show doesn’t need to be perfectly refined at this phase. It just need to demonstrate that you have the capacity to learn, adapt to new tools, and add value if you joined a team. Plus, you might discover some new talents on the way. 

7. Stay sharp when you make it

Congratuations! You made it past go! Hopefully you collected more than $200 but you don’t get to stop growing when you’ve landed the job. Stay sharp by cointuning to grow your network. This might come naturally on the job, but you can also stay tuned in other ways too.

Follow hashtags like #CircularFashion and #SustainableFashion on social and engage with the content when it feels right. Attend or host clothing swaps and strike up conversations about sustainable fashion with your fellow swappers. Become an advocate for a local recycler, sustainability nonprofit, or global organization like Remake or Fashion Revolution. Heck, you might even consider planning events in your city or town. Finally, repeat steps 2-4, and if possible, ask your work to help cover costs for events as a form of professional development. 

As I figured out this path, I was able to forge friendships, interview Mara Hoffman for my graduate thesis, and learn from the sharpest minds in the industry. This is the plan of action that worked for me. I hope it helps you get in the door too, because we need as many smart people fixing this industry as possible! Whatever path you end up on, we’re glad to have you in the sustainable fashion community. 

Questions? Drop a comment. 

*Footnote:

A fashion supply chain moves from Tier 4 (raw material production like farming or oil extraction), to Tier 3 (fiber processing), Tier 2 (textile creation and dyeing), and finally to Tier 1, where garments are sewn, finished, and prepared for sale.

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