Evolving Sustainability: Why Another Tomorrow Is Pioneering Sustainability Efforts In Fashion

(Image courtesy of Another Tomorrow's Instagram.)

The fashion world is facing a crossroads: Should consumers pressure companies to adhere to their ever-growing concerns, or should companies proactively set higher standards that customers will eventually want for their products? In the era of fast fashion, many companies are stooped by this sphinx-like riddle. But, one company has answered and excelled in this area: Another Tomorrow. Another Tomorrow, a Certified B Corporation, Certified Climate Neutral, and 1% for the Planet partner, transcends current sustainability philosophies to pioneer the future environmental standard in the fashion industry. I had the opportunity to speak with Tara St. James, VP of Supply Chain, Sustainability & Culture at Another Tomorrow, to learn more about the company.

(Image courtesy of Another Tomorrow's Instagram.)

1. What makes Another Tomorrow different from other brands on the market?

Transparency is our company's guiding principle. We are transparent about our supply chain, sustainability initiatives, finding and vetting process of our manufacturing partners, and exploring what certifications and tools our manufacturing partners have available to them. Another Tomorrow has three sustainability pillars: environmental activism, animal welfare, and human welfare. Environmental activism dives into organic agriculture, regenerative agriculture, 0 discharge of hazardous chemicals, water, energy use, and mitigation. Additionally, environmental activism explores garments' end-of-life and how to reduce textile waste. Animal welfare begins with a stringent no-kill policy. Our no-kill policy means that we do not use any materials that require killing animals for silk, leather, or exotic skins. We have vetted criteria for farms where we get wool for our products.

(Image courtesy of Another Tomorrow's Instagram.)

Regarding wool production, our team personally visited every farm that grows our wool to ensure the farm follows our animal welfare pillar and has an environmental land management plan. Another Tomorrow introduced products made from no-kill or cruelty-free silk in the Fall 22 collection. Conventional silk is collected after the silkworms are killed to extract the continuous silk fiber in the cocoon. Our cruelty-free silk allows the silkworms to emerge from the cocoons, which breaks the fiber. Consequently, cruelty-free silk requires a more in-depth spinning process to ensure high-quality silk. Human welfare pertains to how we treat our third-party vendors. We want to ensure our third-party vendors pay their employees a livable wage. To achieve this, we talk with employees to learn how long they have worked there, their pay, and more. We request wage slips to verify that they are paying a liveable wage.

(Image courtesy of Another Tomorrow's Instagram.)

2. How does Another Tomorrow stay ahead of upcoming sustainability developments?

There is a lot of innovation at the nexus of the fashion and sustainability space. We are constantly reading articles, going to trade shows, and talking with manufacturing partners. We constantly research new practices for our fiber development, chemical management, dye process, fabric cutting, and recycling techniques.

(Image courtesy of Another Tomorrow's Instagram.)

3. How does Another Tomorrow use social media to talk about its sustainability efforts?

We developed a three-tiered approach to help identify our customer base. Another Tomorrow conducts an annual survey that dives into consumer buying habits, interests, sustainability goals, and more. Our PR and marketing teams host roundtable discussions to sit with our audience. We have one-on-one calls with VIP consumers to discover what kinds of products they want. Once we gather this information, we utilize social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram to showcase what we do. Our website provides a wealth of information if someone wants to learn more about our processes.

(Image courtesy of Another Tomorrow's Instagram.)

All of Another Tomorrow's products are connected to the cloud. We provide a QR code on the label where someone can access more information about the product's journey from inception to the point of purchase or interaction.

(Image courtesy of Another Tomorrow's Instagram.)

4. How do you incorporate your mission and vision into your product offerings?

We create high-quality, durable clothes that a customer can feel will either last them a long time or will be viable for the next life via wanting to pass it down to somebody or reselling the product on our platform. Another Tomorrow's resell department allows customers to send in previously purchased Another Tomorrow items.

(Image courtesy of Another Tomorrow's Instagram.)

5. What is the future of the company?

Our resell department is our springboard for future development in the garment's next life sphere. We are researching fabric techniques and manufacturing practices that allow products to become biodegradable. We also want to host round tables and panels to help create and cement our relationship with our consumers.

(Image courtesy of Another Tomorrow's Instagram.)