If you own more than 40 hijabs of the same shade, you should make it a goal to purchase from an Islamic sustainable perspective when shopping for hijabs or modest clothing. 

Ethical hijabs, simply put, are the focus on sustainability, fair labor practices, and supporting muslim owned businesses. These are the crucial key factors to consider when choosing ethical and sustainable shopping. There are plenty of positive impacts (and rewards) for choosing sustainability over exploitation. Make sure to research on your own to curate your go to list of sustainable friendly brands, and brands to completely avoid to make your shopping choices easier. Let's get started!

Sustainability:

With millions of textile waste each year it is important to choose sustainability for a better planet. When you buy hijabs do you know where it is sourced? Who made your hijab? How much time and effort was put into creating it? If the answer is no, it is obvious why some of us are so quick to complain about the price rather than appreciating its sustainable approach. From now on, let's choose sustainability by investing in quality pieces instead of overindulging. 

Fair Labor Practices:

Unfair labor practices in the fashion industry consist of: low pay, long hours, unsafe working conditions, child labor, and exploitative labor practices. All of these factors make the price of fast fashion cheap. As people splurge on hauls from brands with no morals, the cycle of unfair labor practices will skyrocket as we have seen in recent times. 

Supporting Muslim Owned Businesses:

Small businesses are often overlooked since they are small and new to the market compared to giants in the fashion industry. Supporting these small businesses will help their popularity while avoiding the giants in the fashion industry that continue to exploit their workers. It is time to put an end to exploitation.   

Considerations:

Thrift and avoid fast fashion, that's it. Thrifting is the most sustainable practice when it comes to chopping while being a lower cost. Buying five new dresses a month is leaning towards over consumption, so take a step back and try thrifting once in a while. Or even opt out of fast fashion and stick to slow fashion brands. The price may be higher but the quality and ethical background makes it worth it. 

The not so it list 

Shein, Shein, SHEIN! Shein may come off as the “better option for a better price” but choosing to buy from a company that purposely exploits their workers is far worse than complaining about the price of sustainable clothes and hijabs. Hence, invest in modesty instead of over-consuming fast fashion. This goes for any fast fashion and non-ethical company including H&M, Uniqlo, Adidas, and the list goes on. 

Choose sustainability not just for yourself, but for the sake of others and Allah swt. We may not have control of the world of exploitation, but we have the choice to buy ethically.