Sustainable fashion is a movement that advocates that all materials used for producing textiles should be harvested, manufactured and distributed without any harmful repercussions to the environmental or to the population. This philosophy of eco-friendly clothing allows customers to investigate all aspects of a company's production line, and has a company operating under complete transparency. One can track all the stages of clothing manufacturing down to the area where seeds were planted, to the time and means of harvest, to the process of creating the product and the type of transportation used to distribute the finished goods.

When investigating the benefits of organic clothing, one may ask what specifically qualifies clothing as organic versus non-organic. Most traditional clothing is manufactured with synthetic dyes. Many of these chemicals can be absorbed into the skin when worn, and can cause serious side effects depending on one's sensitivity and exposure. These can cause irritation, rashes, nausea, and in some severe cases fever. The means of producing the dyes and the process of dying the clothing itself can have harmful results as well. In addition, these chemicals produce a large amount of residue, which since not fit for use, are disposed.

Organic clothing uses no harmful chemicals in the manufacturing process. Natural dyes are used which are produced from plants, fruits, nuts and berries. Many of these processing means are rooted in the pre-industrial age, following a more traditional production method. Since these dyes are created from natural elements no harmful chemicals are used and thus no risk of reactions are present. In addition, organic clothing is completely recyclable. Most non-organic clothing cannot be refined because of the chemicals used in production, and thus end up stagnant in landfills.

Eco friendly farming is the main idea behind sustainable fashion. Organic clothing is fundamentally about cultivating cleaner raw material such as cotton, jute, flax, hemp, corn, bamboo, soy, and corn. These are classified as cellulose fibers, meaning that they are synthesized from the cellulose found exclusively in plant cells. Cotton is the most prominent cellulose fiber used, and in non-organic farming and consequently is the most damaging. At least 8,000 chemicals are used to manufacture cotton textiles. These include dyes, waste materials but most of all pesticides. Large amounts of pesticides are used to grow non-organic cotton, which has serious repercussions on surrounding plant, animal, and human life. These pesticides are absorbed into surrounding water supplies, which in most cases have been rerouted to irrigate the crops. Many cellulose fibers produce natural colors. Cotton, for example, has natural brown, yellow, and orange colors. In these cases no dyes are used at all and thusly the product is not exposed to any harmful chemicals.

It is advantageous for companies in sustainable fashion to branch out and explore other materials for production besides cotton. Bamboo seems to be an uprising contender for companies looking for renewable fibers. It is more efficient in terms of space to yield,  grows rapidly, absorbs greenhouse gases, and requires no pesticides. The disadvantage however is the process to convert raw bamboo into soft usable fiber. This process requires a lot of energy per output and has yet to be innovated for better efficiency.

Sustainable fashion extends to responsible eco friendly energy for factory machinery. Most organic clothing is processed with machinery powered by green energy sources, which can be solar power, wind power, hydroelectric power, and in some cases steam. These methods reduce the production impact on the environment, which is fundamentally the axiom of the entire movement. Similarly members advocate buying recycled or used clothing thus reducing the total mass of textiles in rotation. This does not support further production of textiles and is a means to further reduce environmental impact.