Started by Claudio Grotto in the 1970s and taking the fashion world by storm throughout the 80s and 90s, Italian fashion label GAS is the master of denim and a legend within the international fashion industry. GAS prides itself on creating pieces that are more than a simple clothing item but are a celebration of quality craftsmanship, innovation, and self-expression and that bring a contemporary individualism to the fashion market.
Famous as the producers of quality denim goods, GAS has now branched out to include a range of men’s, women’s, and children’s apparel. With its famous double rainbow logo, GAS has become a worldwide sensation with over 3000 stores and operating in over 50 countries. But despite its impressive rise and its secure place in the market, is GAS a brand that is worth your time and your money?
So, is GAS a good brand? In terms of a quality fashion brand that embraces fashion’s innate ability for self-expression, yes, however in terms of sustainable practices, although definitely not the worst out there, GAS is also far from the best.
GAS’s reputation for stylish, functional, and individualistic quality denim is warranted and if all you are searching for is a comfortable and fashionable garment then GAS is a ‘good’ brand. However, a fashion brand should represent more than this, fashion is about representation, innovation, and change and a key aspect of the future of fashion is sustainability.
Keep It Green
In 2019 GAS launched its ETX- Keep it Green project, a project in which sustainability and ecological protection were brought to the forefront of the brand’s focus. The project included an eco-friendly collection that strived to improve sustainability practices such as reducing CO2 emissions, using biocompatible resources in dying processes, and working with suppliers that were selected for their compliance with the Global Organic Textile Certification.
GAS promoted this project as part of an ongoing path towards a greener future for the brand with a Venice Fashion Week article from 2019 quoting Barbara Grotto, head of GAS Marketing and Communications as saying:
ETX – Keep it green is not an impromptu project, but a step forward on a path that looks to the future with a strong focus on sustainability.
Perhaps one of the most vital aspects of the ETX – Keep it Green project is the recognition GAS has demonstrated of the need to move towards a more sustainable fashion industry. It proves that GAS is aware of the impacts of the industry and although not necessarily hitting the mark of a completely sustainable organisation yet, GAS is willing to at least take steps in this direction.
Where Gas Clothes Come From
One area that GAS can improve on is supply chain transparency. It can be a struggle to find the place that a pair of GAS jeans were made, let alone the origin of the materials used. While the company proudly displays that its innovation occurs in its home country of Italy and some of its more innovative or exclusive collections are created in-house in Italy, it can be far harder to find the places of origin for the brand’s more generalised ranges. This is brought into particular focus on the organisation’s online store in which a country of origin can often be found nowhere in a product’s description.
Supply chain transparency is a key part of monitoring the sustainability efforts of an organisation. It allows not only a brand to further ensure ethical and sustainable practices are being adhered to at every level of the supply chain, but it encourages customers to be active participants in a sustainable shopping experience. The lack of transparency that GAS exhibits calls into question its practices and policies along the supply chain. If the organisation is acting responsibly every step of the way this not only negatively impacts the consumer but the brand as well.
Almost Sustainable Fabric Solutions
In terms of fabric choices, again GAS presents a mixed bag. Many of the brand’s items include the use of organic cotton, and although cotton is a thirsty crop, it is a more sustainable product than polyester and synthetic blends. Using organic cotton as opposed to non-organic cotton is another point in GAS’s favour, as it means the organisation is working to reduce the impact of pesticides that are used in non-organic cotton production.
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The label has also shown that it is willing to actively work to improve its sustainability practices through the release of ranges that include items that are made from recycled polyester. Through this, the brand is working to actively reduce the astronomical amount of textile that ends up in landfills each year and overproduction practices in the industry. For both of these aspects, GAS deserves to be recognised and rewarded for its efforts.
This again though is where GAS just falls short of being a completely sustainable brand, the organisation still uses materials like leather in its shoe ranges and often blends that organic cotton with elastane or polyester. With more sustainable options such as vegan leathers and sustainable fabric innovations coming onto the market, adopting an entirely sustainable or recycled approach to garment creation is an area in which GAS could make improvements to its sustainability efforts.
An Innovative Ethos
Innovation and a celebration of self-expression have been at the core of the GAS ethos since its beginning way back in the early 1970s, and this is a good thing. Fashion is an industry that is built on innovation and needs that innovation now more than ever before. The company headquarters in Italy host the GAS Artisanal Room, a space that is a cradle of innovation where GAS can experiment and develop new products.
The Artisanal Room has been responsible for innovations such as Reverse Denim, in which denim garments are completely reversible, for example, jeans that are printed with animal print on one side and plain indigo on the other side, this garment created in a style that it can be worn either way. Innovations such as this are not only cool, but they are good for sustainability. Multi-functional and multi-wear clothes help to reduce the number of items we need in our closets and in turn assist in reducing fashion and textile waste.
Sustainability-based innovations are so vital in the industry, and while Reverse Denim may fit this bill, many of the innovations that are created in the Artisanal Room are not solely sustainability-based. Again, GAS almost meets the sustainability mark but misses the final hurdle that would make them a truly sustainable brand. Although innovation is a key component of GAS not all of the label’s new products or innovative projects are as geared towards sustainability as perhaps they should or could be.
The Verdict
So, is GAS a good brand? No one can fault the innovative spirit of GAS and the true celebration of quality, style, and self-expression that is such a vital part of the industry. It could be argued though that a ‘good’ modern fashion brand should be about more than quality and style but about what fashion can do to help the world. GAS has worked to maintain its premium place in a changing fashion market, and while GAS has begun to explore some aspects of a sustainable future, there is more than GAS could do that would stand the brand in better stead to mitigate its environmental impact.
On this sustainability front, GAS is far from a bad brand, in some respects it could even be classed as good. However, there is so much more it could do in applying its might in the industry and innovative mindset to do better in sustainability than it already does.
Importantly though, GAS has recognised that sustainability is an important part of the future of fashion and something that we all have a responsibility for. If GAS works further to embrace this future of a sustainable fashion industry it could become a brand that is not only ‘good’ but great.
Emma Tidswell
With a love of style and sustainability, Emma found her passion in the sustainable fashion sector. Excited by this dynamic industry, Emma believes that we all have the power to make a positive change in the world and has a firm belief that a sustainable future is a stylish one.
