The Traubel family at the HUBERTUS Mountain Refugio Allgäu likes to wear long-lasting traditional clothing, and they also dress the hotel staff in them. Picture: HUBERTUS Mountain Refugio Allgäu

Fast fashion violates human rights and destroys the environment

Exactly ten years ago, in April 2013, an eight-story factory complex collapsed in Bangladesh. More than 1,100 people died and about 2,000 were injured. The 5,000 workers in the dilapidated building had been working 16-hour shifts – for us. They were producing fashion for the European market, for brands such as Primark, C&A, KiK and Mango. Since then, analysts say, some things have improved – and many things have gotten worse! In 2022, for example, Greenpeace published a report on SHEIN. Some workers were toiling up to 18 hours a day. Dangerous chemicals have also been found in shoes and clothing that exceed EU limits. It appears that most of the fashion industry has not learned since the accident. There is even talk of “ultra fast fashion” to describe fashion that is even worse than fast fashion (i.e. what we knew ten years ago). High time to rethink!

Many of our Green PearlsⓇ partners are focusing on sustainability instead of fast fashion – and some even on traditional costumes.

Traditional clothing as workwear

The traditional clothes at the HUBERTUS Mountain Refugio Allgäu come from Trachtenhaus Schaber in Bavaria. The sustainable hotel outfits its service and reception staff with special traditional workwear – the dirndl aprons are custom-made for the hotel. Schaber is one of the largest manufacturers of traditional costumes in Bavaria and has been run by the Schaber family for over 40 years. Production is based in Bavaria, Austria and Europe. “We are very satisfied with the quality,” says owner family Traubel.

Durable and timeless traditional costume fashions are also used as workwear at the Hotel Das Rübezahl near Neuschwanstein Castle and at the Naturhotel Outside in Tyrol’s Hohe Tauern National Park. Made exclusively in Europe, the garments are of such high quality that they can be reused.

Buy sustainable clothing

If you don’t want to be responsible for workers working in exploitative conditions and polluting our environment with tons of fast fashion, we recommend these blog articles as food for thought for a sustainable wardrobe:

Sustainable Fashion Part 1 – What our clothes have to do with the environment

Sustainable Fashion Part 2 – How to Tell What’s Inside

You can also learn more about sustainable workwear here:

Dress to (sustainable) success – Sustainable workwear in the hotel