The Books That CHANGED FASHION FOR GOOD
Elizabeth L. Cline
Elizabeth L. Cline is a renowned author, educator, and analyst whose work has transformed the world's understanding of fashion, sustainability, and labor rights. Her critically acclaimed books, Overdressed and The Conscious Closet, ignited a global reckoning with fast fashion and helped mainstream the movement for conscious consumption and justice in the global apparel industry.
Cline’s influence spans from classrooms to Capitol Hill. She is a widely recognized expert and regular media commentator on fashion, consumerism, labor, and sustainability. She has been invited to share her insights on NBC Nightly News, NPR’s Fresh Air, and Hulu’s IMPACT x Nightline, and her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, and Forbes, among other outlets. She has played a leading role in shaping public policy, contributing to campaigns that have led to changes in laws in California, New York, and the U.S. Congress.
At Columbia University, Cline teaches the next generation of sustainability leaders to design systems that are equitable, resilient, and transparent. As a trusted communications strategist and policy analyst to NGOs, policymakers, and companies, she specializes in human rights, climate change, social and corporate sustainability, and global and ESG legislation.
RESEARCH & CONSULTING
Elizabeth L. Cline offers research, geopolitical analysis, and strategic communications to help organizations navigate global supply chains, sustainability, and human rights in global trade and ESG policy. Core services include:
Research — Design and conduct rigorous qualitative research projects.
Sustainability & geopolitical analysis — Develop insights and written outputs on fast fashion, consumer culture, human rights, global supply chains, and ESG policy.
Regulatory tracking — Monitor and synthesize global ESG policy trends.
Strategic communications — Craft messaging, press materials, and reports. Build reach through content and media strategy.
U.S. Sustainable Agriculture: Laws, Policies, and Programs (2025)
Produced on behalf of the U.S. Sustainability Alliance, Elizabeth L. Cline served as a writer and researcher on this report, which outlines key U.S. laws and programs that promote sustainable agriculture and protect biodiversity, forests, and farmland.
Towards a Collective Approach: Rethinking Fashion’s Doomed Climate Strategy (2023)
Co-authored and led by Elizabeth L. Cline as lead researcher, this report from the Transformers Foundation investigates the fashion industry's climate strategies through the lens of supplier perspectives. It highlights a disconnect between science-based targets and the realities of feasibility, equity, and financing—calling for a more inclusive and collaborative approach to decarbonization.
Cotton: A Case Study in Misinformation (2021)
Co-authored by Elizabeth L. Cline, this report from the Transformers Foundation exposes common myths about cotton’s environmental impact and how misinformation spreads in the fashion industry. It calls for more accurate, transparent, and responsible sustainability claims and storytelling across journalism, academia, and corporate communications.
ARTICLES
ILLUSTRATIONS BY ANDREA MONGIA
will the circular economy save the planet?
Like other utopian environmental theories before it, the circular economy promises to decouple economic growth from our endless consumption of stuff, but are its proponents really offering a planet-saving paradigm shift, or just another version of something we've tried and failed at for decades? Read Elizabeth’s feature in Sierra Magazine here.
The controversy over cotton
When it comes to organic cotton in the U.S., the numbers don’t add up. Here there is the biggest demand for the sustainable fiber and yet the lowest levels of production. It’s why your T-shirt likely comes from overseas, where experts say organic claims aren’t always legitimate. Few organic farmers are pulling it off, save for a small group in West Texas. Read here.
The POWER OF #PAYUP
In March of 2020, major clothing brands and retailers made the catastrophic and unprecedented decision to cancel completed orders without payment to their factories worldwide worth $40 billion, triggering a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions. A grassroots movement called the #PayUp movement, which Cline helped to launch, stopped the biggest heist in fashion’s modern history. And it’s just getting started. Read here.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY EVENING STANDARD/HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES
THE TWILIGHT OF THE ETHICAL CONSUMER
During the pandemic, like everyone else, I made promises to myself and tried to take up healthier habits. I started knitting, drawing, and journaling again. I traded in my reality TV addiction for Ken Burns documentaries. And, while others were learning to bake bread or garden, I decided to stop being an Ethical Consumer. One day, I needed new pajamas. Gap was selling two pairs for $40, so I bought them. I needed home office supplies, so I ordered them off Amazon. And I went back to using plastic single-use cups at my local coffee shop. Read the full story here.