Sustainability is the rapidly becoming one of the most important challenges facing the corporate wear industry. The Corporate Clothes Show recently announced that its conference next April will feature sustainability as its core theme. Speakers from various corporate companies, such as Virgin Atlantic, will attend Birmingham's NEC to discuss how firms producing long sleeve shirts and ladies suits can inject greater sustainability into their business practice. In the face of ongoing economic difficulties, it seems that the corporate wear industry is gearing itself up for a more sustainable future.

During London Fashion Week in February 2009, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will unveil the Sustainable Clothing Roadmap. This new policy plan was laid out at a meeting in March where key stakeholders debated how to encourage more sustainable production in the corporate wear industry. According to Lets Recycle, during a pre-launch briefing held this week, Defra minister Lord Hunt said: "We've been working hard with a lot of people in the clothing sector, we've had a lot of encouragement from people in the clothing sector."

"We think there's a lot the clothing industry can do to make itself more sustainable," he explained. "I'm very hopeful the launch in February will give it a great fillip."

According to figures released by Defra, the amount of ladies suits and long sleeve shirts being recycled has increased from 59,000 tonnes in 2003/04 to 113,000 tonnes in 2007/08. However, Dr Dorothy Maxwell, head of the Defra Sustainable Clothing Roadmap project, told delegates at the briefing that it is important for the textiles industry to improve levels of recycling and reuse.

"We generate two million tonnes of waste clothing per year, 63 per cent goes to landfill, only 16 per cent is recycling, that's pretty poor, we'd like to increase that," she explained.

Dr Maxwell said that recycling corporate wear, such as short sleeve shirts and men's blazers, will form a major part of the new strategy. The same will be true for the reuse of school uniforms and other related workwear. The new roadmap is also expected to launch a trial of a comingled collection of textiles scheme. This involves households putting forward comingled short sleeve shirts and ladies suits for recycling. Following the trial, Dr Maxwell said that studies will be conducted to gauge the feasibility "if you're going to ramp it up on a national scale".

Various private and public orgnaisations have already started donating corporate wear to worthy causes in order to avoid the men's blazers and ladies suits being sent to landfill. Police on the Isle of Man recently donated 60 pairs of uniform trousers to a Save the Children charity shop. High street chain Marks & Spencer also works with Oxfam on a clothes exchange project where donated short sleeve v-necks and long sleeve blouses raise money for good causes. Whether it is to help the environment or people in need, the corporate wear industry looks prepared to assist in the creation of a sustainable future for everyone.

Part of being safe, productive and successful while in employment is often about having the correct corporate wear. This may be in terms of work coats and high vis jackets in manual positions or long sleeves shirts and ladies suits in an office environment. Whatever the constitution of corporate wear, it's essential to get the right apparel. In this regard, a specialist Canadian charity recently held a fashion show aimed at helping disadvantaged people to get the correct corporate wear for the job.

The Dress for Success (DFS) charity aims to provide adequate workwear items for women of low socio-economic status. This is so that they can either advance in a particular company or profession, or actually get back into employment. Founded in New York in 1997, the organisation offers long sleeve blouses and short sleeve shirts on loan, which the women can then return after a job interview. The organisation has since helped over 450,000 women around the world to advance their career or return to work.

According to the Epoch Times, the Dress Me For Success annual fashion event went ahead last month in Vancouver, Canada. This event aims to raise money to assist the charity with its valuable work and includes a fashion show, a raffle and an auction. The show also worked towards getting more companies involved in social responsibility via a special competition.

Representatives from firms such as Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers participated in a specialist scavenger hunt. Contestants had to locate various items of corporate clothing, such as short sleeve v-neck and long sleeve shirts, which were hidden around the Pacific Palisades Hotel. Participants then had to reorganise these items of corporate wear into a business-suitable outfit to be assessed by the judging panel. The winner was judged on their assembled outfit as well as their level of fund raising work.

Vancouver-based recruitment firm MacNeil Nakamoto eventually proved victorious and founder Cheryl Nakamoto said that the company is keen to support disadvantaged women.

"I learned through doing charity work that you don't force people to do anything, they have to want to do it," said Nakamoto told the Epoch Times. "It's not that when you do something for charity you want something back."

"[Corporations] should really look for organisations where they align themselves [with] what they are passionate about," she added. "It has to come from their heart... they can talk about what charity means a lot to them, where they feel a connection, and then from there they can make a contribution and they can reach out."

Debra Twocock, executive director of Vancouver's DFS chapter, also told the newspaper that she welcomes the corporate support but also called for more.

"We're looking at times where people are constantly looking for good help and don't seem to understand why they can't find it. Well we can tell them!" she explained. "We're really working to get the message out that there's a lot more to us than the clothing part - that a woman who is supported and can become productive will just take things and run. I'm sure that every single one of the ladies has learned to appreciate the value of supporting one another and I'm sure that they pay it forward in many, many aspects of their lives."

According to recruitment service Monster, the best way to make a good impression at a job interview is with the correct corporate wear. Candidates are advised "to dress one level up" from how they would expect to look if they actually got the job. This means casual clothes should be avoided in favour of long sleeve shirts and ladies suits. As long as candidates opt for well-fitted, neutral corporate wear then they will give themselves the best possible chance of a successful interview.