Planet
The fashion industry is causing catastrophic and devastating effects on the planet, production alone as part of the industry makes up 10% of humanity’s carbon emissions and more rivers and streams around the world are becoming polluted. This has a negative effect on the environment. Everything on planet earth serves a particular function and the fashion industry is currently causing disruption in many ways.
Materials that are recyclable or biodegradable make up the concept of circularity. A circular economy is against waste and is enthusiastic about recycling. According to Ellen MacArthur Foundation, there are 4 main actions to a circular economy: phasing out substances that cause harm such as materials that release microfibers, increasing the utilisation of clothing by upcycling, drastically improving recycling and making effective use of resources and moving to renewable inputs. Moreover, they describe circular economy as:
“a systemic shift that builds long term resilience, generates business and economic opportunities, and provides environmental and societal benefits” (2017).
Ellen MacArthur Foundation
A sustainable fashion industry consists of slow fashion brands dominating the industry, in which: better design processes, better materials and better working practices and skills are used. Furthermore, sustainability in relation to fashion refers to cutting down on wastage of materials and a decrease in consumption.
The Sustainable Development Goals were developed and adopted by the United Nations with the aim of protecting the planet. The 17 goals are to be achieved by 2030 in the hope of peace and prosperity within humanity. Goal 12 refers to Responsible consumption and production, a crucial goal needed to transform and innovate the fashion industry. The way in which fashion is consumed is having a heavy impact on the planet and as consumers continue to buy more clothes, the market for cheap and up to date items are increasing. While masses of clothing are being produced, a large majority of clothing ends up in landfills and around one garbage truck of clothing is either burned or put in a landfill every second.
There are multiple ways in which consumers can become responsible when shopping for fashion. Investing in high quality fabrics from slow fashion brands is one way consumers can help to save the planet. Moving away from buying clothing made of polyester or other synthetic fabrics will significantly save the earth as washing clothing releases 500,000 tons of microfibers into the ocean each year. Businesses can strive to achieve responsible production by reducing the amount of wasted materials as part of the manufacturing process and easing out the use of synthetics. Designers play a large role in this as they must now place thought in the life cycle of a garment; clothing should be constructed to be re-worn for a lifetime.
Reference List
Gwilt, A. (2020). Practical Guide To Sustainable Fashion. S.L.: Ava Academia.
HEJ Support (2018). The Sustainability of Fashion: what role can consumers play? – HEJSupport. [online] HEJSupport. Available at: https://hej-support.org/the-sustainability-of-fashion-what-role-can-consumers-play/
McFall-Johnsen, M. (2020). These facts show how unsustainable the fashion industry is. [online] World Economic Forum. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/fashion-industry-carbon-unsustainable-environment-pollution/
United Nations (2020). SDG Indicators. [online] unstats.un.org. Available at: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2020/