Planet
The fashion industry has introduced four pillars, among them planet which focuses on how fashion industry achieves sustainable but with impacts of earth. For example, consumption and pollution, not only in the production of clothes, but also in their washing. The use of chemicals in the production of raw materials such as cotton. Climate disasters will lead to extreme heat, drought, flooding and the risk of poverty. If companies and industry do not pay attention to the effects of climate change, the situation will get worse as temperatures rise by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (UN IPCC Report, 2021). People consume and use water causing serious health and environmental damage – including increased cancer risk, skin problems and extinction of animal populations. As the world becomes more aware of environmental issues, the fashion industry is looking for different ways to balance business economics and environmental protection, scientists have discovered many pre-hydrolytic coagulants, such as polymeric aluminum chloride, ferric polymeric aluminum chloride instead of fibre production (Uddin, 2021).
The Sustainable Development goals have 17 goals to achieve environmental, economic and consumer sustainability goals. Goal 12 is the responsibility of the fashion industry in consumption and production for protecting the earth. Achieving economic growth and sustainable development requires that human urgently reduce their activity by changing the way we produce and consume goods and resources. It is now known that the amount of production and consumption in the fashion industry has increased substantially, and it will have many impacts on the planet. Millions of tons of clothing are produced, worn and thrown away every year. According to statistics, the annual output of textiles can reach billion carbon dioxide (Hussein, 2013). Apparel accounts for more than 60% of all textile use and has roughly doubled in the last 15 years, as the growth of the global middle class population and higher sales per capita in mature economies. Clothing cannot be produced without textile industry production lines and consumers buy cheap but fashionable clothing in large quantities. However, it is often forgotten that these production lines are harmful to the environment. For example, the textile industry uses large amounts of chemicals such as pigments or dyes, and the leftover waste water is discharged directly into the environment as it cannot be broken down.
Companies in the fashion industry seek to design and manufacture products that are durable, create more comfortable products and services for their customers and provide the necessary knowledge that, through continuous innovation in product quality, safe recycling or renewable materials, products and their materials do not contain harmful substances and do not release harmful substances into the environment. A business model that maintains the attractiveness of the product over time and is able to maintain the highest value of the product creates the conditions for the resilience and prosperity of the fashion industry and the optimization of the environment, and is aligned with the business model to achieve these goals (Cernansky, 2022). By adopting new business models and eliminating waste from design, the fashion industry has the potential to unlock more economic opportunities globally.
References
Uddin, F. (2021). Environmental hazard in textile dyeing wastewater from local textile industry. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10570-021-04228-4 [Accessed 2 Oct. 2021].
Falah, Hussein. (2013). Chemical Properties of Treated Textile Dyeing Wastewater. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Falah-Hussein/publication/258365448_Chemical_Properties_of_Treated_Textile_Dyeing_Wastewater/links/5c55d3d5299bf12be3f68477/Chemical-Properties-of-Treated-Textile-Dyeing-Wastewater.pdf [Accessed 25 Sep. 2013].
Maxine, Bédat. (2021). The Life and Death of a Garment. [online] Avialable at: https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/65971946/pdf-ebook-download-unraveled-the-life-and-death-of-a-garment [Accessed 3 Jun. 2021].
archive.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org. (n.d.). Fashion and the circular economy. [online] Available at: https://archive.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/explore/fashion-and-the-circular-economy?_ga=2.226442266.1272248944.1665330792-697752685.1665330792 [Accessed 9 Oct. 2022].
Cernansky, R. (2022). Sustainability: Where fashion is heading in 2022. [online] Vogue Business. Available at: https://www.voguebusiness.com/sustainability/sustainability-where-fashion-is-heading-in-2022 [Accessed 5 Jan. 2022].