Planet: A Sustainable Future

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Planet Earth is the biggest asset human beings have ever been given, and in order to take care of it, a series of different strategies are being implemented across industries in order to achieve a sustainable future socially, environmentally and economically speaking. A concept which is crucial when talking about sustainability is of a circular economy, which is a systems solution framework that tackles global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste and pollution (MacArthur, 2022) by transitioning to renewable energy and materials avoiding overconsumption and the growth of industries that harm the environment in multiple ways.

Sustainability is described as “meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs” (Brundtland Report, 1987). In order to achieve a sustainable future, the UN created the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) for the world’s future up until 2030. The goals apply to every nation and every sector: cities, businesses, schools, organisations and more are all challenged to act. The SDGS are relevant to all sectors, and fashion is the second most polluting industry in the world after oil, an estimated 92 million tons of textile waste is created annually from the fashion industry.

Every second, the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned globally (Evans, 2019). The numbers of textile waste are expected to increase by 60% between 2015 and 2030 if the industry doesn’t act upon this issue. The future is all about globalisation, however, as the access to materials, products and new collections becomes easier, over consumption becomes an issue.  The fast fashion dilemma brings to light various environmental issues related to how fashion is harmful to the environment: for example, Zara offers over 24 new clothing collections each year, a number that adds up to tons of clothes being wasted.

The Fashion Industry’s Response

The entire fashion industry is making an effort to reduce the impact they are having on the environment, from the big luxury brands and fast fashion giants to slow fashion brands. Reformation is a brand whose mission is to bring sustainable fashion to everyone by producing all clothes from low-impact materials, rescued deadstock fabrics, and repurposed vintage clothing; their entire supply chain is sustainable and it is the brand’s goal to ensure positive environmental and social impacts are delivered with the clothes. Another way through which Reformation is able to keep its production less wasteful and exclusive is by starting its collections with small quantities of each product, and only producing more if the demand is high, which is based on direct data and feedback. Reformation is contributing for the development of the SDGS 13: climate action and 12: responsible consumption and production. The brand plans to become Climate Positive by 2025.

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