The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world contributing to 10% of the world’s carbon emissions (Geneva Environment network, 2021). One contributing factor is the intense production methods used by textile producers to keep up with increasing consumer demand. This results in cotton farmers heavily using pesticides, so they don’t fall behind and lose out on orders from large garment manufacturers that are a substantial part of the farmers’ income. The $3-5 billion used annually by farmers in the growing of cotton is classified as toxic by the World Health Organisation and has links to cancer and harming insects by destroying their habitat (The Modern Dane, 2019).  

The negative impacts of the fashion industry can reduce by developing a circular economy. This means having a system in which clothes are circulated for as long as their maximum value is kept. This can be achieved by following three key principles: Keeping clothes in use for as long as possible, craft of use (Conde Nast, 2016), using renewable and safe materials in the production process such as wool which is seen as one of the most sustainable materials and lastly solutions based on upcycling existing materials. However, this can only be done if consumers are willing and able to adjust consumption habits for the greater good. 

There are many ways sustainability can be achieved within the fashion industry: 

• In garment design, designers should have more information on their consumers and how they manage their clothing. This way, designers can innovate and come up with solutions that would increase the longevity of the products which would help consumers reduce waste.  
• During the production of garments, producers can look at the waste produced through cutting patterns and making samples and investigate ways they can make the process more efficient and reduce textile waste. This is because 15% of materials used in pattern making are wasted (Gwilt, 2016).  

“They say you can predict the ‘it’ colour for the season by looking at the colour of the river (in China).” Orsola De Castro co-founder of Fashion Revolution.  

Goal 6 from the UN’s SDGs stresses the importance of availability and management of water and sanitation for all. This links to the fashion industry as the production of textiles requires mass amounts of water. Levi’s says that to produce a pair of 501 jeans from start to finish, 3000 liters of water is used (Frances Corner, 2015). 

Cotton is often advertised as a fresh eco-friendly material but the reality of it is dark and hard to solve. From pesticide-filled cotton to organic cotton, both need substantial amounts of water and fast fashion brands dye the materials leading to toxic dyes bleeding into rivers in China and Bangladesh. This has led to over 733 million people not having access to clean water because of a lack of monitoring and contamination.

References:

Bloomsbury fashion Central (n.d.). A practical guide to sustainable fashion. [online] Available at: https://www-bloomsburyfashioncentral-com.arts.idm.oclc.org/encyclopedia-chapter?docid=b-9781350067059&tocid=b-9781350067059-chapter4&pdfid=9781350067059.ch-004.pdf  

Corner, F. (2016). Why fashion matters. London: Thames & Hudson.

‌Condé Nast – Glossary (2016). Condé Nast – Glossary. [online] Condenast.com. Available at: https://www.condenast.com/glossary/key-elements-of-fashion-and-sustainability. 

Geneva Environment Network (2021). Environmental Sustainability in the Fashion Industry. [online] www.genevaenvironmentnetwork.org. Available at: https://www.genevaenvironmentnetwork.org/resources/updates/sustainable-fashion/. 

The Modern Dane. (n.d.). Why Cotton Is Called the World’s Dirtiest Crop. [online] Available at: https://www.moderndane.com/blogs/the-modern-dane-blog/why-cotton-is-called-the-worlds-dirtiest-crop. 

Together Street. (n.d.). How to predict the colour of the season. [online] Available at: https://www.togetherstreet.com/blog/2018/7/9/how-to-predict-the-colour-of-the-season. 

United Nations (2021). Goal 6 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs. [online] sdgs.un.org. Available at: https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal6. 

‌ 

Sustainability within the fashion industry is an ongoing problem, with not just the production line and companies to fault. It is an approach that has the environment as a focus and to help make a positive impact towards issues like climate change by reducing carbon footprints.

“However much we innovate and act to improve the sustainability credentials of a piece of clothing, the benefits brought by these changes are always restricted by the production systems and business models that market and sell the garment and by the behaviour of the person who buys it.”

As production lines are mainly using synthetics as a way of increasing revenue, consumer behaviour is also at fault with many people buying into fast fashion.

As recently a struggle for many is the cost of living crisis, it is thought that it will “lead some consumers to prioritise price over the environment” and there has already been a shift in the way people consume fashion after the pandemic and lifestyle changes.

What is a circular economy?

A circular economy in the fashion industry is the idea that when raw materials such as cotton and oil are used eventually, they are recycled and not waste. This helps tackle issues created such as landfill and the further addition of adding carbon to the atmosphere when burning waste. It’s a motive to help shift the focus towards the planet and from a business’s perspective changing from a profit focus to having a social lead when making business decisions.

One sustainable development goal that is highly relevant in the fashion industry is responsible consumption and production. Findings have shown that “only store‐related attributes of eco‐fashion positively influence consumers’ eco‐fashion consumption decision, yet, such relationship can be weakened by the price premium level of eco‐fashion.” Meaning many consumers decision is based on price therefore leading change may need to start from the producers of fast fashion in order to eliminate cheap clothing that ends up in landfill. I think that in order to change the high levels of consumption within the fashion industry it needs to start by changing consumer habits.

Therefore, I think that to lead a change towards a sustainable approach within the fashion industry needs to start by changing consumer behaviour by either making sustainable choices more affordable or changing fast fashion. This means that the shift of consumption is changed as people buy quality items and buy into the idea of a capsule wardrobe and think about the sustainable approach.

Fletcher, Kate, and Lynda Grose. Fashion and Sustainability : Design for Change, Laurence King Publishing, 2012. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/detail.action?docID=1876120.

Ting‐yan Chan, Christina W.Y. Wong, 2012, https://www-emerald-com.arts.idm.oclc.org//insight/content/doi/10.1108/13612021211222824/full/html

Tamara Sender Ceron, 2022, https://reports-mintel-com.arts.idm.oclc.org/display/1101837/?fromSearch=%3Ffreetext%3Dsustainability%2520in%2520fashion%26resultPosition%3D1

28 Janeiro, 2020, https://www.portoprotocol.com/circular-economy-as-a-way-of-increasing-efficiency-in-organizations/

Planet is one of the four pillars in fashion business, it is about the fashion industry’s impact on the planet- Earth. “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” is the definition of sustainability based on the United Nations(Bartlett,2011). This article will examine the meaning and need of sustainability in fashion. Fashion industry includes garment, footwear, accessory,cosmetics, and fragrance sectors, and is one of the internationalised industries(Anguelov,2021).The large supply chain spanning across from raw materials harvesting, spinning, yarn production, dyeing, weaving, cutting, stitching and to the final garment construction(Mukherjee,2015). Those manufacturers of the fashion industry cause environmental impact in every product life cycle, and those environmental impacts not only affect the natural as well as the social environment(Mukherjee,2015). There are several environmental issues related to fashion industry such as resource consumption,greenhouse gas (GHG) emission,land use,toxic production processes, and landfill(Mukherjee,2015).The rise of fast fashion and the reliance on cheap and fast manufacteries, created over 92 million tonnes of waste produced per year(Niinimäki,2020). Beside it, in the social side the decrease of child labor are one of the goal in International Labour Organisation, but in fashion industry still is a challenge to them, because there is still home workers and indirect workers in the fashion industry(Allwood, Laursen,n.d). There are 151.6 million children between five to seven-teen years old who are child labourers across the globe, and half of them are working in the fashion industry(www.commonobjective.co, 2018).  Sustainability is a goal for all the fashion industry to create a long-live environment.

United Nation Sustainable Development Goal which is an urgent call for all countries in the global partnership. There are seventeen main goals, each of them fit to environmental, social and economic spheres(sdgs.un.org). Responsible Consumption and Production are number 12 goals in the United Nation Sustainable Development Goal, which are to decrease the amount of waste in natural resources(sdgs.un.org). Fashion industry and its consumers have a responsibility to know that its products are harmful to the environment, and to force individuals and governments to take action(Stanton,2022). There are some fashion industries that follow the goals to decrease the waste of human resources, for example, Stella McCartney uses renewable energy to power their stores and offices, and they try to use as much organic cotton as possible(Lolli,2021).In conclusion, due to the amount of waste the fashion industry has made, Responsible Consumption and Production are the steps for the fashion industry envole in sustainability. The second largest industry starts the action on sustainability, will have the chance to lead others industry and government follow.

Bibliography

Allwood, J.M. et al. (no date) Well dressed? the present and future sustainability of clothing and textiles in the United Kingdom. Available at: https://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/insights/sustainability/well-dressed/ (Accessed: October 9, 2022). 

Anguelov, N. (2021) The dirty side of the garment industry fast fashion and its negative impact on the environment and Society. Boca Raton: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group

Bartlett, A.A. (2011) The meaning of sustainability – al bartlett, The meaning of sustainability. Available at: https://www.albartlett.org/articles/art_meaning_of_sustainability_2012mar20.pdf (Accessed: October 8, 2022). 

Child labour in the fashion industry (2018) Common Objective. Common Objective. Available at: https://www.commonobjective.co/article/child-labour-in-the-fashion-industry (Accessed: October 9, 2022). 

Lolli, A.A. (2021) Stella McCartney: Fashion and Sustainability, FG MAGAZINE. Available at: https://thefashionglobe.com/stella-mccartney (Accessed: October 9, 2022). 

Mukherjee, S. (2015) Environmental and Social Impact of Fashion: Towards an Eco-friendly, Ethical Fashion. Available at: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/72803427.pdf (Accessed: October 9, 2022). 

Niinimäki, K. (2020) The environmental price of fast fashion – researchgate. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Patsy-Perry/publication/340635670_The_environmental_price_of_fast_fashion/links/5f2960c4a6fdcccc43a8ca65/The-environmental-price-of-fast-fashion.pdf (Accessed: October 9, 2022). 

Stanton, A. (2022) How the United Nations’ sdgs relate to the fashion industry, Remake. Available at: https://remake.world/stories/news/how-the-united-nations-sdgs-relate-to-the-fashion-industry/ (Accessed: October 9, 2022). The 17 goals | sustainable development (no date) United Nations. United Nations. Available at: https://sdgs.un.org/goals (Accessed: October 9, 2022).

What is the Planet Pillar?

This pillar’s main focus is about how the fashion industry fits into the notion of sustainability, now what is sustainability? In relation to fashion, sustainability is using resources that are responsibly sourced and that can be recycled (ecoworldonline.com). In addition to this sustainability also relates to the UN’s SDGs or sustainable development goals.

What is a circular economy?

A circular economy is a regenerative system in which all items are circles through a system, as long as their maximum value is retained. When speaking in the context of the fashion industry, a circular industry is the same definition, apart from the fact that all garments must be returned to a biosphere when not of use (Motif.org) or when the product is at the end of its life cycle.

What is Sustainability in relation to fashion?

In my opinion, sustainability in fashion is the concept of renewable fashion in the sense that all products should be able to live more than one life. For example, if a T-shirt is at the end of its life it should be able to start a new life as something else without creating waste, just like a plastic bottle can be recycled into a multitude of different things. In addition to this I believe that sustainable fashion should be made much more affordable and accessible within the market.

The fashion industry and SDGs

The fashion industry is lacking within the sustainability department, however the good health and wellbeing sector of the industry is also lacking in terms of working conditions. Workers in factories are subjected to 10-14hour long days, all injuries are ignored and if they cannot maintain an acceptable rhythm they are fired leaving them jobless and in a precarious situation (labourbehindthelabel.org)

References :

https://ecoworldonline.com/what-is-sustainability-in-fashion/#:~:text=Sustainability%20in%20fashion%20is%20based%20on%20the%203,to%20do%20with%20the%20fast%20pace%20of%20fashion

https://international-partnerships.ec.europa.eu/policies/sustainable-development-goals_enf

To quantify what sustainability means, LCF Fashion Business School has identified four distinct yet interlinked pillars; Planet, People, Profit and Purpose. The environmental pillar, Planet, assesses how consumers treat the earth’s resources and ecosystems. Humankind has been known to have two innate desires; sufficiency and longevity (Singh 2017)  consequently causing conflict between how one treats the planet and how the planet should be treated. This builds upon the 1987 Brundtland Report defining sustainability as, ‘meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs’. This definition is renowned, yet it fails due to a lack of a perfect example of how to achieve this model of sustainability. Brundtland’s broad definition of “needs” is subjective to one’s standard of living (Kashani et al, 2021) and fails to account for the disparity between first and third-world countries. Undoubtedly, this created confusion about how individual consumers are able to achieve sustainability, shifting responsibility onto larger corporations to create change. To challenge this belief system, consumers should become accustomed to the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals developed in 2015. The SDG’s are a policy framework calling for action to end, ‘poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity,’ (United Nations 2015). Sustainable development is the only viable path for humanity (Sachs, 2012) meaning it has become increasingly urgent for these SDGs to achieve success. In relation to how the fashion industry can become more sustainable, one goal, in particular, stands out – this being Responsible Consumption and Production. Promisingly, conscious consumerism is thriving with 62% of millennials claiming they are conscious about purchasing from local, sustainable or ethically sourced brands, (Mullen, 2021). Millennials are tasked with confronting the impacts of environmental degradation, providing hope for genuine consumer progress towards sustainability and the planet. On the other hand, fast fashion has progressively become more popular, thriving on the idea of more for less (Bick et al, 2018).

Fig 2. Clothing in landfill (Spring, 2017)

Consequently, this encourages the mass production of low-quality, cheap resale-value clothing which is detrimental to the environment. Increased consumer demand means brands are producing almost twice the amount of clothing today compared to before 2000 (Kirsi Niinimäki et al (2020). Countries need to actively adopt a circular economy, a model of production and consumerism emphasising reusability. A circular business model leads to less demand, production and consumption paving the way for a more sustainable planet.  

Fig 1, Circular Economy (Cohen 2022)

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Rachel Bick et al (2018):The global environmental injustice of fast fashion

Naomi Cohen (2022):Making the Linear Circular: a short guide to the circular economy

Mohammadhadi Hajian et al (2021): Evolution of the concept of sustainability. From Brundtland Report to sustainable development goals

Caitlin Mullen (2021):Nearly 6 in 10 consider themselves conscious consumers

Kirsi Niinimäki et al (2020): The environmental price of fast fashion

Jeffrey Sachs (2012):From Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals

Tej Vir Singh (2017): Is our planet in peril? The imperative of sustainability, Tourism Recreation Research

Alexandra Spring (2017):Landfill becomes the latest fashion victim in Australia’s throwaway clothes culture

To quantify what sustainability means, LCF Fashion Business School has identified four distinct yet interlinked pillars; Planet, People, Profit and Purpose. The environmental pillar, Planet, assesses how consumers treat the earth’s resources and ecosystems. Humankind has been known to have two innate desires; sufficiency and longevity (Singh 2017)  consequently causing conflict between how one treats the planet and how the planet should be treated. This builds upon the 1987 Brundtland Report defining sustainability as, ‘meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs’. This definition is renowned, yet it fails due to a lack of a perfect example of how to achieve this model of sustainability. Brundtland’s broad definition of “needs” is subjective to one’s standard of living (Kashani et al, 2021) and fails to account for the disparity between first and third-world countries. Undoubtedly, this created confusion about how individual consumers are able to achieve sustainability, shifting responsibility onto larger corporations to create change. To challenge this belief system, consumers should become accustomed to the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals developed in 2015. The SDG’s are a policy framework calling for action to end, ‘poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity,’ (United Nations 2015). Sustainable development is the only viable path for humanity (Sachs, 2012) meaning it has become increasingly urgent for these SDGs to achieve success. In relation to how the fashion industry can become more sustainable, one goal, in particular, stands out – this being Responsible Consumption and Production. Promisingly, conscious consumerism is thriving with 62% of millennials claiming they are conscious about purchasing from local, sustainable or ethically sourced brands, (Mullen, 2021). Millennials are tasked with confronting the impacts of environmental degradation, providing hope for genuine consumer progress towards sustainability and the planet. On the other hand, fast fashion has progressively become more popular, thriving on the idea of more for less (Bick et al, 2018).

Fig 2. Clothing in landfill (Spring, 2017)

Consequently, this encourages the mass production of low-quality, cheap resale-value clothing which is detrimental to the environment. Increased consumer demand means brands are producing almost twice the amount of clothing today compared to before 2000 (Kirsi Niinimäki et al (2020). Countries need to actively adopt a circular economy, a model of production and consumerism emphasising reusability. A circular business model leads to less demand, production and consumption paving the way for a more sustainable planet.  

Fig 1, Circular Economy (Cohen 2022)

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Rachel Bick et al (2018):The global environmental injustice of fast fashion

Naomi Cohen (2022):Making the Linear Circular: a short guide to the circular economy

Mohammadhadi Hajian et al (2021): Evolution of the concept of sustainability. From Brundtland Report to sustainable development goals

Caitlin Mullen (2021):Nearly 6 in 10 consider themselves conscious consumers

Kirsi Niinimäki et al (2020): The environmental price of fast fashion

Jeffrey Sachs (2012):From Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals

Tej Vir Singh (2017): Is our planet in peril? The imperative of sustainability, Tourism Recreation Research

Alexandra Spring (2017):Landfill becomes the latest fashion victim in Australia’s throwaway clothes culture