Planet
Sustainability in context to fashion has become as prevalent a topic as ever, especially in regards to the preservation of the planet. The early 20th century has been an era of overconsumption, ‘fast fashion’ has reached new heights and the roll-over of trends is increasing making fashion become ‘disposable’. It is evident that textile recycling has a positive impact in contributing to social responsibility, change in the environment and plays an economic role in the global marketplace (Hethorn and Ulasewicz, 2015). These ‘Three Pillars of Sustainability’ (Social, Environmental and Economic), can be applied to fashion businesses in order to highlight the aspects of the business which are unsustainable. This can be explored through a case study done on global luxury fashion brand ‘Loewe’. The brand set itself the target of becoming a sustainable brand in 2011. According to Loewe they “work with high quality, low impact materials that are sourced and produced with the planet in mind . Factors such as traceability of origin, fair conditions for farmers, animal welfare and the protection of biodiversity closely inform the way we approach and produce raw materials”. Loewe equally experiments with up-cycled and recycled fabrics , organic cotton and other low-impact materials. As of today, Loewe continues to support educational programmes, projects and foundations (Mitterfellner, 2023).
Circularity in fashion considers the idea of moving towards a more sustainable existence by addressing the need for social change while keeping the needs of the planet in mind. Circularity in the industry derives from three main principles; Eliminate waste and pollution, keep resources in use for as long as possible, recover and regenerate products at the end of their service life. This can be applied to the fashion industry through the main idea of extending the life cycle of a garment in order to make the item last as long as possible in regenerative and reusable ways. With Approx 300,000 tonnes of clothes being thrown away each year and clothing utilisation declining as clothing sales increase, the need for slow fashion is imperative for the survival of the planet.
In 2015 the United Nations set up the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), these are 17 goals implementing change from all countries taking a strategic approach that promotes economic growth and addresses the need for social change. The Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network is a United Nations hosted online platform that supports the SDG’s with a focus on the fashion industry and its effects on the planet. It engages global stakeholders to drive action towards sustainability in the fashion sector. One SDG in particular; Goal 12; Responsible consumption and production, looks at ensuring sustainable consumption in order to sustain communities. Pioneering change with the aims to implement a 10 year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production and by 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources (The SDG Report, 2023) .
With the fashion industry responsible for 20% of global water waste, 10% of carbon emissions and 83% of textiles sent to landfill, it is unavoidable that the fashion industry has caused irrevocable damage to the planet.
References:
Hethorn, J., & Ulasewicz, C. (eds). (2015). Sustainable Fashion: What’s Next? A Conversation about Issues, Practices and Possibilities. Ebook, New York: Bloomsbury – Chapter 1
Mitterfellner, O. (2023) Luxury Fashion Brand Management and sustainability: Unifying fashion with sustainability. Ebook, New York: Routledge – Chapter 7
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/
https://sdgs.un.org/partnerships/action-networks/conscious-fashion-and-lifestyle-network
https://ual.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=effd1f14-22ac-4415-8b35-ac5800fa26d9
https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/circular-economy-introduction/overview