Planet

The four pillars that are important to consider when aiming for sustainability within the fashion industry includes the planet, people, profit and purpose. The pillar of ‘planet’ is rapidly becoming a pressing matter as demonstrated by many reports such as Pulse of Fashion (2015) which stated that the fashion industry was responsible for 1.715 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2015 – consuming more energy than the aviation and shipping industry combined. They also report fashion emissions to grow by 63% by 2030, with this figure having increased since it was estimated in 2015. This is only one example of the many issues that the fashion industry is causing the planet, and one of the only ways to reduce this impact is by reducing waste.

This can be implemented by introducing a circular economy. The circular economy, as described by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2010), is a system where materials never become waste and nature is regenerated. They base it on three key principles, driven by design, which are: to eliminate waste and production, to circulate products and materials (at their highest value), and to regenerate nature. Circular design is needed in the fashion industry because there is a huge environmental impact created in the design and manufacturing stage of a product’s lifecycle. Everything from the materials to the production processes can have a dramatic impact, with a knock-on effect on how that product flows through its entire life cycle: how it is used and reused, how it typically doesn’t – but should – get recycled. (Drapers, 2022).

This is an example of what sustainability can look like in relation to fashion. The industry’s reposition towards the broader concept of design for sustainability acknowledges a holistic approach that includes a consideration of social issues within a long term product innovation strategy (Gwilt, 2020). Other sustainability goals that may have an impact and relevance to the fashion industry includes the United Nations SDGs (Sustainability Development Goals). For example, 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production (Kostoska and Kocarev, 2019). This can link back to the idea of waste reduction and how important it is to be responsible when consuming and producing fashion products in order to attempt to slow down the increasing carbon emissions involved in the production of fashion products, as well as the 66% of textiles produced that are discarded and end up in landfill each year (Lundberg and Devoy, 2022).