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The fashion business today supports a wide range of market sizes, which brings up a wide range of issues with the present fashion design and production process.

Four pillars of fashion industry are Planet, People, Profit and Purpose. And the three pillars in sustainable fashion are Environment, Economic and Social. The economic pillar is based on how effectively and responsibly a business uses its resources, which can ultimately enhance operations and return on investment. The environmental pillar also aims to guarantee the preservation and renewal of natural resources throughout all stages of the fashion-making process. Then, the social pillar concentrated on the principles that aim to lessen social inequalities. (Serr, J. 2022)

Circular economy is suggested as the most suitable system and model of sustainable fashion. Circularity is often described as a system where all materials are infinitely recycled and biodegradable. (Gwilt, A. 2014). There are three main principles of CE in fashion industry, they are design out waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use, regenerate natural systems. The CE brought model of production and consumption in sustainable fashion, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. In this way, the life cycle of products is extended.

The initial concerns regarding design and the environment were raised in the 1960s, that means the responsible, ethical and sustainable issues are related to fashion market all the time. The key issues of fashion industry are from five stages, which are Materials, Fabric and garment production, Distribution and retail, Use and Disposal. (Gwilt, A. 2014). Therefore, to strengthen sustainability in fashion should focus on these five stages. For instance, improving production techniques and distribution systems, choosing low-impact process and resources of production.

As the environmental, ethical, social concerns raised in recent years, UN formulated seventeen sustainable development goals. The process of production and services in the fashion industry affect the life on land, which is the 15th goals of UN SDG.

In the process of growing cotton, increase in the amount of pesticide used, this lead to destroy of other living things nearby. Moreover, in disposal stage, the textile waste is going to landfill and burn. Of the 100 billion garments produced each year, 92 million tones end up in landfills. H&M has at least started offering recycling services at more than 4,200 stores to prevent their customer’s unwanted clothing from reaching landfill. It accepts textiles old or new, from any brand. (Brown, R. 2021). And for every bag of textiles customers drop off, they receive a discount card for 15% off their next in-store purchase.

There is currently a huge selection of information available on sustainable fashion. However, the real challenge in fashion business is to balance the sustainable objectives and the profit of business. We have to learn and apply the garments’ life cycle, circular economy and all the theories to achieve sustainability in the long term with profitability.

Bibliography:

Serr, J. (2022). The Sewing Room Fashion Sewing and Sustainability Blog – Pillars of Sustainable Fashion. [online] The Sewing Room. Available at: https://www.thesewingroomalameda.com/fashion-studies-blog/2022/7/15/pillars-of-sustainable-fashion [Accessed 6 Oct. 2023].

Gwilt, A. (2014), A Practical Guide to Sustainable Fashion, Bloomsbury Publishing USA, London. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [6 October 2023].

Brown, R. (2021). The Environmental Crisis Caused by Textile Waste. [online] Road Runner. Available at: https://www.roadrunnerwm.com/blog/textile-waste-environmental-crisis [Accessed 6 Oct. 2023].