PLANET

Will the fashion industry become our planets ally?

When we think about the fashion industry as a whole it’s hard to look past the glamourous runways and variety of magnificent garments to see its true detrimental contribution towards environmental degradation. With fast fashion businesses profiting off of the creation of micro-seasons and dynamic trends, the extensive need for resource intensive processes such as cotton farming and the creation of oil bases textiles is at an all-time high. Garments containing cotton, one of the main materials known for an incredibly water-intensive production cost, use thousands of litres of water to make a singular product with one cotton t-shirt requiring 2,500 litres of water to manufacture as stated by (Turner, 2023). 

However, does the fashion industry have the potential to become the planets ally and offer our dying earth a glimpse of hope? With more sustainable practices of purchasing resurging within the fashion industry such as the global second-hand market, which saw a 28% increase in 2022 alone (ThredUps Resale Report, 2023), it is clear that a more supportable, circular approach is being taken within the fashion economy.

The idea of a ‘circular economy’ has begun to distribute itself across fashion industry with a narrative of “closing loops in the industrial eco-systems and minimising waste”(Stahel, 2016). This system simply focuses on maximising recycling, reusing and replenishment all of which bode well with newer procedures of sustainable fashion buying and merchandising. Not only is the idea of a circular economy attractive to more sustainable fashion markets but also to the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals (SDG’s).

The UN’s 17 SDG’s are targets put in place by the UN to address world issues such as poverty, hunger and inequality and achieve a more sustainable future for the world. The fashion industry plays a significant part in the achievement of a few of these goals such as; gender equality, reduced inequalities and,  most related to the narrative of sustainable fashion, responsible consumption and production. If the fashion industry adopts procedures such as a ‘circular economy’ could it be possible that recycling and reusing saves our planet? If so, is it too late for the fashion industry to reverse its destruction caused by its resource-intensive processes to create a more sustainable fashion future. Will the fashion industry become our planets ally?

Bibliography

Figure 1 – Image credit: Alamy/Javier Hirschfeld

Stahel, W. The circular economy. Nature 531, 435–438 (2016)

(Online) https://doi.org/10.1038/531435a (Accessed 7/10/2023)

ThredUp (2023) Resale Report

(Online) https://www.thredup.com/resale

(Online) https://cf-assets-tup.thredup.com/resale_report/2023/thredUP_2023_Resale_Report_FINAL.pdf (Accessed 6/10/23)

Jane Turner (2023) The Ethics of Cotton Production, Ethical Consumer

(Online) ww.ethicalconsumer.org/fashion-clothing/ethics-cotton production#:~:text=Cotton%20is%20said%20to%20cover,’dirtiest’%20agricultural%20commodity (Accessed 6/10/2023)