Planet Blog
With the focus on how fashion can become more sustainable it is increasingly significant to the fashion industry, wider media, and the public that changes are made to ensure the longevity of this planet. Emissions produced by the textiles and fashion industry are expected to rise 70% by 2030 (Achim Berg Et al 2020), indicating that a shift towards a circular economy are vital if the planet is to survive the next century. This is why the planet pillar holds vast significance, being the most relevant of the pillars to the current state of society.
Attaining a circular economy appears to be the most effective method to cut the industry’s carbon emissions and reduce its environmental impact. A circular economy involves favouring activities that preserve energy and materials e.g., recycling materials, leasing. A circular economy has recently began to be incorporated by the fashion industry and buyers as it has experienced a shift away from the linear economy which dominated luxury fashion over the past 100 years. Online marketplaces such as Depop and vinted have made recycling clothing assessable to everyone, where in the past charity/thrift shops were limited and only offered a narrow selection of pieces.
Today, 400% more clothes are produced annually then 20 years ago (Forbes,2014), this must change before the planet is damaged beyond repair; the rise of renting clothes could become a vital way to reuse clothes while also cutting costs for the consumer. Selfridges’ ‘Project Earth initiative’ aims to ‘close the lope on waste’, renting out luxury/high end designer pieces, this previously unfathomable move is key move in increasing sustainability through using a circular economy.
In 2015 the United Nations (U.N) implemented 17 Sustainable development goals (SDGs) with of aim of ‘ending poverty and protecting the planet’ by 2030 (United Nations, 2015). Out of these SDGs, goal 12 has the most relevance in allowing a sustainable fashion industry to flourish. This goal significant as by 2050 the U.N predicts that humanity will require the equivalent of three planets to support the current output of the industry (United Nation, 2023). Despite these cold facts, if the responsible consumerism encouraged by SDG 12 is achieved the future generations will benefit greatly from this mindset that there is always more to be done.