Planet
The first Pillar is Planet. Planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant (2023), and also the place where people live. However, the pollution is affecting the planet. The fashion industry’s overconsumption makes it the world’s second-most polluting business (Un News, 2019), after only the oil industry. According to social media, fashion trends have become faster and faster, meaning that styles are more likely to go out of fashion than ever before, and record numbers of garments are produced each year. This has made the fashion industry one of the most polluting industries. This situation led to a worldwide focus on sustainable development in fashion.
The circular economy has the potential to significantly improve sustainability in the fashion industry. In the beginning, what is circular economy? The European Parliament (2023) states that the circular economy is a model of production and consumption that involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. As we know, for every synthetic fibre garment washed, 700,000 microfibres make their way into the water and our oceans (Mishra et al., 2019), which means circular economy can help fashion businesses reduce the microfibre.
In today’s fast-paced consumer culture, people frequently buy new clothes without considering how or where they were made or by whom. Sustainable fashion is an increasingly used and overused term as everyone becomes increasingly aware of the serious environmental impact of clothes. As a result, many brands are using the reduce, reuse, and recycle logic to change this situation. Gwilt Alison (2020) declares that a sustainable design strategy is considered to be a framed approach that can be employed by a designer to help reduce specific environmental, ethical, and social impacts associated with the production, use, and disposal of a product. In addition, multiple strategies exist to promote sustainability. Even the wealthy saved fabrics, remodelled clothes, and sold unwanted items in the second-hand market (Linda, 2015).
As stated by Sustainable Development Goal number 13, human activities impact the environment and climate. The fashion business is responsible for 10% of carbon dioxide emissions worldwide (News: European Parliament, 2023). The millions of garments bought and sold each year generate a large number of emissions of greenhouse gases since the global fashion business uses a great deal of energy in its manufacture and shipping. Therefore, to reduce the threats on the planet, supporting sustainable slow fashion brands is essential.
References
1 Planet (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet (Accessed: 06 October 2023).
2 Circular economy: Definition, importance and benefits: News: European parliament (2023) Circular economy: definition, importance and benefits | News | European Parliament. Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/economy/20151201STO05603/circular-economy-definition-importance-and-benefits (Accessed: 06 October 2023).
3 Un launches drive to highlight environmental cost of staying fashionable | UN news (2019) United Nations. Available at: https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/03/1035161 (Accessed: 06 October 2023).
4 Circular economy: Definition, importance and benefits: News: European parliament (2023) Circular economy: definition, importance and benefits | News | European Parliament. Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/economy/20151201STO05603/circular-economy-definition-importance-and-benefits (Accessed: 06 October 2023).
5 (S&D, D.B. (2023) The impact of textile production and waste on the environment (infographics): News: European parliament, The impact of textile production and waste on the environment (infographics) | News | European Parliament. Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20201208STO93327/the-impact-of-textile-production-and-waste-on-the-environment-infographics (Accessed: 06 October 2023).