Planet vs Fashion

The fashion business industry is built on four pillars of sustainability: the planet (sustainable developmental goals or SDGs), people (the consumer), purpose (the brand philosophy), and profit (art, commerce, and ethical practises). The focus of this blog is on the first pillar, planet. People only consider Earth when the word “planet” is mentioned; they never consider the harm we bring to it by going about our daily business, like buying clothes, which at first glance seems routine, but when you think about it more carefully, you realise the damage that buying clothes—or even washing them in the washing machine—causes to our environment.  

“The changing dynamics of the fashion industry have forced retailers to desire low cost and flexibility in design, quality, and speed to market, key strategies to maintain a profitable position in the increasingly demanding market.” (Bhardwaj and Fairhurst, 2010) This increasing demand of “trending apparel” or “a trend” that lasts only a couple of months has resulted in a mass production of fast fashion and results in a higher carbon footprint of the fashion industry. In a recent lecture with Katarina Rimarcikova, we were made aware of the impact of textile production to the environment and that the industry releases 1.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide annually thus needing to cut down production by 50% by the year 2030. According to UNEP (2021), the fashion industry accounts for 2 to 8% of worldwide carbon emissions. Textile dyeing is also the world’s second largest polluter of water, with a normal pair of jeans requiring roughly 2,000 gallons of water. (UNEP, 2021) Hence the use of linear system model, which is take, make and waste has resulted in exhaustion of resources and environmental damage. Alternatively, the use of Circular Economy was introduced by the Ellen McArthur Foundation. The circular economy is a system in which materials are never wasted and nature is replenished. Products and materials are kept in circulation in a circular economy through operations such as maintenance, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacture, recycling, and composting. (Ellen McArthur Foundation, no date; Gwilt, 2020)  

To reduce this carbon emission and ecological harm, the United Nations introduced the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs that “provide a blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.” (United Nations, no date) Some fashion brands like Patagonia, Primark, Nike, H&M are trying to change their ways and become more sustainable. Recently, pre-loved purchases among young women have become increasingly popular. (Ceron, 2023) “48% of females aged 16-34 have bought second hand fashion items between the years 2022 and 2023.” (Ceron, 2023). 

As all the above points have been demonstrated, we could conclude that to reduce the environmental impact of the fashion industry retailers, brands and us as people living in this planet would benefit from taking a more sustainable approach and contribute to the betterment of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.  

Bhardwaj, V. Fairhurst, A. (18 February 2010). Fast fashion: response to changes in the fashion industry. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09593960903498300 (Accessed: 05 October 2023). 

Ceron Sender, T. (30 June 2023). Fashion and Sustainability-UK-2023. Available at: https://reports-mintelcom.arts.idm.oclc.org/display/1158169/?fromSearch=%3Ffreetext%3Dtamara%2520sender %2520ceron%2520%26resultPosi?on%3D2 (Accessed: 05 October 2023).

Ellen McArthur Foundation. (no date). Circular Fashion Introduction. Available at: https://ellenmacarthurfounda?on.org/topics/circular-economy-introduction/overview (Accessed: 05 October 2023). 

Gwilt, A. (09 July, 2020). A Practical Guide to Sustainable Fashion. United States of America: Bloomsbury Publishing. (Accessed: 05 October 2023). 

UNEP. (28 June 2021). Putting the brakes on Fast Fashion. Available at: https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/putting-brakes-fast-fashion (Accessed: 05 October 2023). 

United Nations. (no date). The 17 Goals. Available at: https://sdgs.un.org/goals (Accessed: 05 October 2023). 

Figure 1:

Shukla, N. (21 February 2022). Fast Fashion Pollution and Climate Change. Available at: https://earth.org/fast-fashion-pollution-and-climate-change/ (Accessed: 06 October 2023).