Planet

Planet, a quintessential pillar of fashion, typically referring to the importance of sustainability due to the extreme impact fashion has on the environment. Fashion is currently labelled as the second largest industrial polluter, responsible for 10% of global pollution, surpassing the number of emissions contributed by air travel (Clarke, 2021). With the immense damage already caused towards the planet, the collaboration of ideas between fashion businesses could benefit the search for a solution to repair the harm that has been created.

The circular economy, key towards the drive of sustainability, is built around three main principles: designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use and regenerating natural systems (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017). All of which depict to the central idea of garments flowing through a cycle, avoiding waste and the dreaded landfill through the acts of repurposing and recycling. In conjunction to this the Ellen MacArthur Foundation released a report demonstrating a model that prioritizes clothes and textiles to maintain at their highest value during use and to re-enter the economy after use, therefore never becoming waste (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017). This system exhibits sustainability at its core, essentially re-working the original life cycle of a garment. Previously following the order of design, production, distribution, use and finally end of life (Gwilt, 2020), to removing the last stage and exchanging it with reuse.

Sustainability in relation to fashion regards the ability to maintain a certain level of production without the cause of harm to society and the environment. According to the United Nations Environmental program, sustainability is composed of three key pillars: society, environment and economy (UNEP, 2023) which closely links to the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDG’s), 17 aims envisioned to solve some of the world’s greatest problems such as poverty and hunger (UN, 2023). Goal twelve, responsible consumption and production, largely relates to the fashion industry given the rise of fast fashion and the increase in waste which followed. As a major contributor to world pollution, textiles production accords to 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 annually (Rimarcikova, 2023). Clothing brand Patagonia, known for their devotion towards sustainability, famously advertised a jacket with the slogan “Don’t Buy This Jacket” in 2011, a message with the purpose of helping their consumers question the necessity of the purchase of products (Patagonia, 2011). The marketing campaign used depicts a selfless approach from the business itself, sacrificing potential sales for the sake of sustainability, depicting a true dedication to the cause, an act more businesses should follow in order to make an impact on healing our planet.

Reference List:

Clarke, R. (2021), ‘Fast Fashion’s Carbon Footprint’, Carbon Literacy. (Online) https://carbonliteracy.com/fast-fashions-carbon-footprint/ (Accessed 7/10/23).

Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2017), ‘A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion’s Future’. (Online) https://emf.thirdlight.com/file/24/IwnEDbfI5JTFoAIw_2QI2Yg-6y/A-New-Textiles-Economy_Summary-of-Findings_Updated_1-12-17.pdf (Accessed 7/10/23).

Gwilt, A. (2020), ‘A Practical Guide to Sustainable Fashion’, London: Fairchild Books. (Online) https://www-bloomsburyfashioncentral-com.arts.idm.oclc.org/encyclopedia?docid=b-9781350067059 (Accessed 5/10/23).

UN (2023), ‘The 17 Goals’. (Online) https://sdgs.un.org/goals (Accessed 7/10/23).

UNEP (2023), ‘For people and planet’. (Online) https://www.unep.org/resources/people-and-planet-unep-strategy-2022-2025 (Accessed 7/10/23).

Patagonia (2011), ‘Don’t Buy This Jacket, Black Friday and the New York Times’. (Online) https://eu.patagonia.com/gb/en/stories/dont-buy-this-jacket-black-friday-and-the-new-york-times/story-18615.html (Accessed 7/10/23)

Rimarcikova, K. (2023), ‘Planet Earth and Fashion’ https://ual-moodle-sitedata.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/c6/51/c65101fe12c52fe834a680d4ed0f4a9de6182af3?response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3D%22WK2%20L1-Monday%2012.15-1.15%20%20PLANET%20%20FASHION_KR_2023%20.pdf%22&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA2PCH3OG65JHUZNKL%2F20231008%2Feu-west-2%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20231008T161856Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=21544&X-Amz-Signature=611d32fc4cdafc32d4bf260ad4a1498257dfdfcedc360dd2f33f2e67943d0bde(Accessed 2/10/23)