Planet Pillar Blog
The fashion business industry is built up around 4 key pillars; planet, people, profit and purpose. I will be focusing on the ‘planet’ pillar which explores the environmental impacts of the fashion industry and how we can redefine sustainability and reward businesses for embracing ‘re’ practices such as; recycling, restoring and repurposing. Within the fashion industry it is the production of clothing which is having some of the biggest impacts on our planet. Textile production generates a massive 1.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, contributing to 10% of the world’s pollution and climate change. The fashion industry needs to cut down carbon emissions by 50% before 2030 to have any impact on saving the planet but how is this going to be possible when the demand for clothing is at its highest?
In order for this industry to reverse its harmful impacts on our planet, it is important that fashion businesses are making positive choices when producing and selling products as the damage caused by the fashion industry is becoming irreversible. There are a multitude of ways in which fashion businesses can become more sustainable; they may want to consider having a circular economy. By having a circular economy businesses are able to increase the life-cycle of a product and keep waste to a minimum. However, to achieve this designers must have an understanding of how garments are used and why and how they are discarded by the consumer (Gwitt 2020). Overall, a circular economy will mitigate the problems caused by the fashion industry on our planet by encouraging businesses to become more sustainable. There are a number of fashion brands that are introducing this method for sustainability; however, Patagonia has been at the forefront for this movement. The outdoor clothing brand first made a sustainable commitment in 1986 and the brand aims to use this idea of a circular economy in order to reduce their negative environmental impacts. Patagonia encourages their customers to repair, reuse and recycle their garments through their ‘The Worn Wear’ programme (Sustainability Mag 2023).
However, it is not just fashion brands making a positive contribution to saving our planet. We as the consumer are also becoming more sustainable with our fashion choices. In recent years, social media has had a positive influence, especially on young people, to shop more sustainably with a rise in people buying from second hand stores. Data published by Mintel states that more than half of 25-to-34-year-olds buy second-hand clothes, and half have repaired damaged or worn-out clothes (Drapers 2020), therefore decreasing the amount of clothes going to landfill.
Overall, it is important that fashion businesses are incorporating the ‘re’ practices into the production of their garments to become more sustainable. However, it is equally as important that we as consumers are increasing the life cycles of our pieces to ensure less is being wasted and sent to landfill. Furthermore, by also being more sustainable brands will be able to cut their carbon emissions as the demand for more clothes will be lower due to the rise in second-hand fashion.
Bibliography:
Drapers. More than a half of young shoppers buy second-hand clothes, 2020 (online) https://www.drapersonline.com/news/more-than-half-of-young-shoppers-buy-second-hand-clothes (Accessed 07/10/23)
Gwilt, Alison. A Practical Guide to Sustainable Fashion, Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2020. (online) http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/detail.action?docID=6234061 (Accessed 06/10/23)
Sustainability Mag. Top 10: Brands Embracing the Circular Economy, 2023 (online) https://sustainabilitymag.com/top10/top-10-brands-embracing-the-circular-economy-in-2023 (Accessed 08/10/23)