Effects of Fashion on the Planet
By Lenny McDonald
The global fashion industry has a major effect on the planet, especially under the current global warming crisis where the fashion industry is the world’s second-biggest polluter.
Concepts such as the triple bottom line imply that fashion brands should focus equal attention on environmental and social issues as much as profits, which creates a focus on sustainable thinking, an example of a ‘fashion brand’ doing the opposite of this is the infamous Shein which is contributing to overconsumption, waste culture, pollution and a violation of workers rights due to their linear systems which take, make and waste.
However, Mid-range to High-end Fashion brands have consistently been pushing ‘sustainability’ as a core feature of their brand’s purpose or their marketing campaigns to attract new social awareness of consumers and their impact on the planet.
Even the United Nations has implemented the SDGs which are 17 goals to protect the society, environment and economy. This provides guidelines to fashion brands as it provides goals to cut down or eradicate the mass animal farming for leather and fur, the 20% of global water waste (European Parliament, 05-06-23) caused by the fashion industry and the child labour within the garment production within certain countries.
As each fashion House continues to produce a new spring/summer and fall/winter collection each fashion week, it highlights the importance of a circular economy which is the use of maintaining, reusing, refurbishing and recycling the materials and clothing pieces that each brand produces, this allows for the quality of clothes to increase as currently global fibre percentages consist of 68% oil based textiles, 26% cotton, 11% other fibres and 1% wool.
Furthermore, increased quality prolongs the lifespan of the product and therefore can be given multiple ‘second lives’ via second-hand apps such as Depop or donations to charity. This idea of circular thinking aligns with the 12th SDG goal which aims for responsible consumption and reproduction.
We have seen brands such as Stella McCartney pledge to be more sustainable and build their brand image around this factor which Is important as we need to see this shift from Fashion houses as ‘we have 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe’ (The guardian, UN, Oct 8 2018) and as the second largest polluter, the industry must cut CO2 emissions must by 50%. It is not only a fashion brand’s responsibility to be sustainable but also consumers as we have the power to reduce, reuse and recycle our consumptions into the fashion industry.
References –
https://www.geneco.uk.com/news/fast-fashion-and-its-impacts#:~:text=Globally, the fashion industry is,modern car for 6,000 miles.
https://press.un.org/en/2019/ga12131.doc.htm#:~:text=Citing the Intergovernmental Panel on,23 September with concrete, realistic
Gwilt, A. (2020). A Practical Guide to Sustainable Fashion. London: Fairchild Books.