PLANET
Acknowledging the impact fashion has on the environment, is essential in today’s world to work towards a more sustainable future.
Our Planet, one of the four pillars of sustainability alongside people, purpose and profit, is suffering because of the fashion industry, due to overconsumption, massive CO2 production and pollution.
The production of clothing often relies on fossil fuel usage in factories for energy, releasing CO2 and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
In 2013, The IPCC stated in it’s fifth assessment report that human influence is the dominant cause of global temperatures rising since the mid 20th century.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Our existing linear economic system is unsustainable – it produces, uses and dumps material, which is environmentally destructive.
The circular economy is an improved approach to managing products at the end of its life – turning these used materials into resources that can be reused, recycled or repaired. For example, old phones that aren’t in use can be refurbished or repaired, then resold to reduce waste.
However, circular economy cannot contribute to global net sustainability because of economic limitations. Businesses need to change the way they operate – building new infrastructures such as factories, requiring investments that they do not have.
SUSTAINABILITY IN RELATION TO FASHION
Sustainability is shaping the future of the fashion industry – guiding a more responsible approach that helps both the planet and its people.
‘A Practical Guide to Sustainable Fashion’ by Alison Gwilt provides valuable insights into the world of sustainable fashion, one of which being the consumption of Fashion.
Gwilt stresses the importance of the ‘use phase’ of clothing, as studies show that most environmental impacts start from this stage. The laundering process, where consumers use significant amounts of energy and water, plays a major role.
Gwilt mentions Stella McCartney using environmentally friendly materials and processes.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL
SDG 12, Responsible Consumption and Production, encourages resource efficiency and waste reduction. Social media fuels fashion micro-trends, pressuring the need for constant wardrobe updates. Fast fashion brands capitalise off of this by mass-producing cheap, low-quality, short-timed items that end up in landfills.
The decomposition of textiles such as cotton and wool, releases methane – a greenhouse gas, which pollutes the soil and the air.
WRAP (2017) states around 300,000 tonnes of clothing gets discarded – 20% is sent to a landfill while 80% is incinerated. Our planet’s air, water and soil is slowly becoming toxic.
REFERENCE LIST
Vitousek, P. M. (1994). Beyond Global Warming: Ecology and Global Change. Ecology, 75(7), 1861-1876. https://doi.org/10.2307/1941591
Stahel, W. R. (2016). The circular economy. Nature, 531(7595), 435-438. https://doi.org/10.1038/531435a
Korhonen, J., Honkasalo, A., & Seppälä, J. (2018). Circular Economy: The Concept and its Limitations. Ecological Economics, 143, 37-46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.06.041
Gwilt, A. (2020). A practical guide to sustainable fashion. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. (n.d.). IPCC Fifth Assessment Report. [online] Available at: https://www.c2es.org/content/ipcc-fifth-assessment-report/#:~:text=The atmosphere and ocean have [Accessed 8 Oct. 2023].