planet blog
“Did you know that at the rate things are currently going and from patterns emerging from statistics, we will need 3 planets by 2050 to continue our current habits?” The fashion industry has a major contribution to the pollution of our planet and climate change. The industry was responsible for 1,715 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2015. A circular economy is a system, alternative to a traditional linear economy, that tackles global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste and pollution through repair, reuse and adapt, by decoupling economic activity from consumption of finite recourses. It holds three main principles: eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials and regenerate nature. Sustainability in fashion means meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations, planet and economy. “Brands are turning to resale platforms to captivate younger, environmentally and cost-conscious shoppers. Led by the fashion industry, which expects to see second-hand sales almost double between 2022-2027, opportunities are rife across all industries”. Depop and Vinted are examples allowing generation Z to shop second hand with ease and at a reasonable price. SDGs are “sustainable development goals”, established by the UN (United Nations) in 2015, aiming to be accomplished by 2030 and envisioned to be a solution to global problems, specifically, poverty hunger and climate change by 2023. There are 17 goals and 12 fashion related. Climate action (13) is an environmental SDG focused on taking responsibility for our climate. Achieving this this could be done through minimizing waste. “New Yorkers throw 200,000,000 LBS of clothing into the trash every year. That’s the equivalent of 440 statues of liberty”. To avoid wastage of this vast amount, clothes can be sent through a circulatory process. However, it is difficult to avoid greenwashing in an unmeasurable scale. For example, H&M is a Swedish multinational fashion company with about 3100 stores across 53 markets. Their website has a sustainability section discussing change and innovation. Although this may be a plausible approach to climate change, there is no way of tracing or proving such claims, therefore this SDG is extremely difficult to tackle. Psychology plays a fundamental role in understanding and recognising the ethics of fashion. Autonomous scientific discipline is applicable to all aspects of human experiences, therefore social scientists can intelligently analyse data in order to recognize and tackle all issues that contribute towards the effects of fast fashion on the planet.
WGSN sustainability bulletin: august 2023
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Fletcher, K. & Grose, L. (2012) Fashion & Sustainability: Design for Change. London: Laurence King Publishing
Francis, T. and Hoefel, F., 2018. True Gen’: Generation Z and its implications for companies. McKinsey & Company, 12
Shen, B. (2014). Sustainable fashion supply chain: Lessons from H&M. Sustainability, 6(9), 6236-6249.