Our Planet and the Fashion Industry
It is evident that the textiles and fashion industry have detrimental effects on the planet. There are many major problems from production to retail, that have an immense impact, whether it be socially, economically or environmentally.
The industry is ranked second place as the most polluting industry, contributing to 10% of carbon dioxide emissions, producing more greenhouse gases than air and sea travel worldwide (1,2,3).
Circular economy is a much more sustainable cycle that cuts down on wastage as resources are kept in a reusable chain for as long as possible as opposed to ‘traditional linear economy’ where products are made, used and then disposed, producing 120 billion garments a year with 85% of those going to landfill in undeveloped countries like Ghana.
Patrick Mc Dowell lectures on the sustainability of his brand and how the materials he uses are preloved, demonstrating the importance of creating ‘sustainable luxury’ using recycled materials. He explains how he reuses his collections, styling them differently, presenting a ‘new look’, proving that new ‘wasteful’ pieces don’t need to be created only producing garments on demand.
Decent work and economic growth’ is an essential sustainable goal.Products should be made ethically and sustainably, whilst satisfying the targeted audience of consumers and maintaining consistent profits. In the fashion industry, there are multiple areas to satisfy and vast amounts of problems to tackle, it’s important to be consistent with decent work as it will impact the economic growth, benefiting the economy without a negative impact.
Serious problems will occur with the elimination of decent work. A garment factory in Bangladesh-Rana Plaza, produced clothes for 31 Western multinational brands. The building disastrously collapsed due to extreme overproduction. 1135 workers died and 2500 workers were injured. This overproduction in such compact spaces, was an awakening that treatment of workers is unacceptable in most areas of the fashion industry and needs to be addressed.
Zara addresses this sustainable goal, targeting multiple generations. It’s affordable to the majority, gaining high profits and a steady annual income, making the brand stable year on year compared to a high-end brand where due to the expenses of their products the annual income may vary each year, leading to a false sense of security.
Zara’s consistent styles are timeless, making a reliable and constantly appealing brand for their consumers. Environmentally, Zara eliminates the risk of chemicals damaging the soil and polluting the water as they use ‘organic’ cotton. ‘Zara owner Inditex (ITX.MC) said it will look to recycling and sustainably farmed crops to reduce its environmental impact by 2030, as fast-fashion retailers face growing pressure to cut waste’. The pressure on all fashion retailers to show themselves to be more sustainable is great.
In conclusion, for this fashion revolution to be successful I believe that the large fashion companies need to be the ones setting an example in creating a sustainable industry proving that it is possible to function as a circular economy. Consumers need to take on the mantra of Vivienne Westwood ‘Buy less, choose well, make it last.” (5)
References
(1) ‘Ranking in second place as the most polluting industry’ Muthukumarana, T.T.; Karunathilake, H.P.; Punchihewa, H.K.G.; Manthilake, M.M.I.D.; Hewage, K.N. Life cycle environmental impacts of the apparel industry in Sri Lanka:Analysis of the energy sources. J. Clean. Prod. (2018), 172, 1346–1357.
(2) ‘10% of carbon dioxide emissions EPRS’. Environmental Impact of the Textile and Clothing Industry. What Consumers Need to Know; European Parliamentary Research Service: Bruxelles, Belgium, (2019).
(3) ‘Production of more greenhouse gases than air and sea travel worldwide, and as a polluting sector’. Gardas, B.B.; Raut, R.D.; Narkhede, B. Modelling the challenges to sustainability in the textile and apparel(T&A) sector: A Delphi-DEMATEL approach. Sustain. Prod. Consum. (2018), 15, 96–108.
(4) Reuters (2023) MADRID/LONDON Zara AGM
(5) Westwood, V (2014)
Sources
Image credit, image 1: Alamy/Javier Hirschfeld, BBC
Image credit image 2: https://www.windowswear.com/the-war-on-waste-fashion-wakes-up-to-recycling-drapers/
Katarina Rimarcikova
Patrick Mc Dowell
Chowdhury, 2017, The Rana Plaza disaster and the complicit behaviour of Elite NGOs).
Chowder, A study on sustainable fashion supply chains of ZARA)