Sustainability and Ethics
A topic that I am deeply passionate about is the sustainability and ethics of fashion, or the lack of it. It is well-known that fashion is the second largest polluter in the world; it contributes to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions every year. Sustainable fashion should be a priority for everyone, especially those in or involved with the fashion industry.
Unsustainable fashion affects many aspects of the planet. Firstly, it directly affects working people as most fast fashion brands produce clothing in developing countries where workers are paid a ridiculous amount of money, needless to say that they earn below any kind of living wage. Workers also having poor health and safety conditions as well as long working hours, which is a recipe for disaster.
An effect of fashion that most people are aware about is fashion's massive carbon footprint which results from material creation, manufacturing, transportation and textile waste decomposing in landfills. Polyester, acrylic and nylon are petroleum-based and made from fossil fuels; these materials require significantly more energy to produce than natural or recycled fibres.
Animals don't go unhurt with unsustainable fashion's war with the planet. Fast fashion mass produces leather and brutally slaughters millions of animals every year. It's estimated that the leather industry is killing over 430 million animals per year. Animals go through forced farming, food deprivation, mistreatment, painful killing methods and even being skinned alive in some cases.
Another effect of this type of fashion is the unnecessary, copious amount of water used. Water is used in the dyeing and finishing process of nearly all of the fashion industry. It takes around 2,700 litres of water to produce a single cotton T-shirt! As well as consuming water, clothing production impacts the environment by polluting freshwater with toxic chemicals that find their way into waterways.
The only way to decrease, and maybe even abolish, some of these effects is sustainable fashion:
1. People have fair wages and safe working conditions.
2. Materials made from natural or recycled fibres are used. This leads to less/ no chemical treatment required, little water is used, less energy is used, and no fertilisers/ pesticides are needed. Organ fibres, such as linen, and organic cotton are even biodegradable!
3. Cruelty-free alternatives are used like vegan leather, such as pineapple leather. This type of vegan leather is produced using the leaves of pineapples in the harvesting progress, which gives a by-product waste a new purpose!
4. Organic textiles that require little to no water during the production phrase are prioritised, such as linen, hemp and organic cotton. Organic cotton, which is a recycled fibre, reduces water consumption by 91% compared to conventional cotton.
Transparency
Negative consequences on the planet due to fashion cannot improve without transparency.
Transparency in fashion involves fashion brands openly sharing information about how, where and by whom a product was made. It allows consumers to know exactly what they are buying and enables them to make the best purchase decisions. This also holds brands accountable, which leads to the whole industry being pushed to do better.
Consumers
Consumers have so much power to change the fashion industry as they are able to choose better brands that use good materials and that have fair working conditions with adequate pay. By taking an effort to understand the impact of fashion and learn about these issues, the negative effects can significantly decrease.
Below are two podcast episodes that speak about issues with sustainable fashion and the impact on consumers. Podcasts like 'Crash Course Fashion', 'The Sustainable Fashion Wingman', and 'The Sustainable Fashion Podcast' give deep insights into the fashion industry, telling us what is wrong with it and how we can help better it.
