Pillar One:Planet

The planet is the pillar that is most detrimentally impacted by Fashion and a key driving factor now into the motivation behind consumer purchases. The percentage of Gen Z consumers seeing sustainability as a significant factor when purchasing and considering price mark-ups had grown by 10% in the last year, with over half of Gen Z consumers being inclined to purchase items that didn’t align with their personal values (Moran, Drapers, 2022). The attitudes of the modern consumer has made The Planet an important driving factor of consumer choice.

The nature of fashion today is inherently unsustainable therefore threatens the planet . The politics of trends and new creations  production just as the newest one hits the runway makes fashion lays poor foundations for sustainability. Ritual cycles lead recyclable textiles and garments being left to being discarded ending their life prematurely (English, 2013). Challenging these rituals , some brands are taking a second look on how fashion is produced and consumed. A key proponent in this movement, Early Majority founded by former Patagonia marketing vice-president presents a unisex line committed to keeping to producing a core line of a few products with no new pieces, free repairs on purchased garments and a paid membership access to interviews and digital content along with discounted price on all items (Moran, Drapers 2022). Reframing the way we produce and consume is key to making fahsion a Sustainable industry.

The idea of sustainability in fashion lays the foundation on the movement towards a circular economy. This is a production cycle which existing products are re-used, re-cycled and re-sold until it is no longer able to ensure the least amount of waste possible. This can be achieved through the craft of use. An idea based on research by Kate Fletcher, challenges market-driven over-consumption by extending the life of the garment as long as possible through repairs, care such as laundering and recycling (Condé Nast, 2020). A circular economy not only exemplifies sustainable behaviour within consumption but also encourages consumers to change their behaviour and outlook towards their already owned garments, being more conscious of how they treat and how they value their own garments, in turn their own personal style.

Fashion’s sustainability problem lends to the UN’s twelfth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), consumption and production. In effort to see this SGD behaviours need to change. Studies show that the majority of negative environmental impact happens in the use-phase (wearing, washing, storage) of clothes. The poor use and failure to repair garments leads to shorter life-span of items and high levels of waste going to landfills and being incinerated adding to pollution(Gwilt,2020). Failure to recycle and short garment life-spans increase consumption and demand for items in turn leading to speedier and less sustainable production practices. 

In order to prioritise the planet the way we consume and see clothes and behaviour towards them needs to change as a whole in order to achieve Sustainability.

condenast.com. 2020. Condé Nast The Sustainable Fashion Glossary. https://www.condenast.com/glossary (Accessed 07/10/22)

English, B. (2013) A Cultural History of Fashion in the 20th and 21st Centuries: From Catwalk to Sidewalk. London: Bloomsbury (e-book).

Gwilt, A. (2020). A Practical Guide to Sustainable Fashion. London: Fairchild Books (e-book).

Moran, G. (2022) Drapers, Collaborating for Change: Sustainability Report 2022

https://www.drapersonline.com/guides/collaborating-for-change-sustainability-report-2022 (Accessed 07/10/2022)

 Moran, G. (2022) Drapers, Gen Z and Millennials 2022

https://www.drapersonline.com/guides/gen-z-and-millennials-2022 (Accessed 07/10/22)