Planet
Planet, one of the four pillars studied within Fashion Business School, is an important part of the fashion industry focusing distinctively on sustainability and ensuring recognition of damage to the environment.
Meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs (The Brundtland Report, 1987). From three sustainable perspectives. Social sustainability looks at equal opportunities, between genders, age and countries and societies within. Environmental sustainability takes care of our planet, resources, and our ecosystems. Evidentially economic sustainability supports long term growth without affecting social, environmental, and cultural aspects of the community.
In fashion context, circularity considers utilising resources to get the most out of them. Recovering products at the end of each service life. This is vital as 300,000 tonnes of clothing are thrown away annually. The UK being the biggest consumer of fashion in Europe, clothing utilisation is declining, and sales are growing. This results in larger production producing more waste. Items are designed, sourced, and produced to be used and circulated for as long as possible. So, instead of a linear fashion model, this relies on products being used responsibly for a long time without creating waste. (One green planet, Trinity Spark, 2022) Landfill mountains are being produced and less than 1% of unused clothing is being used. (Ellen McArthur Foundation).
Adhering to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals aim for a better tomorrow with everyone’s participation and commitment. There are 17 goals addressing the global challenges we face, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and justice. (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, 2022). All goals are integrated with universality.
Climate change is affecting every country. Goal 13: Climate action, has been implemented by fashion brands such as Zara. Recycling bags and security tags, with deadlines to use only sustainable materials by 2025. upcycling schemes could therefore be introduced to make clothing last longer. Uniqlo provides schemes with repair areas in stores. Including video tutorials online to ensure consumers have knowledge to repair items at home for longer life-cycle delineating waste. (Uniqlo.co.uk, 2022). This is not to deny the fact that greenwashing is a large factor to consider, a toxic trend amongst brands. A company markets themselves as sustainable and eco-friendly without taking the steps to make this change. H&M’s Conscious Collection was exposed, a lawsuit filed as “environmental scorecards for products were actually misleading,” (The Cut, Alden Wicker, August 19th, 2022).
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