Planet
Within Fashion there are 4 fundamental pillars. Planet, People, Profit and purpose, we are going to be covering Planet and the way fashion positively and negatively impact it. It is important to note that in-order for any business to work people, planet and profit must be at the forefront of any business mind, this was stated by Elkington and is now referred to as the triple bottom line theory. (Miller, 2020)
A circular economy is a structure many brands and business are adapting to, as it is good way to ensure there is little to no wastage within the cycle of manufacturing. The essence of a circular economy is that everything within the cycle can be adapted and re used within other areas. Before a circular economy was introduced, we had something called a linear economy which follows of the basis of “take-make-dispose” (Baporikar, 2020), after years of having this economy, it soon become unsustainable and unmaintainable. With a circular economy, brands have the potential to use materials numerous times which reduces waste whilst also slows down the manufacturing process of these products as they are not in such high demand.
A good example of sustainability within fashion would be found in Pangaias production of clothing. The process of dying clothes outputs a considerable amount of waste into water sources deeming them unhygienic and unusual sources, seventeen to twenty percent of water pollution is caused by dying of clothes. (Kirillova, 2019). For the brand Pangaia they have found a way of dying their clothes without using chemical hazardous dyes, this has been done by extracting ingredients and dyes from food waste produced by food companies. Not only does this stop the use of chemical dyes it also helps reduce the waste of food from the over production these companies are doing. Alongside using chestnut trees and thyme plants to also produce non harmful dyes. (Natural & Food Dye, 2022)
Within they 17 SDG’s produced by the UN the 6th SDG is clean water and sanitation, the purpose of the sustainable development goals where set out to guide and aid people in transforming their planet into a better place. Polluted water can cause serval diseases and the bacteria found in these water sources, sometimes ends up within drinking water supply and seventeen to twenty percent of water pollution is caused by the fashion industry. (Kirillova, 2019). However, if more brands stop using chemical dyes with such massive water wastage and implement the idea Pangaia have of using natural sources and food wastage, this 6th SDG, would be one step ahead of making that vital change.
References
2020. Circular Economy. [image] Available at: <https://www.portoprotocol.com/circular-economy-as-a-way-of-increasing-efficiency-in-organizations/> [Accessed 8 October 2022].
Miller, K., 2020. The Triple Bottom Line: What It Is & Why It’s Important. [online] Business Insights Blog. Available at: <https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/what-is-the-triple-bottom-line> [Accessed 7 October 2022].
Baporikar, N., 2020. Handbook of research on entrepreneurship development and opportunities in circular economy. 1st ed. p.62.
Kirillova, N., 2019. Sustainable Coloring: Dyeing without harming – Sqetch. [online] Sqetch. Available at: <https://www.sqetch.co/sustainable-coloring-dyeing-without-harming-1/> [Accessed 7 October 2022].
2022. Pangaia. [image] Available at: <https://www.lottievjackson.com/pangaia-sustainable-loungewear> [Accessed 8 October 2022].
2022. 6th SDG. [image] Available at: <https://aquaporin.com/support-un-sdg6/> [Accessed 8 October 2022].
PANGAIA. 2022. Natural & Food Dye. [online] Available at: <https://pangaia.com/pages/natural-and-food-dye> [Accessed 8 October 2022].