PLANET

Introduction
One of the four pillars that are talked about within the world of fashion business is “planet”. Overconsumption of clothing leads to fashion is one of the reasons why people may have ethical concerns relating to fashion. The word “sustainability” is often linked to the planet and the fashion business but it could be argued that most fashion companies greenwash and not be sustainable as they should and seem to be.

What is Sustainability?
“Sustainability has many interpretations. A widely accepted definition is that of the Brundtland Commission of the United Nations which refers to sustainability in the concept of sustainable development: ‘meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Amarjit Sahota and Amarjit Sahot, 2014).

Figure 1: Sustainability: How the Cosmetics Industry Is Greening Up (Amarjit Sahota and Amarjit Sahot, 2014)

The “triple bottom line” is a term that refers to these three pillars (figure 1) and was first used by John Elkington in 1994 triple bottom line businesses also assess their performance in terms of social and environmental responsibilities in addition to financial success.

How does Sustainability relate to fashion?
Although sustainability is one of the biggest things talked about in fashion, not all brands are as sustainable as they seem as mentioned before. The fashion industry is to blame for around 8% of the world’s CO2 emissions and nearly 20% of the world’s wastewater (UNECE, 2018). This relates to both numbers 6 and 12 in the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals).

There are 17 SDGs and they are a universal prompt for ending poverty and protecting the planet while making sure people are comfortable. Number 6 involves clean water and sanitation which falls under the environmental pillar. The water supplies and ecosystems of nearby villages are being seriously harmed by the run-off of chemicals, dyes, and other trash. Fast fashion firms frequently use a variety of finishing techniques to make their clothing. This includes bleaching, softening, or making garments water-resistant or wrinkle-free, all of which entail the use of hazardous chemicals. The clothing is then cleaned once the chemicals have been applied. This adds to the annual discharge of 500,000 tonnes of microfibres into the waterways (The UN, 2018). This severely harms our planet as this can cause events like deforestation or even having people not rely on water anymore but this can be changed. To reduce the impact of water pollution on the fashion business, people as consumers must make ethical choices. This may be accomplished by adopting a sustainable lifestyle, supporting ethical companies, and shopping for used clothing.

For example, Y.O.U Underwear takes pride in using only GOTS-certified, low-impact dyes that are fibre reactive, use less water, don’t contain any toxins, and generate less waste runoff than traditional chemical dyeing procedures. Throughout 2021, Y.O.U Underwear conserved 618,518 litres of water by utilising organic cotton for their underwear.

What is Circular Economy?
“The circular economy was born in response to these problems. The circular economy promises hope for a sustainable future.” (Archana Shrivastava, Geetika Jain and Justin Paul, 2020). Our industrial economy has historically operated under the control of a one-way linear production and consumption system, in which goods are created, sold, used, and then either burnt or disposed of as raw materials. In a circular economy, resources are used for as long as possible, their full value is extracted while they are being used, and then goods and materials are recovered and renewed at the end of their useful life. The main reason for using a more circular economy as opposed to a linear one is the fact that the world produces almost 300 million tonnes of plastic annually, of which half is intended for single use. As the world’s population increases and the planet’s limited resources are depleted, more resources are needed than ever. A more circular economy will decrease waste, generate higher resource productivity, and boost the competitiveness of the UK economy. overproduction would be deceased which would assist in minimising the environmental effects of our production and consumption both domestically and internationally.

References

Amarjit Sahota and Amarjit Sahot (2014) – Sustainability: How the Cosmetics Industry Is Greening Up – https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/detail.action?docID=1574356

Archana Shrivastava, Geetika Jain and Justin Paul (2020) – Circular Economy and Re-Commerce in the Fashion Industry – https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/reader.action?docID=6202673&ppg=162

The UNECE (2018) – https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/RCM_Website/RFSD_2018_Side_event_sustainable_fashion.pdf

The UNECE, SDG – https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

The UN (2018) – https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/putting-brakes-fast-fashion