‘Planet’
A large part of the planet pillar is known as the circular fashion industry which is defined as
‘a regenerative system in which garments are circulated for as long as their maximum value is retained’ and then in turn the garments will be returned safely to the biosphere when they’ll no longer be in use. The three key principles of a circular economy are firstly, keep clothes in use, secondly, use renewable and safe materials and thirdly, solutions based on upcycling.
When looking at the planet pillar the question ‘what is sustainability in relation to fashion?’ consistently arises. The fashion industry is a major contributor to world pollution and climate change; for example, textiles produce 1.2 billion tonnes of co2 annually. The UN’s IPCC report (Aug 2021) produced by hundreds of the world’s top scientists and signed off by the government sates that we are in code red for humanity, and we must act fast to avoid global catastrophe “climate crisis ‘unequivocally’ caused by human activities” and concludes that it could get far worse if the slim chance remaining to avert heating above 1.5C is not immediately grasped. Currently in the fashion industry there is a normative practice known as the linear system model, where we take, make, and waste global fibre demand. The fashion industry uses 63% oil-based textiles, 26% cotton and 11% other fibres with polyester being the most widely used synthetic and is predicted to dominate future synthetic fibre growth.
The fashion industry was responsible for 1,715 million tonnes of c02 emissions in 2015 (pulse of fashion) consuming more energy than the aviation and shipping industry combined (UN) The pulse reports a prediction of fashion emissions to grow 63% by 2030. The sustainable development goals link to the sustainability of fashion such as the twelfth goal being ‘responsible consumption and production’. Worldwide consumption and production are a driving force of the global economy that rely on the use of the natural environment which in turn has destructive impacts on the planet. For example, water. Less than 3% of the worlds water is fresh and humankind is polluting water in rivers and lakes faster than nature can recycle and purify. The chemical treatments for dying and garment production directly leaking into rivers & seas together estimating 700,000 microfibres ending up in the sea each year. The simple impact of one t shirt being created uses over 2,700 litres of water.