Planet

Planet is one of the four pillars in the fashion industry that contributes to sustainability, this includes People, Profit and Purpose. Sustainability is described as ‘meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs’ Brundtland Report (1987). Within the fashion industry there are three main branches of sustainability; social, environmental, and economic. Environmental sustainability is most key when divulging into the planet pillar as it promotes protecting and caring for the planet and ecosystems to renew resources. 

Currently we are a linear economy meaning we take the earths materials, create a product and then dispose of them, resulting in waste that contributes to the 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 emitted annually from textiles production. The circular economy reduces this waste through processes such as reusing materials, repairing and remanufacturing them in order to create new garments out of old resources. The circular economy model also allows nutrients from biodegradable materials to be returned to the Earth in order to regenerate nature. A solution for consumers to aid in circular economy is to purchase pre-loved items rather than fast fashion. This keeps garments out of landfill and helps fashion to become more environmentally sustainable and not contribute to the demand for new resources. The UK fashion industry alone is expected to reach £60.1 billion in 2022, which is rapidly increasing due to a demand for fast fashion, which is unsustainable and detrimental to the planet. 

Sustainable fashion is the aim to achieve a carbon neutral fashion industry with ecological integrity. Whilst the production of textiles and garments is s huge contributing factor to unsustainable fashion and waste, the whole process including consumption and disposal of products are also factors that need to be addressed. The sustainable movement of the fashion industry aim to reduce the large carbon footprint currently produced by the overconsumption of products that result in an increase annually in resources used and waste produced. Over 2

million tonnes of clothing are purchased annually in the UK with fast fashion contributing to 1/5 of the UK market. There are no government laws or legislations currently in place to  reduce this within the fashion industry despite countless meetings to discuss solutions. 

In 2015 the United Nations set up 17 sustainable development goals in order to encourage sustainability and take action. The 14th goal ‘life below water’ aims to ‘conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development’. The fashion industry impacts oceans negatively through many different ways. One way in which we as consumers harm the oceans are through washing clothes that contain  microfibres which

are tiny plastic fibres that release 700,000 into the water system with every wash. Another prominent way the fashion industry contributes to this problem is through being responsible for 20 percent of global waste water, created through using dyes and finishing processes when producing a garment. These toxic chemicals are then released into the oceans and are toxic to fish and the ecosystem.