Planet
What is sustainability and pillar?
In the Brundtland Report (1987), sustainability can be defined as meeting the needs of the current generation without jeopardizing future generations’ ability to meet their own needs. In the world of fashion business, the four pillars of sustainability are people, planet, profit and purpose, the planet, as one of the main pillars, is always given priority, but the environmental pillar is always the weakest in fashion factories. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, fashion now accounts for up to 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions—more than international flights and shipping combined (Dottle and Gu, 2022).This is why brands are now implementing the use of recycled materials and launching annual sustainability reports detailing their goals to use more recycled or organic materials, which is a reflection of the fashion industry’s ongoing commitment to better protect the planet.
What is circular economy in fashion industry?
A circular fashion industry is defined as a regenerative system in which garments are circulated for as long as their maximum value is retained, and then returned safely to the biosphere when they are no longer of use.(Motif, no date) The fashion industry is responsible for around 8% of global CO2 emissions and global clothing consumption is expected to rise from 62 million tonnes to 102 million tonnes by 2030（Pereira, 2020), these facts and forecasts are inspiring a rapid shift away from fast fashion, the toxic methane gas that is emitted every year as textile waste is broken down. For example, A.BCH is a brand with a recycling concept that allows clothes to be recycled when they reach the end of their useful life. This is a great way to change the way consumers dispose of their clothes, which in the end also reduces environmental damage caused by resource extraction and protects our planet.
Sustainability in relation to fashion
In conjunction with one of the pillars of sustainable development, the planet, sustainable fashion is about protecting the environment and clothing producers by reducing CO2 emissions and addressing issues such as overproduction, which in general means the way clothing is produced and consumed, there are still relatively few fashion brands that can address all of this and always room for improvement, so there still has to be a radical change in consumer buying habits and the way clothing is consumed.
SDGs
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity.The 17 SDGs are integrated—they recognize that action in one area will affect outcomes in others, and that development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability.(UNDP, no date)
In the fashion factory, many clothing brands have embarked on a series of sustainability goals, such as the sports brand Nike, to achieve the goal of ”good health and well being” by inspiring and supporting communities around the world to play more sports and to develop children to be more active so that they can perform better on the pitch and in the classroom, as well as eventually in their professional careers as adults; An act that shows that as a sports brand, it has managed to focus more on people’s health and active lifestyles.
In summary, sustainable fashion is now the most unified goal in the fashion sector, as brands are working in different ways to better protect the world’s environment in the fashion sector, whether by using circular economy systems or manufacturing as part of the SDG goals.
References:
Manchester(2022), UoM online Sustainable Development Goals exercise, Available at https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/uom-online-sustainable-development-goals-exercise/ (Accessed 8th October)
Gu, J and Dottle, R(2022), The Global Glut of Clothing Is an Environmental Crisis, Available at https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2022-fashion-industry-environmental-impact/?leadSource=uverify%20wall (Accessed 8th October)
Motif(no date), Moving Towards a Circular Fashion Economy, Available at https://motif.org/news/circular-fashion-economy/ (Accessed 9th October)
Pereira, J. (2020), 18 Sustainable Fashion Brands Leading the Circular Economy, Available at https://goodonyou.eco/circular-fashion-brands/ (Accessed 9th October)
Figure 1: Motif(no date), Greenstrategy, Available at https://motif.org/news/circular-fashion-economy/ (Accessed 8th October)
UNDP(no date), What are the Sustainable Development Goals? Available at https://www.undp.org/sustainable-development-goals (Accessed 9th October)
Figure 2: United Nations (2015), Sustainable Development Goals kick off with start of new year, Available at https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2015/12/sustainable-development-goals-kick-off-with-start-of-new-year/ (Accessed 9th October)