Sustainability: PLANET
PLANET
According to the United Nations sustainability is a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (UN, 1987). There are four pillars of sustainability studied by the Fashion Business School at LCF: Planet, People, Profit and Purpose. The Planet pillar also known as «Environmental» pillar which covers laws, regulations and other mechanisms regarding environmental issues included 6 of 17 Sustainable Development Goals signed on September 25th, 2015 (UN, 2015).
Fashion industry footprint
Sustainability has become a major focus of fashion brands in the past decade, but according to the research conducted by Boston Consulting and Global Fashion Agenda the sustainability ‘pulse’ of the industry is weak compared with the impact (Environmental Audit Committee, 2019). The apparel industry is the world’s third biggest manufacturing industry after automotive and technology (Environmental Audit Committee, 2019). China is the biggest supplier in the world, no one produces as much as this country, but that costs at a high price: 70% of China’s rivers are contaminated and subject to biodiversity loss (River Blue, 2021). Throughout the cycle from manufacturing to purchase of garments, the fashion industry is harmful to the environment. For instance, growing raw materials requires enormous amounts of water, it is required 10.000 liters of water to grow 1 kg of cotton (Conde Nast glossary, 2020). The danger is droughts and lack of drinking water in those countries such as India and China which are the world’s leading cotton producers with 5,334 and 5,879 metric tons correspondingly (Statista, 2022). The use of chemicals working on manufacturing garments is also unsustainable because chemicals have the properties of drugs, the more people use them, the more crops need them, so the impact is growing with the usage (The True Cost, 2015). More than 50 million liters (about 13208600 gal) of chemicals and toxic waste are dumped into the Ganges River in India every day (The True Cost, 2015).
Figure 1: India Stems Tide of Pollution into Ganges River (National Geographic, 2011).
Reduce, reuse, recycle
Erich Fromm argued about changing buying habits already in 1976 and said that purchasing behavior changed with the change of attitudes towards ownership. “Before, things were bought in order to use them. But now garments are bought to throw them away” (Fromm, 1976). This policy is close to the marketing strategy of fast fashion, but far from the circular economy model: reduce, reuse, recycle. The main goal is to return the used product to the supply chain instead of landfill. Rethinking and moving towards a circular economy will allow the fashion industry to reach Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production (UN, 2015).
Figure 2: Circular economy: definition, importance, and benefits (European Parliament, 2015).
Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
The solution for both manufacturers and consumers is rationality. “Sustainable consumption and production is about doing more and better with less” (UN, 2015). Sustainable consumption will positively affect the environment, human health, and biodiversity.
Figure 3: Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production (UN, 2015).
Bibliography:
Conde Nast, 2020. The Sustainable Fashion Glossary. [online] Conde Nast. Available at: <https://www.condenast.com/glossary/data-sources> [Accessed 6 October 2022].
Environmental Audit Committee, 2019. Fixing fashion: clothing consumption and sustainability. [online] UK Parliament. Available at: <https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvaud/1952/1952.pdf> [Accessed 4 October 2022].
European Parliament, 2015. Circular economy: definition, importance and benefits. [online] European Parliament. Available at: <https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/economy/20151201STO05603/circular-economy-definition-importance-and-benefits> [Accessed 5 October 2022].
Fromm E., 1976. To Have or to Be? The Nature of the Psyche. AST Publishers, Moscow, p. 111.
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Nations, U., 1987. Sustainability | United Nations. [online] United Nations. Available at: <https://www.un.org/en/academic-impact/sustainability> [Accessed 8 October 2022].
Nations, U., 2015. Do you know all 17 SDGs? | United Nations. [online] United Nations. Available at: <https://sdgs.un.org/goals> [Accessed 8 October 2022].
River Blue. 2016. Performed by McIlvride D. et al. Available at: <https://riverbluethemovie.eco> [Accessed 4 October 2022].
Shahbandeh M., 2022. Leading cotton producing countries worldwide in 2021/2022. [online] Statista. Available at: <https://www.statista.com/statistics/263055/cotton-production-worldwide-by-top-countries/> [Accessed 8 October 2022].
The True Cost, 2015. Performed by Morgan A. et al. Available at: <https://truecostmovie.com> [Accessed 5 October 2022].