Fashion and sustainability go hand in hand while referring to the wellbeing of the planet. Planet is one of the four pillars contributing to sustainability including: People, Profit and Purpose.
Alamy/Javier Hirschfeld, 2020
To begin, the idea of sustainable fashion focuses on “a clothing supply chain that is ecologically and socially responsible” (EarthDay, 2022). In other words, being conscious of the consumption amount and being able to limit it in order to provide the future generations with the needed resources. In addition, the pillar “Planet” thoroughly focuses on the state of the environment and how the natural resources of the planet are being overused by the fashion industry. “The fashion industry represents a key environmental threat,” (Kirsi Niinimäki, 2022). The shocking aspect of the fashion industry is the toll that it takes on the environment. According to The UN, a kilogram of cotton is needed for the production of a single pair of jeans. Since cotton usually grows in dry environments, producing this kilo requires about 7,500–10,000 litres of water. That’s about 10 years’ worth of drinking water for one person. However, it is relieving to see certains brands, such as Levi’s, trying to reduce the environmental impact by offering consumers the possibility to upcycle denim products.
17 Sustainable Development Goals, The Global Goals, 2015
In order to preserve the planet’s resources and to transform the planet, the United Nations in 2015 created a list of 17 sustainable development goals to help navigate people into becoming conscientious for the benefit of everyone.
The 13th goal created by the UN refers to “climate action”. It is linked to taking action against climate change and “promoting greater prosperity across the globe” (Global Goals, 2015). Fashion makes a huge contribution to climate change. In 2018, the sector was responsible for some 2.1 billion metric tons of greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions which is about 4 percent of the global total (McKinsey, 2020). Distinguishing the strong impact the industry has on climate change becomes relevant when understanding that the consumers are reliable for this type of overproduction. Of course, with the huge wave of fast fashion it is difficult to take the time and reconsider buying a product and think about the wellbeing of the planet. Whatsoever, if consumers don’t opt to follow the guidelines recommended by the Global Goals, it will be hard to achieve the 17 SDGs by 2030.
References:
Can fashion ever be sustainable? BBC By Christine Ro, 11th March 2020
The idea of ‘Planet’ refers to the four pillars which are studied in the London College Of Fashion, it shows the importance of sustainability regarding our environment and resources in order for all habitants to experience a better life in the future. As we know “Fashion certainly ranks among the world’s dirtiest sectors” (Kent, 2019) for that reason the four pillars concept was developed to help organisations and consumers recognise the extent of the harm we are causing.
Figure 1: Contaminated river in China – “unrelenting discharge of untreated wastewater from the dyes, heavy metals and other toxicants of surrounding clothes factories.” (MacDermott, 2019)
The concept of a circular economy, which businesses might embrace to produce less waste, is centred on making products more environmentally friendly while also prolonging the product life cycle. Following the five R’s—refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, and then recycle—is a great approach for businesses and consumers to uphold a circular economy. Landfill trash will be reduced by incorporating this technique into company waste reduction and recycling initiatives (Bell, 2020). Unfortunately, prior to the idea of a circular economy, currently we ‘take, make, dispose’. Natural resources from the earth are used as raw materials to make products that are sold, and after those products are used, we discard them, which results in a large number of landfills. The idea of a circular economy allows us to understand what we are doing wrong and follow a simple step by step process (Taylor, 2020)
Sustainability in regards to fashion is a broad term used to describe processes taken to make products and participants aim for a carbon-neutral fashion sector without compromising animal welfare and social justice (Alves, 2022). Levis is an example of a fashion business using sustainable practices as they took the initiative to look for different solutions to counter conventional cotton issues, for example they are using organic cotton instead to greatly reduce the harmful pesticides and fertilisers which have been proven to cause harm to humans in many different ways, from wearing to the washing process.(Levis Sustainability report – sustainable fibres, 2021)
Seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are outlined by the United Nations, with the fourteenth goal, “Life Below Water,” being one of them. The world’s waterways are heavily impacted by the fashion industry’s pollution. This is detrimental to both sea life and the people who rely on rivers for their everyday needs. Additionally, research shows that washing synthetic fibres contributes to about 35% of the microplastics dumped into the ocean. (Bannigan & Donnelly, 2021). As a result of the United Nations boosting awareness of Life Below Water, the fashion industry has fortunately taken the matter into consideration and is currently looking at ways to reduce the damage being done to the ocean by synthetic materials, processes like laser cutting, material coatings, and fabric pre-washing can be employed to decrease the release of microfibers over the course of the garment’s lifetime.
Figure 3: (Sustainable Development Goals – 14, 2018)
Within the fashion industry, the four pillars of sustainability are commonly mentioned.
This model is formed from 4 aspects, exploring the planet, people, profit and purpose.
All 4 pillars work together to achieve the goal of sustainable development and the future.
Considering the well-being of our planet as a top priority is crucially important as it benefits everyone. Everyone needs to make sure sustainability is holistic across both actions and ideology.
The circular economy influences brands from disposing of unsold clothing which means luxury and high-street retailers need to rethink their actions(Berezhna, 2018). It’s to encourage the reuse and recycle all materials, eliminating waste and pollution and regenerating the environment in a circular business model. One example will be prolonging the life of products beyond their “first use” by reusing them as well as allowing resale.
Source/illustration: Lablaco Circular Fashion Report 2020, artwork: Vogue Business
Sustainability is meeting the needs of this generation without compromising the resources for the future generation. Sustainable development allows people to use the current resources effectively and efficiently, improving or maintaining the current conditions of the environment.
Linking to Katarina Rimarcikova’s research on Planet Earth& Fashion, the fashion industry is a significant contributor to world pollution and climate change. This means 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 annually is produced in textile production. The fashion industry was responsible for 1,715million tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2015(Pulse of Fashion).
In 2015, countries established a set of sustainable development objectives to promote social equality, protect the natural environment, and ensure human well-being. The 17 unique SDGs from the UN are focused on different fields. The fashion industry utilises a significant quantity of fossil fuels and natural resources to produce raw materials and fibres for garments, creating a negative impact on the environment (2020, pp.29). Especially earlier in the supply chain, where heavy production and extraction happen. Companies will need to invest heavier in switching the whole process from raw materials to distribution methods to switch to lower CO2 emissions methods, in order to meet the UN goal by 2030. This will decrease the fashion industry’s carbon emissions significantly. One example will be Ralph Lauren has introduced the Earth Polo in celebration of Earth Day, a classical remake of the renowned polo shirt manufactured completely from recycled plastic. The company has also committed to switching over to recycled poly-fibre by 2025(Gandhi, 2019).
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.
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).
figure 2: SDG – un.org (2015)
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.
Y.O.U UNDERWEAR
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.
One of the four pillars discussed within the Fashion Business context is ‘Planet’. The pillar explores the “huge environmental impact” (Creagh, 2018) of the fashion industry’s processes, and the subsequent need for sustainability to avoid irreversible damage. Sustainability is defined by the United Nations Brundtland Commission as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (United Nations, 1987). Since the emergence of environmentalism in 1960s youth (Hethorn & Ulasewicz, 2015), consumers’ demand for sustainable fashion is growing, driving designers to consider a garment’s life cycle (Gwilt, 2020).
Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2019
A circular economy aims to reduce waste and pollution by emphasising the continuous flow of materials back into the planet (Condenast.com, 2020). The Ellen MacArthur foundation is a central organisation that strives to “accelerate the transition to the circular economy” by representing the long-term benefits of the shift, such as the butterfly diagram (seen above) (2010). It demonstrates that, although critics have questioned the inevitable end to recycling due to degradation of certain materials (Stanislaus, 2018), the process of regeneration on a large range of materials could outweigh the disadvantage of the small number of non-recyclable materials.
Sustainable fashion is a process of shifting current ideology and practices to accommodate future prosperity and wellbeing for people and the environment (Condenast.com, 2020). The United Nations Environmental Program’s (UNEP) three key pillars of sustainability; economic, societal, and environmental; underpin the motives of sustainable fashion (2019). Designers must understand the phases in the life cycle of the garment to reduce their negative environmental and social impacts by implementing appropriate sustainable design strategies (Gwilt, 2020).
The 12th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), Responsible Production and Consumption, is “about doing more and better with less” to preserve the already degraded resources and environment (United Nations, 2020). This SDG heavily correlates with the fashion industry due to the increase in fast fashion, which produces 92 million tonnes of textiles waste per year, is responsible for 20% of global wastewater and produces twice the amount of clothing today than in 2000 (Igini, 2022). While some progress can be seen to reduce overproduction in the fashion industry, such as the increase in made-to-order independent brand shopping through Instagram and TikTok (Gwilt, 2020), many larger companies continue “greenwashing” their marketing to divert attention from their unethical work practices. Zara’s recent line of “sustainable fashion” diverts attention from their crisis of overconsumption, evident in their production of 26 collections annually (Leach, 2022).
Fashion must shift to a demand-driven model which would reduce its carbon footprint of 84% (Morgan, 2022). As the environmental crisis is worsening, the responsibility lies on not only the consumer, but also the designer to reduce their levels of waste and create a sustainable future.
Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2019) The Butterfly Diagram: Visualising the circular economy, The Butterfly Diagram: Visualising the Circular Economy. Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Available at: https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy-diagram (Accessed: October 9, 2022).
Gwilt, A. (2020) “Chapter 2,” in Practical guide to sustainable fashion. London: Fairchild Books, pp. 24–25.
Hethorn, J., & Ulasewicz, C. (eds). (2015). “Chapter 1,” in Sustainable Fashion: What’s Next? A Conversation about Issues, Practices and Possibilities. New York: Bloomsbury, pp. 22-26.
As one of the four pillars of the Fashion Business School, Planet specifically focuses on sustainability in relation to fashion. It intends to raise the awareness to seek for the better fashion industry that cares for our planet and ensures consistent development and growth of the industry.
The relationship between sustainability and fashion is interactive. According to Drapers, the fashion industry alone contributes to about 10% of global carbon emissions and 20% of worldwide water waste (Drapers, 2021), which can be counted as one of the most wasteful on the planet and greatly reduces sustainability. But at the same time, fashion also depends on sustainability for survival and development. Sustainability is recognized as one of the main factors that offers fashion’s biggest opportunities for growth (Mckinsey, 2022). This two-way relationship makes it obvious that sustainability in the fashion industry is a must.
(Mckinsey, 2022)
As a result, the economic model is gradually shifting from traditional linear economy (make, use, dispose) to circular economy, which repair, reuse, adapting are the key concepts. This ensures that every single product and every piece of material can be used to the maximum extent and play its value as much as possible. Further more, it means that people’s consumption habits need to be changed. People need to rethink the value of their ‘things’ and the relationship between themselves and the ‘things’ as well as the planet to support the operation of circular economy.
Among the 17 SDGs that Planet focuses on, Good Health and Well-Being is one SDG that belongs to the economic pillar and closely related to the fashion industry. The basic needs of people in health and well being has an impact on the fashion industry, which in turn helps the industry to achieve this SDG. Whether a fashion product has fulfilled its own mission: to cover the body or to keep warm, determines people’s psychological and physiological health. While pieces that are more high-end, decorative or with brand effect can promote people’s well being. For example, on the basis of ensuring that fashion is healthy for people, the pieces made of superior materials such as silk or cashmere have further improved people’s sense of experience in well being and their physical and psychological satisfaction. In addition, the fashion industry is also paying more attention to this SDG. For instance, Ralph Lauren uses 25% of the tag price of the goods sold by its Pink Pony line for cancer related treatment to achieve the SDG of Good Health and Well-Being.
‘Planet’ refers to one of the four pillars that is discussed within the fashion business; it focuses on the environmental impact that fashion has on the earth and people.
Sustainability is a topic that is often brought up when talking about ‘planet.’ Sustainability refers to “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” (The United Nations Brundtland Commission, 1987) which includes both social and economic resources. One way that businesses are becoming more sustainable is by changing from the traditional linear economy that focuses on producing goods that consumers use until they throw the item away, to a circular economy that focuses on reducing waste and pollution with methods such as reselling, reusing material and developing recycled fibres and materials; this can be seen in figure 1, where the goods produced will be used and recycled to be made into a different good, whilst raw materials and waste will eventually be able to phase out of the economy.
(Fig 1 – A circular fashion economy (Common Objective, 2019)
The lifecycle of a piece of clothing usually goes through 5 phases: the design process, the production process, the distribution process, when the consumer can use the clothing and the end of the clothes life. However, what is overlooked is how the consumer is using, washing and discarding clothes as the ‘microfibres that are released during washing range from 124 to 308 mg for kg of washed fabric corresponds to several microfibres ranging from 640,000 to 1,500,000.’ (De Falco, Di Pace, Cocca and Avella, 2019) and therefore it is important for the designers to understand how the clothing will be used by the consumers so they can improve the clothes lifecycle.
Fig.2 – (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, 2015)
In 2015, the United Nations set up 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that they are hoping to be achieved by 2030. An example of one SDG is decent work and economic growth. This goal aims to achieve full employment of men, women, younger people and those with disabilities where they get equal pay in good working conditions; it also aims for economic growth through methods such as innovation, diversification and technological upgrading. The fashion industry can have an impact on this goal as they can create jobs in underdeveloped countries by setting up factories in those countries, whilst also paying their workers with a fair wage in good working conditions.
Protecting the planet is vital for present and future generations. Being sustainable is an extensive goal, aiming to protect the planet from degradation through responsible consumption and production, while managing the earth’s natural resources. (United Nations, 2022) The United Nations Brundtland Commission constructed the definition of sustainability as ‘meeting the needs of the present without compromising the future generations to meet their own needs.’ The fashion industry plays a huge part in the welfare of the planet. Unsustainable consumption and production of fashion means the planet is continuously compromised. This is evidenced in the high amounts of CO2 emissions in production which make up 10% of humanity’s carbon emissions. (Geneva Environment Network, 2022)
The circular economy is a method used to encourage sustainability within the fashion industry. The three key principles of the circular economy is to eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials and regenerate nature. (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017) This circulatory method allows for the creation of restorative business models that regenerates clothing and increases clothing usage to reduce waste. Within the fashion industry, many brands and companies are not on track to reach their sustainability goals by 2030 according to the Business of Fashion Sustainability Index 2022. Therefore, it is highly encouraged that businesses adopt a circulatory method that allows for better products and services to customers while prioritising clothing reuse to reduce waste.
In 2015 all the United Nation member states adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals to attain by 2030. An SDG that relates to the fashion industry is ‘Responsible Consumption and Production’.
Figure 1: United Nations (2015)
Encouraging responsible consumption relates to buying second hand clothing, purchasing less fast fashion and using rental services. Similarly, overproduction in the fashion industry leads to the equivalent of a truck full of clothes being placed in a landfill every second (UNEP, 2019). The goal of responsible consumption and production relates to encouraging a reduction in purchasing fast fashion, which has a damaging effect on the environment. In addition to the waste it generates, it also damages the ocean with 500,000 tons of microfibers being released into the ocean every year from washing clothes. (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017) To support this SDG the Conscious Fashion Campaign and Network was established in 2019 to allow for innovative ideas in connection to industry leaders to create a way to implement sustainability. (United Nations, 2022) This Campaign has effectively educated and informed a society (Conscious Fashion Campaign, 2022) while continuing the process of accelerating the global industry to deliver the Sustainable Development Goal of Responsible Consumption and Production by 2030.
Reference list:
Sdgs.un.org. 2022. Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development | Department of Economic and Social Affairs. [online] Available at: <https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda> [Accessed 9 October 2022].
Ellenmacarthurfoundation.org. 2022. Circular economy introduction. [online] Available at: <https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/circular-economy-introduction/overview> [Accessed 9 October 2022].
Conscious Fashion Campaign. 2022. Conscious Fashion Campaign. [online] Available at: <https://www.consciousfashioncampaign.com/> [Accessed 9 October 2022].
Genevaenvironmentnetwork.org. 2022. Environmental Sustainability in the Fashion Industry. [online] Available at: <https://www.genevaenvironmentnetwork.org/resources/updates/sustainable-fashion/> [Accessed 9 October 2022].
Planet is one of the four pillars discussed in relation to the Fashion Business. It consists of 17 sustainable development goals created and controlled by the United Nations with hope of decreasing climate change, ending poverty and making the world a peaceful and safe ecosystem. With the fashion industry being one of the main contributors to global pollution and carbon consumption, it is necessary that all is aware of the disasters that the business is creating.
It could be argued that ‘Planet’ is the most important pillar as it is negatively impacting us daily; underage workers are forced into working long hours with poor health and safety regulations, millions of animals are being used for cattle farming and huge amounts of land is being destroyed daily. One of the main issues is the poor relationship between consumers and fast fashion and the lack of understanding for the consequences of buying cheap, poor quality clothing from websites such as ‘Shein’
One way in which the fashion industry is looking to develop sustainability is through the concept of circular fashion. The idea of reusing and refurbishing materials which in turn reduces consumption, demand and production. Less production results in a decrease in extraction of natural recourses and pollution, helping to preserve our environment. Without change from our current unsustainable linear economic model of ‘make, use and dispose’, carbon dioxide emissions are expected to grow by 63% by 2030.
One SDG that impacts the fashion industry directly is ‘responsible consumption and production’. As stated earlier, the relationship between fast fashion and consumerism has had a huge negative impact on the world. Websites such as ‘Shein’ and ‘Aliexpress’ mass-produce thousands of clothing items at an extremely affordable rate in order to meet consumer demands. In order to do this, cheap, low-quality materials are used to keep costs down, resulting in disposal after only a few wears. With the increase in consumption, there is a demand for workers, which in countries such as Brazil, India and China, there has been a huge increase in child labor, poor wages and unethical health and safety regulations. The United Nations highlighted this issue and created solutions in order to regulate consumption and production through re-using clothing instead of buying more.
