[photo credit: image by Lissy Media of Sophie from Fashionable Ethical]
Sustainable fashion is a complex topic.
If we look at the process for making clothes alone, there are many negative impacts on the world:
Carbon emissions from the enormous amount of energy used to create clothes;
Unsustainable materials such as chemicals, dyes and synthetic textiles containing microplastics;
Excessive water usage and pollution;
Energy and resources to transport materials, deliver clothes and more.
The words overconsumption and overproduction are often used to describe the problems in the fashion industry – but what does that even mean?
Basically, thanks to social media and online shopping sites, we can buy any new piece of clothing imaginable by simply clicking a button. Fashion trends move incredibly fast – faster than ever before – and many people feel pressured to constantly buy new clothes to keep up with trends. The high demand for clothes means that fast fashion factories must work extremely quickly to create trending clothes and get it sold. As a result, the factories mass-produce an excessive amount of cheaply made clothing, or, “overproduce”. And we, as shoppers, “over-consume” by constantly buying fast fashion pieces to keep up with the trends. Because the clothes are created so quickly, they are often poorly made and use cheap fabric. After a few wears, the piece will either break or no longer be in trend, so the clothing ends up in landfill. Then the cycle continues.
Even though fast fashion seems to make buying new clothes better than ever – it’s affordable, it gets delivered quickly and there’s so much choice available – it comes at a price. The environment and people working at the manufacturing facilities suffer at the expense of the fast fashion industry.
However, there are ways we can help. Even though it seems overwhelming and difficult to contribute, we can create a more sustainable fashion industry.
Some common misconceptions are that sustainable fashion is too expensive, too hard to find, or you have to give up your enjoyment of fashion in order to be ethical. You don’t need to become an expert over night or stop buying clothes forever - I truly believe even small contributions can make a difference.
On this blog, I’ll unpack many of the above fashion issues and share ways you can make more sustainable choices. I'll also share information about some of the amazing organisations, like Centre for Sustainable Fashion and Fashion for Good, who are finding creative ways to transform and improve the practices of the fashion industry.
Bonus: check out some common fashion sustainability buzzwords and definitions in this article by refinery29.
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