{"id":1,"date":"2020-12-04T09:10:21","date_gmt":"2020-12-04T09:10:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.plantagbiosciences.org\/people\/daire-houlihan\/?p=1"},"modified":"2021-07-07T16:21:37","modified_gmt":"2021-07-07T16:21:37","slug":"hello-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.plantagbiosciences.org\/people\/daire-houlihan\/2020\/12\/04\/hello-world\/","title":{"rendered":"You’ll grow into it! Circular solutions to the fast fashion problem."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Introduction<\/span><\/b> <\/span>Economic growth has traditionally been <\/span>driven by the consumption of finite <\/span>resources. The nature of humanit<\/span>y\u2019s<\/span> interaction with the planet <\/span>has been take, use, and discard. Since the advent of the industrial revolution in the 19<\/span>th<\/span> century these <\/span>behaviours<\/span> have led to rapid advancements in the field<\/span>s of <\/span>ener<\/span>gy,<\/span> medicine,<\/span> textiles, and <\/span>transport <\/span>to name but a few. <\/span>In many corners of the world this has in turn led to increased quality of life, longer life expectancy, and <\/span>relative political stability. <\/span>These advances have<\/span>,<\/span> however<\/span>,<\/span> come at a cost.<\/span> This \u2018pursuit of happiness\u2019 has led to a global economy willfully ignorant of the Earth\u2019s resource limitations.<\/span> The spread of wealth has been inequitable, and is worsening at a contin<\/span>uing<\/span> rate. The traditionally wealthy regions of Europe, and North America have prospered, while <\/span>many parts of Africa, the central and southern Americas, Asia and Northern Oceania have been left behind. Com<\/span>pounding this has been the increasing concern surrounding the ill effects of anthropogenic climate change, with these same regions expected to suffer greatly <\/span>in the coming years and decades due to increased extreme weather events, the forced displacement of people, and challenges to agricultural practices.<\/span> The developing countries within these regions have rightful ambitions to achieve a quality of life that Western populations have b<\/span>ecome so accustomed to. As their economies expand, so too does the pressure on the planet\u2019s resources. In order to facilitate their growth, it is the duty of developed nations to adapt their ways <\/span>o<\/span>f life<\/span> to accommodate their fellow people. The idea of <\/span>the Circular Economy has been adopted by an increasing nu<\/span>m<\/span>ber of nations, and big industry players as a means of facilitating sustainable growth.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Circular Economy<\/span><\/b> <\/span>The circular economy introduces the idea of cycles, and promotes their introduction as a means of mitigating the myriad effects of human-driven climate change.<\/span> This circular economy looks at preventing the simple discarding of goods seemingly at the end of their life cycles. The concept minimizes waste, and<\/span> closes loops in the industrial ecosystems where many of our everyday products are created. <\/span>The <\/span>principal<\/span> idea is that many goods still have value at the point of discarding, and the c<\/span>i<\/span>rcular economy aims to keep these goods and materials in the hands of those tha<\/span>t need them and<\/span> <\/span>will use them. <\/span>It replaces the traditional economic mantra of production to achieve profit, and introduces the idea of sufficiency and sustainability into economics. <\/span>In a circular economy, we would repair what can be repaired, reuse what can be reused, recycle what can <\/span>be recycled, and <\/span>remanufacture what cannot be repaired, reused or recycled.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fast Fashion<\/span><\/b> <\/span>The fashion sector has experienced rapid growth over the past two decades. Consumer <\/span>behaviour<\/span> has <\/span>shifted<\/span> from durable long-life produ<\/span>cts towards fast fashion, and this is having <\/span>n<\/span> horrific <\/span>effect<\/span> on the environment. <\/span>The lifecycle <\/span>of<\/span> a trend, or range of clothing<\/span>,<\/span> shifts too regularly<\/span> and clothes are produced on very short timeframes. <\/span>Fast fashion leads to overconsumption and increased waste.<\/span> Recent estimates indicate that there are 20 new garments produced for every person annually, and we are buying <\/span>greater<\/span> than 60% more garments than we were in the year 2000.<\/span> It is estimated that the textile industry <\/span>produces<\/span> more than 1.2 billion <\/span>tonnes<\/span> of CO2 equivalent annually, and is a higher polluter than both maritim<\/span>e shipping and international flights.<\/span> Nearly 60% of clothing produced is disposed of within 12 months, ending up incinerated or in<\/span> <\/span>a landfill.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How we interact with the textile industry has changed, and we now tend to throw out garments sooner than we would have done previously. One such area where <\/span>there is massive waste currently is in the production and sale of children\u2019s clothing. The fast fashion industry is booming with products aimed at this market, and <\/span>parents are increasingly shifting towards buying new wardrobes for their children as they grow.<\/span> <\/span>An obvious solution to this issue is the rekindling of the hand-me-down culture of past decades, and the increased donation of garments no longer in use.<\/span> There are entrepreneurs out <\/span>there<\/span> though looking at new methods of cutting down on waste through innovative clothes-swapping initiatives. One such example is <\/span>Vigga Svenson, from Denmark, who wants people to start renting baby and young children\u2019s clothes in order to cut down on fast fashion waste.<\/span>Page Break <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

VIGGA \u2013 Clothing that grows with your child<\/span><\/b> <\/span>VIGGA was based upon the principles of the circular economy. Svenson\u2019s idea was to adapt parent\u2019s consumer patterns and intended to circulate <\/span>products of a high standard that would be shared between growing families. A subscription service, VIGGA\u2019s garments were produced under fair conditions, at a<\/span> <\/span>good price, and offered <\/span>consumers<\/span> good <\/span>quality clothes for their kids.<\/span> The low pricing w<\/span>a<\/span>s made possible because the <\/span>clothes<\/span> would be shared<\/span> <\/span>by several families\u2019 children. The <\/span>model<\/span> was simple;<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n