We love fashion. We always have. Dating far back to the Moghuls and French Revolution, history has taught us that fashion is important, fashion is a way of expression and fashion brings out who we are. Over the years, fast fashion has taken over our lives and we purchase far more than required. Landfills are the dumping grounds for everything that comes out of fashion, wasted materials, unwanted clothes, packaging that will stay with us for decades to come and everything in between. Let’s not forget the water and energy use going into the production of fast fashion and manual labour that could very well include child labour and labour for just a pittance. Why are we so head-over-heels in support of a waste generating, low paying industry? Most of the time, it’s a mindset problem we are dealing with, we want more than we need, more than we can afford, and more than the Earth can sustain!
Now that the world looks at building back greener, Covid-19 might have taught us a lesson on fashion: we need to pay more attention to this sector since it affects so many lives, contributes to GHG emissions, continues to use excessive amounts of water, exacerbates deforestation to make fabrics like rayon, causes pollution and waste, affects communities and biodiversity, and creates unsustainable ideas of what fashion is and what it should be. In our efforts to build back greener with keeping sustainable development in mind, it can be seen that many of our sustainable development goals can be positively affected with a shift towards a more “greener” fashion industry and along with this, a mindset change on how we view fashion.
During the stressful period of worldwide lockdowns, the fashion industry took a massive knock in its sales and slowed down; however, this could become a driving force or opportunity for the industry to build back greener. A more conscious outlook is desperately required for fashion in order to slow it down and minimise the environmental and social impacts. Many fashion brands are already looking into “sustainable” fashion and fashion that uses more recycled materials; however, many are still mass-producing products. Environmental and social aspects may not particularly improve with labels that say “sustainable” and “made from recycled material” as this may still be a part of the linear fashion industry. Instead, other opportunities need to be seized in order to create a more circular, transparent and inclusive fashion industry. Areas that require attention are discussed below.
- Reduce Waste
According to an article by Pelikánová et al. (2021), the fashion industry is possibly the second largest waste producer throughout the world due to chemical use and leaching, as well as fabric wastage. This affects both the environment and people. If fewer raw materials are being produced and sourced, alternatives could include reusing fabrics, clothing cut-off which will otherwise end up in landfill or incinerated, and being more creative with how fabrics are being cut to make a particular design. A few fashion designers are using these options and believe that it creates less waste and requires less water for fabric production. How fabrics are dyed with colour can also change so that less water is used in the process. Fast fashion is a water-intensive sector and finding ways to reduce water use will mean that countries where fabric is made (mainly developing countries) can preserve more water resources.
In some parts of the world, fast fashion is beginning to slow down. Big and small enterprises see the need to reduce their waste and can now relate to sustainability goals. It isn’t possible to completely stop fast fashion and cheap clothing, but as more individuals learn about the impact of fast fashion on the environment and society, companies will also need to evolve.
2. Mindset shift
Since Covid-19 began, the way in which people behave towards the environment has changed. More individuals are basing their decisions around how it will affect the climate and others. One of the highlights of 2020 was seeing the decrease in CO2 emissions in industrial areas around the world, and how nature began to flourish in some areas. This proved, for a very short period, that our actions play an important role in how anthropogenic climate change is driven by the decisions we make, as individuals and as institutions. The same has been seen for fast fashion, especially amongst younger individuals. People are opting for clothing that is second hand, items that are made from fabrics that did not consume copious amounts of water, which are being produced locally and fabrics that are “sustainable” such as bamboo, linen and hemp. As we learn about how clothing is produced, the waste generation and environmental impact, we want to move away from this vicious linear process of buying cheap and discarding without a thought.
Retail companies who lead the way in fast fashion will have no choice but to find alternatives to meet the new demands of customers. Building back greener is a difficult task for chain retail stores in particular as it is more about the bottom line in terms of sales rather than creating a circular fashion cycle. However; as the industry slows down, bigger enterprises should be required to find alternative solutions in order to build back greener. As companies pay more attention to the climate crisis, more customers will follow.
3. Transparency
It is no longer enough to read a label that says “recycled material” or “sustainably sourced” as many retail giants who do this are still contributing to fast fashion. People are more interested in knowing the details of where fabrics were sourced and how the item was made (was it ethically sourced and made or not). Fashion retail brands would become inclined to find alternative fabrics and factories if more buyers want to know about how their items are made. South African clothing giant Woolworths is a retail brand that has been working on building back greener. Although they still have a long way to go on their “support local” initiative, at the moment they have vowed to release details of their international and local supply chains as well as releasing details on their ethical and social audits. Although South Africans have noticed that much of their clothing items are made in China, the retailer works on ensuring that the sources are ethical, causes lower environmental impacts, and are traceable. This may be the reason for their high prices across all fashion products, which also slows down fashion as the majority of South Africans cannot afford to purchase their products. Furthermore, the retailer is working towards having their products produced and manufactured in ways that enable every item to be repaired, reused, or recycled by 2025, shifting to renewable energy by 2030 in all branches across the country, and to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. These goals are significant in seizing the opportunities to build back greener and many other retailers would follow suit.
As China faces power shortages, supply and logistics are affected, therefore, other South African fashion retailers are choosing to move towards locally made fashion items and work towards having the least reliance on China for their fashion industry. There are also a number of upcoming local designers who are working hard to create fashion that is greener and works for people and the environment. More retailers and designers around the world are seeing the need to build a greener fashion industry for current and future generations. This change has been slow but significant, and Covid-19 has shown the fashion industry that transparency should become a requirement.
4. Health and Social Welfare
As we may already know, most of the factories producing textiles and manufacturing fashion items are faced with many social injustices in various parts of the world. Most fashion items purchased are mainly produced in China and Bangladesh with social, health and environmental rights being affected at every step of the manufacturing chain (Bick, et al., 2018). Textile production involves large amounts of synthetic and natural fibres which in turn requires fertilizers, dying and water. Fertilizers and dye pose an environmental and health risk to the textile workers, animals and people living around textile companies. At the manufacturing stage, waste generation accumulates at the landfill site, from offcut fabric and items that are dumped by consumers. These issues pose a further occupational hazard to workers. Workers are paid a low wage for hard work and for their exposure to chemicals and occupational and health hazards in factories.
As more fashion retailers and designers move towards being more transparent, and IF they are more transparent, social and health issues can be addressed through better policies and by retailers choosing to use factories where workers are not underpaid or exposed to any form of hazards and where working standards are not of poor quality.
5. Animal Welfare
As more people become aware of the abuse that animals endure by the fashion industry, there is a need to move away from products such as leather and fur. Covid-19 saw a rise in the interest given to nature and its animals and brands need to evolve accordingly. Brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein have banned the use of exotic skins; other brands will certainly follow. The need for ethical fashion has never been more important. Covid-19 has shown the world that we must put an end to ecological damage and this is one way of doing so. The world does not need more Zoonotic diseases and animals used for the fashion industry is a breeding ground for this!
THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND THE CHANGES WE NEED
The Sustainable development goals (SDGs) can act as motivation to seize the opportunity of building back a greener fashion industry. From fast fashion to slow down on fashion, the fashion industry has a role to play in many of the SDG’s in relation to the issues discussed earlier. SDG’s 1, 2, and 8 (1 – No poverty, 2 – zero hunger, 8 – decent work and economic growth) can be related to the people living around factories and landfill sites where their wage from factory work is so low that they live in poverty with little to no food. In these communities, hygiene and sanitisation are poor, making people susceptible to illnesses, infections and diseases caused by the lack of basic health care and safe living spaces, along with malnutrition, the fashion industry can contribute to achieving these SDG’s if governments put in place policies to protect workers and creating minimum wage that individuals and families can live off. Many of the world’s poorest people work for this industry, whether it is at the textile production phase or waste and incineration, the time for the fashion industry to recognise their role in driving people into such harsh conditions must be recognised.
SDGs 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure) can be changed in the face of the fashion industry to be greener and more sustainable. Fashion retailers can become accredited under fair trade labels without “greenwashing” their advertising. This type of innovation places retailers at an advantage over those who do not endorse sustainable fashion and sustainable efforts to cut down GHG emissions. Other retailers are also concentrating on greening their buildings with the use of solar power, recycling schemes in exchange for money and ending plastic use. Initiatives such as these draw on more customers into supporting a more circular industry. This also feeds into the need for the fashion industry to become more aware of their role in climate change and how the industry affects ecosystems, SDG 13 and 15 (13 – climate action, 15 – life on land).
One of the most important aspects required for slowing down the fashion industry includes the choices we make. Today, almost every one of us is able to partake in fast fashion, many of us do not even have the need for it. SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production) is where we, the consumer, can make a decision of how we spend our money and whether it is for the good of the environment and the welfare of people or not. We need to have the ability to access whether a retailer is a part of greenwashing their brand or if there is real, trustworthy certification and policies in place. Such transparency deserves the support of customers instead of those who believe in the concept of more for less. As the drivers of change, we should be prepared for an industry full of innovation and change, and welcome this change as a means of building back greener. As Covid-19 has shown us that we can, in fact, live without the luxuries of shopping till we drop, and instead adopt ways to shop consciously and with awareness.
References and further reading:
Bick, R.; Halsey, E.; Ekenga, C.C. 2018. The global environmental injustice of fast fashion. Environmental Health. 17:92 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-018-0433-7
Pelikánová, R.M.; Nemecková, T.; MacGregor, R.K. 2021. CSR Statements in International and Czech Luxury Fashion Industry at the Onset and during the COVID-19 Pandemic—Slowing Down the Fast Fashion Business? Sustainability 2021. 13, 3715. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073715