Planet

In the late 20th century, the idea of ‘fast fashion’ emerged. This involved companies producing affordable, fashionable clothing rapidly. As a result, a culture of disposable fashion arose, where consumers frequently purchase and dispose of clothing. The rapid rotation of fashion trends and economical production methods have aided to the fashion industry’s vast environmental issues such as excessive consumption, increased emissions, and transport pollution.

However, in response to the neglect, there has been a noticeable shift in the fashion industry, with sustainability becoming the focal point for more fashion establishments, focusing on meeting the needs of the current generation without compromising the needs of the future generation. Along with the assistance and understanding of people, sustainability becomes more approachable, this can be done through “utilising less harmful raw materials and the reuse or recycling of materials.”(Henninger et al, 2017). Second hand buying and vintage clothing has experienced notable development in recent times and draws together sustainable economic development and consumer consumption. “The charity Oxfam contends that buying second-hand is not only more sustainable…but stylish, too. The photoshoot with model Stella Tennant and her daughter, Iris, was styled using clothing from Oxfam online and high street stores.” (Roberts-Islam, 2019) this promotion of second-hand clothing has had a great impact on reused fashion, with the clothes resale market in the UK growing “by 149% between 2016 and 2022” and ”It is forecast to rise by 67.5% from 2022 to 2026”. The fashion industry has also seen a decline in fast fashion since the rise of reused used fashion. For example, Shien, being the most frequently searched clothing sites in 2022, has seen a consecutive decline over the past 5 months in the US. (Cochrane, 2023)

As the industry’s environmental and social effects have come to light, sustainable fashion has become more popular.  The Sustainable Development Goals of the UN aim to direct the fashion industry towards a future that is more accountable and just. this is particularly seen in their 12th Goal- responsible consumption and production. Strategies to do so include cutting back on waste, and implementing sustainable production techniques. By prolonging the lifespan of garments and minimising their negative effects on the environment, brands who support circular fashion are a step closer towards sustainability. A brand that is working towards this goal is H&M, striving to “make 100 percent of packaging from recycled or other more sustainably sourced materials, with a preference for post-consumer recycled materials, Reduce absolute total freshwater use by 30 percent. By 2030, 100 percent of our materials in commercial goods to be either recycled or other more sustainably sourced materials.” These targets make way for companies such as H&m to become more sustainable and planet friendly.

• Henninger (2017) Sustainability in fashion: A Cradle to Upcycle Approach. Cham: palgrave macmillan. 
• Cochrane, L. (2023) Cheap, cool and kind to nature: How secondhand became UK fashion’s main attraction, The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2023/feb/12/secondhand-clothes-uk-fashion-cheap-cool-kind-to-nature (Accessed: 04 October 2023). 
• Roberts-Islam, B. (2019) Second-hand is the answer to sustainable fashion, says Oxfam, Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brookerobertsislam/2019/08/31/second-hand-is-the-answer-to-sustainable-fashion-says-oxfam/ (Accessed: 04 October 2023). 
• Annual and Sustainability Report 2022 (2023) H&M Group. Available at: https://hmgroup.com/investors/annual-and-sustainability-report/ (Accessed: 07 October 2023).