Planet

There are no jobs on a dead planet (Rimarcikova, 2023).

As an industry, fashion is considered “one of the most wasteful on the planet” (Drapers, 2022), with over 120 billion garments produced a year; textile production alone producing 1.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. With the fashion industry and planet coexisting in a toxic, parasitic relationship, they have become trapped in a destructive cycle; the “ongoing overexploitation of natural resources” (Hethorn and Ulasewicz, 2015, p.28) leads to both overproduction and overconsumption. In recent years, as both producers and consumers become more aware about the impact of their actions, there is a heavy emphasis on straying from more traditional fashion practices and to start considering those more sustainable. 

The United Nations has introduced their 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a vision to solve the world’s issues by 2030. Focusing particularly on SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, understanding how it directly feeds into creating a more responsible fashion industry allows for better understanding of the actions and responsibilities needed to be taken in order to be successful. This particular SDG focuses on the concept of responsibility with regards to consumption and production, and how efforts from both consumers and producers, as well as the industry as a whole, are required in order to become fully responsible and sustainable. Hethorn and Ulasewicz (2015) explore how consumers need “to buy better [and] to buy less” (Hethorn and Ulasewicz, 2015, p.82) in order to make more responsible decisions surrounding their purchases, however producers have a duty “to improve the sustainability of things like textile production, waste in the manufacturing process, and recyclability of garments” (Hethorn and Ulasewicz, 2015, p.232).

Considering a circular economy, which opposes that of the harmful, traditional linear economy, it deserts the traditional practice of making, using and disposing of a garment, and instead focuses on maintaining resources in use for as long as possible – repair, reuse and adaptation. As a model it aims to tackle climate change and other global challenges, and is based on three principles driven by design: eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials, and regenerate nature. Brands such as Nike and Patagonia have all adopted schemes whereby customers can return their used garments in exchange for money in an attempt to reduce the amount of clothes that end up in landfill, allowing the garments lifecycle to continue well after a consumer is finished with it. Schemes like this therefore pave the way for the fashion industry to become more sustainable and responsible.

Reference List:

• Hethorn, J. and Ulasewicz, C. (2015). Sustainable Fashion What’s Next?: A Conversation about Issues, Practices and Possibilities. Second ed. [online] London: Bloomsbury. Available at: https://www-bloomsburyfashioncentral-com.arts.idm.oclc.org/encyclopedia?docid=b-9781501312250 [Accessed 6 Oct. 2023].

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