PLANET
The planet pillar is described as maintaining ecological integrity and being conscious of all resources and ecosystems. The fashion industry is renowned for it’s high carbon footprint. Promoting awareness of electricity consumption, waste disposal, and manufacturing practices, aids companies to reduce their footprint. A Business’s cooperation is reported on by John Elkington’s triple bottom line, which incorporates their financial performance, social and environmental impacts (Mitterfellner, 2023).
The main idea of the circular economy (CE) is to minimise waste and pollution by extending product life cycles (Condé Nast, 2020). This is ecologically superior to the current take-make-use-dispose model and has prompted businesses to address consumption and production flaws. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s research supports this concept, and outlines it as “not simply reducing negative impacts but representing ‘a systemic shift that builds long-term resilience, generates business and economic opportunities, and provides environmental and societal benefits’”. In collaboration with fashion brands, they have released a model for a new textiles economy that incorporates the three principles of CE: designing out substances of concern, increasing utilisation, and effectively regenerating natural resources (Gwilt, 2020).
Sustainability has been a part of Fashion since the pre-industrial era, due to long wait times for fabrics and the need to conserve resources (Hethorn et al, 2015). Sustainability now is outlined as an awareness of environmental and ethical impacts of all fabrics and processes up until the end-of-life (Gwilt, 2020). The 1987 Brundtland report describes sustainability as ‘meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs’ (Keeble, 1988). It is important for designers to understand a products life cycle to avoid environmental and social implications, “everything from the materials to the production processes can have a dramatic impact, with a knock-on effect on how that product flows through its entire life cycle…” (Moran, 2022).
The United Nations established the 17 sustainable development goals in 2015, with the 12th goal focusing on responsible consumption and production, which is highly relevant to the fashion industry (Overcoming the world’s challenges, 2023). A company’s supply chain can have a significant effect on human rights, fair labour practices, environmental progress, and anti-corruption policies (Supply Chain Sustainability: UN Global Compact). In 2015, the global pulse report revealed that the fashion industry was responsible for more carbon dioxide emissions than the aviation and shipping industries combined. This highlights the importance of the fashion industry addressing their unsustainable practices and using these goals (Mitterfellner, 2023).
Bibliography:
Condé Nast (2020) The Sustainable Fashion Glossary, Condé Nast. Available at: https://www.condenast.com/glossary(Accessed: 03 October 2023).
Gwilt, A. (2020) ‘Chapter 1: Rethinking Fashion Design’, in A practical guide to sustainable fashion. London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts.
Hethorn, J., Ulasewicz, C. and McDonough, W. (2015) ‘Chapter 1 The Fashion of Sustainability’, in Sustainable fashion – what’s next?: A conversation exploring issues, practices, and possibilities. New York: Fairchild Books.
Keeble, B.R. (1988) The Brundtland report: ‘Our common future’. Medicine and war, 4(1), pp.20
Mitterfellner, O. (2023) ‘Chapter 7- Luxury Fashion and the Sustainable Approach’, in Luxury Fashion Brand Management and sustainability unifying fashion with sustainability. New York: Routledge.
Moran, G. (2022) Drapers, Collaborating for Change: Sustainability Report 2022
Overcoming the world’s challenges (2023) The Global Goals. Available at: https://www.globalgoals.org/ (Accessed: 02 October 2023).
Supply Chain Sustainability: UN Global Compact (no date) Supply Chain Sustainability | UN Global Compact. Available at: https://unglobalcompact.org/what-is-gc/our-work/supply-chain#:~:text=A company’s entire supply chain,to improving their sustainability performance. (Accessed: 02 October 2023).
