What once was in the far future, now it is the present. There are many problems that our world is facing at the moment and maintaining them under control is not that easy. Alarming weather events are more and more common than usual around the globe. From the extreme heatwaves, lethal floods, temperature rising that is causing ice melting and rising of the sea levels, not to mention the scarce species diversity. It seems like we are talking about the end of the world, but the global awareness about issues with the climate crisis is finally making some change. At the conference COP26 last year, the goal was set to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030 and pledges to sustainability have been louder than ever. One of the major influencers on the environment is the fashion industry. Even though the system and functioning of the industry are changing and a lot of measures have been implemented, there is still much to do to undo all the past errors.
In the past years, advancements in the industry need to be noted. The fashion industry truly is on the right track, but yet the problems when it comes to human rights abuses, many brands are still covering up the dark truth. This leads to remembering the tragic event of the Rana Plaza Factory in Bangladesh in 2013, where thousands of young female workers have lost their lives due to inadequate working conditions. Since then, the workers behind the most exclusive luxury brands have been made visible and appreciated. In that process Fashion Revolution has helped to spread the word all around the world about and tell their stories by demanding the industry to answer the question of “Who made my clothes?”. After many movements, it is truly more transparent who are the people behind the most expensive garments. However, many of them are still left behind, trying to survive with small wages.
Additionally, the social issues, come intertwined also environmental troubles which are putting our future at stake. Living in a fast-paced world the production needs to be rapid as well. Overconsumption and overproduction are some of the biggest threats in the industry. The collections have to be pushed to the market quickly as possible, with as little effort as possible. A huge amount of clothes is made annually with the poor quality, synthetic fabric that is born from fossil fuels. The origin of these plastic textiles comes from burning oils and gases, which emit carbon footprints to the atmosphere. As we all know, it is the instigator of global warming and climate change. Furthermore, the mass production of clothes is piling up tons and tons of waste that is polluting the ecosystem. Constant shopping is filling the wardrobes but makes the disposal even bigger. Following the latest trends, people tend to discard all the “untrendy” garments so easily, being absolutely unaware that we are paying dearly for it.
“Consumer’s power is mostly in the choices they can make. Using their voices to demand better action from the brands they rely on, following news and data. Buying from brands that are making an effort to decarbonize quickly, and not just buy offsets without inherently transforming the way they do business,” says Tara Gupta, founder and CEO at Map-Collective.
Nonetheless, it is undeniable that the fashion industry is going under full transformation and is putting the priority on making it perfectly sustainable. The production system is evolving and business models are being modernized and improved. Young, rising designers and a great number of high fashion brands choose to use recycled materials, made of organic waste or plants, avoiding fabrics made from oil and gas. These choices, according to Piyush Gambhir, Lead Sustainability Analyst at Map-Collective, “not only allow for reduced carbon emissions in virgin manufacturing but also reduce the impact of fugitive and end of life emissions for discarded products”. The evidence that the industry is going in the positive direction could be seen in the greener approach when it comes to their choice of recycled packaging and the reduction or elimination of the plastic in use. Not to mention the spreading of futuristic digital fashion that significantly decreases the spreading of the biggest polluters.
All in all, there is still a long way to go to restore our Earth to its original state. We are moving at a slow pace, but the goal is attainable if we all as a community of this planet take action together.
