The State Of Sustainability In The Fashion Industry (And What It Means For Brands)
Can the trend towards buying sustainable fashion really help at a time of climate crisis, or should we simply be buying less clothing?
Sustainable fashion refers to efforts to minimize the fashion industry’s adverse environmental and social impacts. This entry describes the industry’s entire production chain: from polyester production, cotton growth and wasteful fashion consumption patterns to landfilling, where so many clothes end up.
From forced labour tales to stories of monstrous levels of carbon emissions, fashion’s struggle with sustainability is well known. However, the rapidly growing sustainable fashion sector is often presented as a promising way forward. It may be a sector that has modelled itself to represent a kinder and greener future, but what are the pros and cons of sustainable fashion?
Fashion Takes Action advances sustainability, ethics and circularity in the entire fashion system, which means we work with those who make, sell, buy, wear, dispose, reuse, repair, rent and recycle clothes. Our role is to remove barriers to sustainability through education, awareness, research and collaboration.
Trace the life cycle of a classic white t-shirt to find out how they’re made and what is their ultimate environmental impact.
The fast fashion industry is a booming business. It’s valued at around 100 Billion Dollars, and by 2026 it could reach 133 Billion dollars. More than 100 billion items of clothing are produced each year globally. That's nearly 14 items for every human being on the planet! However, around 33% of all those clothes go to a landfill within the first year of purchase. The EPA Office of Solid Waste says that Americans throw away more than 68 pounds of clothing and textiles per person every year. In this video, we will focus on how social media is playing a role in accelerating the fast fashion industry and explore how new short-term fashion trends are emerging as a result.
Fashion used to be something that changed only with the seasons each year. Or when you outgrew your clothes. and all you had was your style to maintain any semblance of sanity. But things speeded up around 2 decades ago. Fast fashion happened. And with it came monumental changes.
Fashion is one of the most polluting industries on earth and to become sustainable the entire industry has to undergo a seismic shift. This week we meet the designers and disruptors who are looking to change the future of fashion
Our overconsumption of fast fashion and its complicated supply chain continue to have massive environmental impacts. Now, shoppers are demanding more sustainable clothing options. Brands and retailers are responding with new items and promoting their green and eco-friendly lines.
Some companies like American Airlines and H&M have made promises to become more environmentally friendly to attract positive press and increase business. They’ve frequently used buzzwords like ‘sustainable’, ‘carbon neutral’ or ‘eco-conscious.’ But if they fall short of their goals, who holds them accountable?
Our reliance on op shops to get rid of the ever-growing waste generated by Australia’s fashion consumption, is fast adding to our environmental woes. There has to be a better way.
The root of a lot of sustainability dilemmas is not only assessing what you use in your life, but the excess in it as well. Fashion lovers might think that swapping out their Zara hauls for piles of Salvation Army clothing is helping to build a sustainable future—but it’s not...
While thrifting is a great alternative to shopping fast fashion brands, some of these sustainable fashion trend act as a band-aid solution to a larger issue: overconsumption.
Today there is such confusion about the concept of greenwashing that even many fashion designers try to avoid associating their signature with the term although greenwashing and sustainable fashion are often connected.
Sustainability sells. And fashion labels make incredible claims to appeal to a new kind of consumer. But brands are hiding their lack of action behind false claims of environmental responsibility.