Understanding Sustainable Fashion

Fast fashion apparel shops such as Zara, Forever 21, and H&M provide inexpensive and
stylish items, but at a significant cost. The phrase "fast fashion" has become more popular in
discussions about fashion, sustainability, and environmental awareness. Cheaply made and
priced clothing that imitate the newest catwalk looks and get pushed fast through retailers in
order to capitalize on current fads,' according to the phrase. The fast fashion model is a
streamlined system that involves quick design, manufacturing, distribution, and marketing.
This allows merchants to draw smaller amounts of a wider range of products, allowing
customers to obtain more fashion and product distinction at a lower price. Fashion production
accounts for 10% of total world carbon emissions, the same as the European Union,
according to Business Insider. It depletes water supplies and pollutes rivers and streams,
while 85 percent of all textiles end up in landfills every year. Every year, 500 000 tons of
microfibers, the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles, are released into the ocean by
washing garments. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change, textile production alone is expected to increase emissions by 60% by 2030.

The three primary drivers of the industry's worldwide environmental impacts, according to
the Quantis International 2018 study, are dyeing and finishing (36 percent), yarn preparation
(28 percent), and fiber production (15 percent ). Due to the energy-intensive processes based
on fossil fuels, fiber production has the greatest impact on freshwater withdrawal (water
redirected or withdrawn from a water bodies or groundwater source) and natural ecosystems,
while dyeing and completing, yarn preparation, and fiber manufacturing stages have the
greatest effect on resource depletion. Fast fashion also has societal consequences, particularly
in poor countries. According to the non-profit Remake, 80 percent of clothing is created by
young women aged 18 to 24. Forced and child labor was discovered in the fashion sector in
Argentina, Bangladesh, India, Brazil, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Turkey, Vietnam,
and other countries, according to a study released by the US Department of Labor in 2018.
Rapid manufacturing means that money and sales take precedence over human happiness.
Brands also employ synthetic fibers such as polyester, nylon, and acrylic, which take decades
to biodegrade. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates that 35
percent of all microplastics in the oceans came from the washing of synthetic fabrics like
polyester, according to a 2017 research. According to The True Cost, a documentary
produced in 2015, the globe consumes about 80 billion different additions of clothes per year,
400% more than it did twenty years ago. Every year, the average American creates 82 pounds
of textile trash.

The tanning process is one of the most hazardous in the whole fashion supply chain since the
chemicals that use tan leather mineral salts, formaldehyde, coal-tar byproducts, and different
oils and dyes—are not biodegradable and pollute water sources. Turning plastic fibers into
textiles is a high-energy process that uses a lot of petroleum and produces a lot of volatile
particulates and acids such as hydrogen chloride. Cotton, which is used in a lot of fast fashion
items, is also not made in an ecologically beneficial manner. Farmers' health is jeopardized
by pesticides deemed vital for cotton growth.

Fast-fashion manufacturers may not plan their clothes to survive (and often don't), but as
artifacts from a highly consumptive age, they may become valuable fossils.

Over 60% of fabric fibers are now synthetics generated from fossil fuels, thus our clothes will
not decompose if and when it winds up in a landfill (about 85% of textile waste in the United
States is disposed of in dumpsters or burned). Synthetic microfibers that wind up in the sea,
freshwater, and other places, including the deepest regions of the seas and the highest glacier
peaks, will have the same effect. Future archaeologists may find evidence of Zara in landfills
that have been overtaken by nature.

Thomas tells us throughout that the textile business has long been one of the globe's darkest
corners. Textiles, as the defining product of the Industrial Revolution, were critical to the
creation of our worldwide capitalism system, and their current abuses have a long history.
Wage slavery in the American South provided industries for both England and the United
States, where industrial fires claimed the lives of new immigrants around the turn of the
century. According to Thomas, there are immigrant workers in Los Angeles today who are
victims of wage stealing and extortion, not to mention Chinese, Bangladeshi and Vietnamese,
and other workers who live in atrocious conditions at best and cruel conditions at worst.
Fashion has long relied on the toil of the helpless and the voiceless, and on keeping them
employed. Some companies are doing basic things like accepting their old items in store,
which is fantastic since it demonstrates that they are more responsible for the trash they
generate.

There are also some new fiber recycling methods being researched, albeit none of them are
economically viable yet. Hopefully, they will be soon. These techniques have the ability to
change how materials are utilized and, eventually, how we buy apparel. For instance,
procedures are being tested in which fibres may be broken down to their basic chemical
elements and then re-spun into other fibres to create a garment of the same quality, without
the need for virgin fibres.

Some firms are also working on alternative materials, such as leather produced from grape
and orange skins, which can be grown in a lab rather than depending on animals that are
sometimes exposed to horrific conditions. There are many other business models as well. For
example, perhaps we don't need to buy every piece of clothes we wear and instead could rent
or trade it? This is intriguing because the developed world's second-hand clothing industry is
increasing. There are many wonderful things happening, but we need to go much quicker.
Slow fashion is an antidote to rapid fashion and a component of the "slow movement," which
pushes for production that is considerate of humans, the environment, and wildlife. Slow
fashion, in contrast to industrial fashion, uses local craftsmen and eco-friendly materials with
the objective of conserving crafts and the environment while also providing value to both
customers and producers.

From the Conscious Consumer, Fast Fashion Solutions

Purchase less new garments.

To avoid succumbing to temptation, strive to avoid:
Brands have a reputation for being lightning quick.
Discount retailers and strip malls.
Following fads
Using social media to follow companies and fashion influencers
Look for a communal clothes swap or go to your local thrift store or secondhand shop. Look
for secondhand and recycled clothing on the internet. Instead of buying a new dress for a big
event, rent it.
Purchase high-quality items that will endure a long time.
Avoiding mass-produced, low-cost fast fashion allows us to make place in our wardrobes and
wallets for higher-quality clothing from reputable companies. Consider what you already
have and what you truly need while putting together a mindful wardrobe.
No matter where they are in the globe, online purchasing allows the common individual to
support superior companies that match with their beliefs. Transparent brands frequently
publish their production standards, material origins, and other information on their websites.

Try custom clothing brands that are made-to-order.

Small and agile enough to manufacture thoughtfully, sustainable start-ups are small and
nimble enough to survive. Small batch businesses painstakingly manufacture goods using
sustainable textiles and release only one collection at a time to fulfill customer demands.

Wash your clothing less frequently.

After each wear, clothing does not need to be washed in the washing machine. In every wash,
athletic gear and anything made of synthetics produces microplastics, the majority of which
bypass water filtering devices and end up in recirculated water sources. Natural fabrics, such
as Merino wool and organic cotton, are infamous for collecting perspiration, but as they dry
out, they emit smells. So, even if you work up a sweat, air-dry your clothes between washes
to conserve water and energy while also protecting your clothes.

Take good care of what you have.

When you do wash your items, make sure you follow the care recommendations. That
implies that labels that say "hand wash only" truly indicate that the items should be washed
by hand. The extra work prolongs the life of a garment and keeps carefully constructed items
looking great. Keep a basic sewing equipment on available, and keep track of where those
excess buttons from excellent clothes go. Even the most elementary sewing abilities can
typically fix small rips, missing buttons, and even damaged zippers.

Save outdated clothing in your closet.

Fashion follows a cyclical pattern. Keep a good pair of high-waisted, thin jeans and bell-
bottoms on hand since they'll be back in style shortly. Save for the future and pass on high-
quality products to future generations.
Make eco-friendly clothes fashionable.
Let us praise those who reuse, recycle, and make outfits endure a long time as a culture.
Every time you have, invite them to join the sustainable fashion movement. Support the
marketplace for sustainable clothing and reject the cultural connection to everything new to
break down obstacles to ethical fashion. Solicit ethically manufactured apparel from main
street merchants so that all of your neighbors can wear it.

Share your discoveries with others, and urge them to value quality above quantity. Share your
expertise and call out elitism when it seeps into talks about clothes to help deconstruct the
often-exclusive world of fashion.
References

2021, https://impakter.com/fast-fashion-effect-on-the-environment/. Accessed 14 July 2021.

Schlossberg, Tatiana. "How Fast Fashion Is Destroying The Planet (Published 2019)".
Nytimes.Com, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/03/books/review/how-fast-fashion-is-
destroying-the-planet.html.

Hall, Amy. "How To Avoid Fast Fashion: Solutions & A New Relationship To Our Clothes".
Grow Ensemble, 2021, https://growensemble.com/fast-fashion-solutions/.
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