sustainable fashion
The fashion industry creates a significant amount of pollution not only in the creation of fabric but also massive amounts of waste from the final product. Further, the fashion industry is also guilty of violating proper worker conditions for the individuals, primarily women, who create the garments.
The idea of sustainability needs to transgress only the environmental implications of creating a better world. As discussed in class, sustainability is a multifaceted term that incorporates creating a better world that sustains life. Although ensuring that companies participate in environmental changes to help increase their sustainability is important, companies also need to think about how the treatment of their workers adds to sustainability.
One way to look at fashion and the fashion industry is through the lens of a black box. A black box in science is described as a process where both inputs and outputs of the ‘box’ are known by audiences although the processes used to reach the outputs are often taken for granted. Although fashion is not necessarily a technology that can be dissected to determine how it exactly works, the processed used to create clothing and fashion as an industry can be viewed as a black box.
The fashion industry is a major polluter that is further seen through overconsumption and the rise in consumerism. Social media as also been a factor that has increased consumption of clothes by trends coming and going faster than ever seen before. Fashion trends have gone from being seasonal, a few months, to some trends only lasting a few weeks. Consumers need to be conscious of where they are attaining their clothes from and the rate that they purchase new items. Although recently there have been attempts made to discuss how clothing is made and the ethics of some clothing companies, fast fashion seems to still be misunderstood or ignored by some consumers.
Many fast fashion brands use very cheap labor to create their clothing items. Many garment workers are forced to work very long hours for very little pay. This unfair labor does result in cheap clothes for consumers but ethically major concerns are raised. With the working conditions for garment workers not being ethical, fast fashion is not sustainable for creating a better world.
The environmental impact of fast fashion is very severe. According to the United Nations Environmental Programme in 2022, consumers are generally buying 60% more clothing than previously while wearing these items for around half as long as in the past. Since the COVID 19 pandemic, there is an increase in consumerism, yet there also is an increase in education relating to the process of producing these clothes. This signals to me that the education on this topic is not being related in a way that resonates with consumers. By being very disconnected to the process of making clothes, it is easy for consumers to not associate the clothing they are buying with the labor and processes involved in making the clothes. Further, discarded clothing makes up a significant amount of waste in the landfill.
Overall, consumers need to be more aware and conscious of their choices when buying clothes. One way that consumers can be more aware of their buying habits is to look at how often they are buying new clothes. Further, checking labels and shopping with brands that are more environmentally conscious and/or use fair working practices is another way that consumers can help to combat fast fashion. Fashion is a big pollutant currently and to change to become more sustainable, a place for consumers to start is by looking into the black box that is the fashion industry.
Download Opening the Black Box of Climate Change Science – Besel (2011).pdf
https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/environmental-costs-fast-fashion