Sustainability’s Status in the Fashion Industry
The fashion industry has promoted sustainability over the last ten years. Many brands have set goals to use more recycled or organic materials in production.
However, despite these efforts, the industry still has much work to do to become more sustainable. As one of the largest polluters, the industry significantly impacts our planet.
Reuse
Reusing products is one of the most important ways to help improve sustainability. Doing so can reduce the need to buy new items and avoid all the waste and costs of creating new things from virgin materials.
As the environmental impact of fashion continues to grow, more brands are turning to sustainable practices to reduce their carbon footprint. For example, they may strive to minimize the amount of water and energy used in their manufacturing processes, minimize byproduct waste, and use recycled or biodegradable shipping materials.
Another way the fashion industry is becoming more sustainable is by recycling and reusing textiles and other waste. This is an excellent step because it reduces the need for new fabrics and decreases the energy and water used in production.
Despite these advancements, the sustainability in fashion industry still has a long way to go. While many companies are working towards a more sustainable future, making the sector completely waste-free is still necessary.
Recycle
Recycling is an essential step in the fashion industry because it reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills or incinerated. It also incentivizes manufacturers to adopt environmentally friendly production practices and reduce energy and water consumption.
Recycled polyester reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 25-70% compared to virgin polyester. The textile industry also sees a similar reduction in carbon emissions when recycled plastics are used as new materials (Leal et al., 2019).
Another critical step in the fashion industry is upcycling. Upcycling is turning pre-consumer and post-consumer textile waste into new products with a higher value than the original garment.
Upcycling is increasingly being adopted by designers throughout the fashion industry. It is a design-based approach to circularity and has the potential to revolutionize the way textiles are made, sold and reused.
Garments can contain up to 20 percent recycled fibers without negatively affecting their quality or durability. However, the textile recycling industry still has much room for improvement. The main challenges include difficulty sorting and reprocessing different fibers, cost, time and technology.
Repair
Repair is becoming increasingly important in the fashion industry, with many brands offering repair services encouraging consumers to mend damaged clothing instead of throwing it out. Kering, for example, is expanding its Shanghai specialist repair hub as part of a circularity strategy released in May 2023, while Hugo Boss plans to introduce options to fix items on its resale platform later this year.
Repairing can be as simple as sewing up a hole or as committed as taking your shoes to a professional cobbler. It’s a way to prolong the life of clothing and help reduce its environmental impact, but it can also be time-consuming.
Despite the importance of repairing in the fashion industry, it still needs to be widely practiced by most people. This is probably caused by several things, such as a general lack of knowledge about repairs and the fact that getting repairs done can be expensive.
However, there are ways to make repairing more accessible to more people, including educating consumers about the benefits of improving. This is something outdoor apparel brands such as Patagonia have already started to do, but it should become a more industry-wide approach that includes fashion apparel.
Repurpose
Repurposing is an excellent way to reuse materials in a new manner, thereby keeping them out of landfills and reducing land, water, and air pollution. It also encourages creativity and saves money by using existing items instead of buying new ones.
Fashion production involves a vast amount of resources and takes many different steps to create a single garment. This process includes growing the raw material and transporting it to several locations worldwide for dyeing, cutting, sewing and packaging before it is distributed globally.
Unfortunately, this process is time-consuming and consumes vast water and energy. It also has the added problem of using huge quantities of chemicals, which can have adverse environmental and human health effects.
Reusing clothing is a great way to break this cycle of waste and environmental damage. For example, Eileen Fisher offers its customers the chance to send in their old clothes and have them re-sewn into new pieces such as skirts, jackets, and vests.
Recycle Again
Recycling again can mean many things, from participating in a clothing swap with your friends to buying new pieces made from recycled materials and fibers. It’s a great way to save money and reduce your environmental impact while also giving you a unique piece of clothing that you can use.
Many companies are committed to using recycled fabrics in their collections. Even though more and more brands are adopting these methods, a massive amount of textile waste still needs to be produced in the fashion industry. This means that the fashion industry still needs to significantly increase its recycling efforts to make a difference on a global scale. This is why a circular economy approach is so important. It can reduce the amount of textile waste in landfills and help the industry become more sustainable.