When one thinks of fashion, words like glamour, style, trends, etc. immediately strike the mind instead of words like sustainable, environmentally friendly, or ethical. However, in the next 10-50 years, the most important question the fashion industry needs to ask is how sustainable it is. Sustainability is an increasingly important discussion as we hurtle towards breaching the limits of our planet; with some arguing that fashion is the second most polluting industry in the world after oil and gas. It’s responsible for a staggering 4 to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions annually. Choosing sustainable fashion is a very important alternative that we are able to all build to help address what is a growing and vital issue. What’s sustainable fashion and why will it matter?
In short, it’s an umbrella term for garments that are created and consumed that literally don’t affect the environment. That’s why reducing CO2 emissions, addressing overproduction, reducing pollution and waste, supporting biodiversity, and safer operating conditions, are all crucial to the sustainability matrix. The fashion industry would recommend what one ought to wear. However, it remains silent regarding sustainable fashion. Anytime customers pay cash for trendy clothes, indirectly, they are telling the fashion industry what they must be doing. Hence, the customers should use this right wisely. There are several advantages to ethical and sustainable fashion.
Firstly, it’s good for the planet. The fashion industry uses harmful pesticides for growing cotton and toxic chemicals to dye materials that have a large impact on the environment. Cotton alone needs plenty of chemicals to form one shirt. Choosing organic and sustainable fabrics like organic cotton, bamboo, or hemp, will cut back the quantity of carbon and chemicals discarded into the environment, which is actually a decent practice. Secondly, it supports the employees. One can purchase garments tagged below the Fair Trade Act because it is a property on several grounds. One is sure that the consumer goods purchased have been made under the correct operating conditions, and therefore, the worker has attained fair wages. On top of that, it also benefits animals. Ensuring that one’s closet isn’t stocked with animal skin or fur products means low cruelty towards animals. Shopping for organic and renewable fibers is the simplest way to support sustainability.
Hence, they’ll contribute more towards sustainability by doing little things like washing their garments in cold water rather than hot to reduce energy consumption, using perishable detergent to forestall pollution in the environment, and drying garments in daylight instead of victimization dryers that save time, cash, and resources.
-Soniya Shakya
