Why Sustainable Fashion is Important in the Long Run?
In recent years, sustainable fashion has built a strong case for itself. The term “sustainability” has become a buzzword and has turned quite a few heads. Consumers today are taking a closer look at what they consume—whether it’s food, the chemicals they put into their bodies, or making better purchasing decisions to create a cleaner environment through the clothes they choose to wear every day.
Every time a fashion brand commits to offsetting its carbon emissions, it explains why doing so matters. Whenever journalists write stories about activists protesting outside Fashion Weeks, they explain the need for such actions. After all, there are countless issues competing for our attention today. So here are a few harrowing yet commonly repeated facts:
Nearly 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions come from the infamous fashion industry—more than the maritime shipping and aviation industries combined. The apparel and fast fashion industries produce and sell approximately 80 to 150 billion garments each year globally.
Overflowing Landfills
Endless amounts of clothing end up in landfills or incinerators within just a few years of being made. It has become crystal clear that the fashion industry has become deeply problematic.
Almost three-fifths of all clothing produced ends up in landfills or incinerators within only a few years. This scale is staggering. An estimated 150 billion garments produced annually is mind-boggling and a tremendous cause for concern that needs urgent attention. Estimates of fashion’s greenhouse gas emissions vary by as much as a billion tonnes, which is a colossal margin of error. Similarly, stating that three-fifths of clothing is discarded within a vague timeframe of “years” highlights how imprecise and inadequate our current data often is.
Poisoned Aquatic Life
If you glance at environmental statistics, it becomes clear that something is going horribly wrong. From poisoned rivers in Indonesia and Bangladesh, to discarded clothing littering the shores of East Africa, to microplastics found in drinking water—the impact is widespread. As long as the information available remains vague, the actions taken by governments and brands will remain vague as well. This is why we need to change our habits and embrace sustainable fashion for the long run.
What it means to Women
Many professional women today are taking a greater interest in fashion than ever before. They are paying attention not only to the quality of their garments, but also to supply chains, production processes, and product afterlife. Sustainability is seeping deep into consumer mindsets, and people are making conscious choices to change their habits over time. They are also becoming more aware that the term “sustainable fashion” does not always mean a retailer follows transparent or ethical practices.
As we already know, the biggest culprit in the fashion industry is fast fashion—clothing produced cheaply and quickly to meet demand for ever-changing trends. These practices are putting our environment at serious risk.
What many consumers and brands fail to realize is that long-term sustainability does not simply mean using bamboo-based fibres and labeling a product as “sustainable.” True sustainability exists only when the entire supply chain is sustainable. Bamboo is highlighted here because it has become so prevalent in the marketplace and is often praised for its benefits. However, we cannot achieve true sustainability while still confronting water contamination, deforestation, and water shortages. Large-scale industrial farming that displaces small farmers is the opposite of sustainability.
Consumers and brands must understand that a supply chain is its own ecosystem and must be supported and sustained indefinitely to create meaningful environmental impact. We must develop, design, and manufacture with that principle at the core.
