Will the Fashion Industry ever be truly Sustainable?

Written by Lucie Scull 


Fashion has been an incredible outlook for creativity and self-expression for years. But as time has progressed fashion has become more and more about the latest trends and styles, causing the introduction of the term, Fast-Fashion. 

Fast-Fashion is “inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to the latest trends”. Compared to Slow-Fashion which is “Slow fashion is the movement of designing, creating, and buying garments for quality and longevity. It encourages slower production schedules, fair wages, lower carbon footprints, and (ideally) zero waste”

Currently, the fashion industry is accountable for 10% of the world's Carbon Emissions, this includes manufacturing, transport and production.  The fashion industry predominantly uses synthetic fibres such as polyester and nylon which are created from fossil fuels. In order to make clothes more sustainable, fibres like natural organic cotton need to be used instead of the synthetic fibres.   


“Cheap synthetic fibers also emit gases like N2O, which is 300 times more damaging than CO2.” 
James Conca, Forbes

What's being done to make the Fashion industry more sustainable?

Eco Fashion Pioneer, Livia Firth, set about creating the #30wears campaign. The concept is when you are buying clothes, ask yourself will i wear it 30 times. The concept works to eliminate the one time wear items of clothing. The occasion when you must buy a new dress but it’s such a statement you can’t see yourself wearing it again. This motto helps us to be more conscious of our fashion shopping habits. 


“The biggest message is every time you buy something, always think, ‘will I wear it a minimum of 30 times?’ If the answer is yes, then buy it,” says Livia Firth. “But you’d be surprised how many times you say no.”
Livia Firth, #30wears


Burberry announced earlier this month their ReBurberry Fabric. The idea is that Burberry will donate all their left over materials to students across England. The aim is to reduce waste and support young creatives starting out in the fashion industry.


“We are delighted to partner with the British Fashion Council to launch ReBurberry Fabric. Providing resources  in a sustainable way will enable them to bring their creativity to life.”
Pam Batty, VP of Corporate Responsibility at Burberry

Whilst the movement is slow and gradual, Brands and Designers are making sustainability more and more of a priority. It is down to us, as the consumer and clients to be more conscious of our shopping as demand effects the supply. 

 

 

 

 




 


 

1 comment

Rosie

We definitely need to work towards minimising the fast fashion industry! Well said! 👏

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