Can the fashion industry be sustainable?
The latest marketing buzz word
The food industry is doubling down on vegan, the automotive industry on electric, and the fashion industry on sustainable.
Ironically, the latest trend in fashion is not on the runway. Instead, it’s on words. Terms such as sustainable, carbon-neutral, and eco-friendly have stolen center stage from models, designers, and stylists.
Despite the enormous PR efforts to convey the industry’s progress, can the fashion industry really be sustainable?
Definitions
Before we get into the details, it’s important to highlight the ambiguity of the terms.
While terms such as sugar-free, organic, or free-range are regulated in the US by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), sustainable is a term with no form of accountability. There’s no numerical threshold to use it, no clear regulatory body, and no penal consequence.
As a result, there’s been a rise in greenwashing, which is when brands provide misleading information to market themselves as environmentally friendly. Instead of focusing on what they can do for the planet, the focus is on what they can do to improve their public perception. Unfortunately, this has led to a general skepticism of sustainable initiatives.
The Business
Fashion companies, like any other business, are dependent on financial results to ensure survival. To do so, they aim for bigger sales, margins, and profits.
While it’s in their interest to continue growing, it’s also in direct contradiction to reducing their carbon footprint — and thus becoming more sustainable. How can more garments possibly be good for the environment? Even though they may have better footprints than a decade ago, they’re still carbon footprints nonetheless.
Furthermore, although it’s beneficial for them to tag products as sustainable because it drives more sales, it’s not financially lucrative to make eco-friendly products — as they’re more costly to produce.
The Facts
The fashion industry has seen tremendous growth in the last couple of decades. Due to our insatiable demand for more, the average consumer now buys 60% more apparel than 15 years ago.
Though this has led to millions of jobs, it has also been to the detriment of the environment. According to a 2018 study by the United Nations:
“Nearly 20% of global waste water is produced by the fashion industry, which also emits about 10% of global carbon emissions.”
For more relatable figures, let’s take a look at denim jeans. Just to make one pair, we need 10,000 liters of water. That’s equivalent to a staggering 10 years of drinking water for the average person.
According to sustainability consultants Quantis, in a business-as-usual scenario:
“The apparel industry’s climate impact is expected to increase 49% by 2030, meaning the apparel industry will nearly equal today’s total annual US greenhouse gas emissions.”
The Products
The proliferation of fast fashion brands such as Zara, H&M, and Primark has translated into consumers buying more for less.
One campaign per season used to be the norm. Instead, brands have exacerbated the problem through faster production, higher product turnover, and more designs — all of which encourage even more consumption. Unfortunately, the cheap price tags of fast fashion garments don’t reflect the environmental costs.
That said, the fashion industry has emerged as an essential part of the world economy — especially for developing nations. Valued at over $2.5 trillion, the industry plays a crucial part in the livelihood of people, companies, and entire nations.
The Consumers
While brands have aggressively pushed for growth, consumers are still, in some part, to blame. After all, it’s a matter of basic supply and demand. If there’s little demand from consumers, there’s not going to be as much supply.
Accordingly, consumers can dictate change. This begins with a mere change in mindset. Most of us gauge an item based on how fashionable it is. Instead, we should start gauging based on the utility. This way, we would only buy what we need and intend to keep.
As much as renewable energy, energy efficiency, and circular economies help reduce the footprint, they are still expensive solutions. The simple fix is to stop buying cheap clothing. Instead of buying five mediocre T-shirts, just buy one quality T-shirt that will last you longer than the other five combined.
Takeaways
The fashion industry will likely have a negative impact on the environment for the foreseeable future. That’s the harsh reality. Although an occasional campaign may be made wholly out of recycled plastic, that’s a mere fraction of the thousands of products in inventory.
- For many, clothing represents an expression of identity, but we seem to have forgotten about the core use — namely, protection and comfort.
- Although many brands want the opposite, the most obvious way to help the planet is to buy less.
- Despite what fashion insiders may say, sustainability and fashion mix just as poorly as oil and water — at least for now.
