SUSTAINABILITY IN FASHION
Leaving your consumerism behind for the sake of your own health, the environment and the welfare of other humans.
In recent years, I have become aware of how being a consumer of garments and fast fashion is detrimental to the world, and I'd like to help expand awareness of this issue. We have all bought an item based on our ego or have been influenced by the marketing schemes of the western world. We are all trying to be an individual, to express who we are by wearing our feelings and our vision of what is ‘self’. We may have never been taught at any stage in school or even by our loved ones how what we do effects the lives of others, how it impacts the environment or how it can degrade our own being. So here are some facts about the fashion industry and some fun solutions that will benefit ourselves and this world.
WORKING CONDITIONS
In Australia, 90% of clothing is bought off-shore and made by people who are barely paid $2 a day. The fashion industry is the second largest global polluter and we now consume 80 billion pieces of clothing a year. 'Fast fashion' (low-cost collections found in places such as H&M and TopShop) is one of the most unsustainable choices in fashion. In 2013 people became more aware of sweat shops after one collapsed, killing over 1000 people. Sweat shop workers have few other choices in life because of the fashion industry's greediness and the mainstream ignorance of the manufacturer's poor conditions.
ORGANIC GARNMENTS
The United States is the largest global exporter of cotton - an industry that accounts for 25% of all pesticides used in the US. In India, 250,000 cotton farmers have committed suicide in the past 15 years due to debt. That’s an estimated suicide of one person every 30 minutes. Cotton is also one of the most water and pesticide dependant crops. It takes a huge toll on the earth's soil and impacts global health due to the use of some of the most toxic chemicals. These toxic chemicals are the cause of many deaths, mutations and diseases - it is estimated that 3 million people are poisoned by pesticides and 20,000 to 40,000 are killed each year. The pesticides contaminate the water systems and kill many insects and wildlife. Encouragingly, there are now at least 12 countries with organically grown cotton and there are new approaches in sustainable materials such as hemp and bamboo.
THRIFT SHOPPING
10% of used clothing is donated to charities or thrift stores with the rest ending up in landfill. Thrift stores are ethically better than “fast fashion” to purchase a new outfit, however there are always pros and cons. 80% of all donations made to thrift stores are purported to be donated to third world countries, when in fact are sometimes sold to traders to retail and resell these garments. This affects third world countries as most people living there struggle to afford these recycled clothes, and as a result, forge dependency on western society. Other garments that aren’t sold to third world countries are chemically or mechanically recycled into raw material for manufacturing of other apparel or non-apparel products. In our day and age there are so many options and opportunities for us to improve ourselves and the world. We have so many businesses that provide recycled fashions, whether it be donated garments or recycled materials reproduced into garments.
So here it is, how we can help sustain the fashion industry!
Don’t give in to your ego. You can live without trying to look like that model at the front of the store or in the Instagram post, because honestly in the end a new dress isn’t going to love you or make you happy. These marketing schemes are there to push you to buy these things so these companies can gain money and power. If you need a new outfit, why not feed your true individual spirit and buy recycled garments - at least you’re getting a likely one-off item! There are so many possibilities these days and I would love to hear other people’s views on how we can make the fashion industry more sustainable.
I plan to interview some amazing businesses that contribute to sustainability within fashion, so keep your eyes peeled for some good humans doing good things for this world!
Here are some great articles if you would like to inform yourself more about sustainability in fashion.
https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/care-what-you-wear-facts-cotton-clothing-production
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1964887/
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainable-fashion-blog/2015/feb/13/second-hand-clothes-charity-donations-africa
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151023084508.htm
