The amount of resources required and waste produced by the fashion industry is inarguably massive. According to the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion, the fashion industry is the second-biggest consumer of water, generating roughly 20% of the world’s wastewater. The industry is also responsible for a massive 8-10% of global carbon emissions, which is more than maritime shipping and international flights combined.
Part of these emissions come from unsustainably grown and harvested cotton — from the irrigation water required for irrigation to oil-based pesticides and machinery used for harvesting. According to the estimates published by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, fashion industry emissions are expected to increase by 60% by 2030.
On top of that are emissions generated from transportation of these products all over the world as well as the fact that so much of it ends up being thrown out as people try to keep up with trends.
According to a study by researchers at Finland’s Aalto University, the textile industry produces more than 92 million tonnes of waste per year globally, while the Global Fashion Agenda forecasts that by 2030, a figure that will skyrocket to 148 million tonnes per year.
Kirsi Niinimäki and other authors of the study have concluded that slow fashion is the solution to this alarming problem. However, they have also emphasised that it takes the consolidated effort of all stakeholders, from designers and manufacturers to end consumers, to ensure this new framework is effective and sustainable in the long term.
On the workforce level, the fast fashion industry also raises ethical concerns related to the workers’ rights to a fair living wage and safe working conditions. When a shirt costs just US$2 to make, it is almost certain that the people engaged are exploited and underpaid, and such production is guaranteed not to be environmentally friendly as well.
As society has begun to take stock of the problems that fast fashion poses, more clothing brands and consumers are seeking sustainable alternatives to fast fashion offerings. /BGNES