Sustainable fashion refers to initiatives within the fashion industry aimed at minimising environmental impacts, ensuring fair treatment of garment workers, and promoting animal welfare.
The fashion industry, known for its vibrancy and dynamism, is also among the most resource-intensive and polluting sectors worldwide. Its environmental footprint is extensive, involving considerable water pollution, waste generation, and greenhouse gas emissions. The excessive water usage in cotton cultivation, the release of untreated dyes into water bodies, the high carbon footprint from global supply chains, and the vast amounts of textile waste in landfills all contribute to the industry’s significant impact on the planet.
The 7 R’s for Fashion Sustainability
- Reduce
The life of our clothes could be extended much, much longer if we reduced the amount of machine washing and drying. - Reuse
Be a proud Outfit Repeater! Use your creativity to wear an item 30 times or more. - Recycle
Many textiles can be recycled — even your undies and holey socks. They can go in the donation bin along with household textiles and clean, dry garments, shoes and accessories. - Research
Research the big global brands you want to support and the brands you don’t. - Repurpose
Unused or ripped leather can be turned into clutches, bags and totes. T-shirts can be repurposed into totes, pillow cases, necklaces, and even braided carpets. - Repair
Many clothes and shoes with rips or holes are disposed of rather than donated, but with a little DIY or expert skill, there could be many more wears left in your faves. - Rent
In some ways, this R is not too different than Reuse, but we want to draw attention to an emerging business model which is called the “sharing economy”.
By adopting sustainable fashion practices, you can help reduce your carbon footprint and support a more environmentally friendly and ethical fashion industry.
