Why fashion sustainability is important?

Ed Gribbin, a long-time senior executive of the global fashion innovations company Alvanon and currently the president of Gribbin Strategic, well known as the expert on fashion innovation and sustainability, gave a webinar presentation on apparel waste and ways to combat it.

People often ask, what’s the point of customizable on-demand clothing and fashion sustainability, when the fashion business offers its clients so much variety for such low prices that it’s possible to simply buy apparel, wear it once, and throw it away?

The figures and quotes that Mr.Gribbin cited in his presentation explain very well why the current fashion model is unsustainable in a long run, and why the world needs the contemporary fashion technologies that companies such as ShareCloth try to introduce to the global market.

83% of drinking water samples worldwide test positive for microscopic plastic fibers, which come from the laundry wastewater, and polyester garments, which account for the lion’s share of cheap fashion, can shed over 1,900 fibers per wash.

Between 20 and 60% of all garments end up in the waste within first year of their life, and as vice-president of Levi’s Paul Dillinger says:

“If six out of 10 garments we produce end up in a landfill or incinerated within the first year of production, should we have made those six?”

Considering that at least 80 bln new garments are produced globally every year, that means that between 16 bln and 48 bln articles of clothing end up being wasted either because no one buys them or because people buy them, discover that they don’t fit well or that the quality of the fabric is too low, and throw them away after one or two tries.

This is why we at ShareCloth strive to convince the fashion business to switch to the on-demand production. We want the companies to produce only those garments that were paid for by the customers and to avoid manufacturing waste that ends up in the landfills and pollutes our planet. And we want the customers to wear their clothes for longer than one or two times, and we believe that it’s possible when the garments are made from better fabrics and to their individual size, which is what the technology of on-demand manufacturing allows.

Turn to the on-demand side!