The Double Edged Sword of Fashion
Executive summary
The fast fashion industry currently impacts the environment significantly, consuming 1.5 trillion liters of water annually for materials, releasing thousands of toxic microfibers into the environment, and contributing to 4% of the earth’s carbon emissions. With the fashion industry producing more and more clothes each year, animals will slowly lose their habitat due to the amount of waste and landfill from the industry and eventually we will lose our home due to the massive amount of carbon released annually from production factories. To combat these impending crises, implementing sustainable materials and resources and recycling old clothes would significantly help the environment thrive as carbon emissions would decrease and reduce the amount of toxins introduced into the ocean annually. Fast fashion brands should slowly transition to natural and organic materials, since these materials are biodegradable, require less water to produce, and contain no plastic. In addition to natural materials, the industry should also focus on renewable energy which would effectively reduce the industry’s carbon footprint. To promote recycling, the fashion industry can set up donation boxes and from the clothes donated, brands can recycle each garment to produce a new product.
Call to Action
The fast fashion industry is infamous for the environmental damages it generates annually. The drop in prices and new trends have allowed us to buy more and more clothes than ever before. Nowadays, contemporary consumers have approximately five times more clothes than generations before. The accumulation of cheap garments is possible due to constant reduction of production costs. Consumers are satisfied with the garments they are able to purchase, but at the price of the environment. With the fashion industry continuously progressing to create more designs and trends, the earth will eventually drown in the garbage the industry throws out daily. This will not only harm the environment, but also the health and life around the planet. Humans need water and the environment to thrive in order to survive, but with the pace the industry is going, temperatures will continue to rise, water will continue to be polluted, and there will be more and more pollution reducing the air quality.
Environmental Damages of the Fashion Industry
The fast fashion industry is considered the second largest polluter in the world. The industry uses synthetic materials for the majority of clothing, and producing this material is a lot more energy-intensive than raw natural materials. Since factories usually use coal as the main source of energy during the production process, the amount of coal used leads to high carbon emissions. High carbon emissions damage the environment because it is essentially warming the earth and contributing to the global warming. According to data from McKinsey and Company, in 2018, the fashion industry produced 2.1 billion metric tons of greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions, amounting to roughly 4% of the global total (Berg, Granskog, Lee & Magnus, 2020).
In addition to generating massive levels of carbon emissions, the fashion industry is a major water consumer. The entire process of creating an article of clothing uses an immense amount of water. Annually the materials used for articles of clothing require on average 1.5 trillion liters of water (Charpail 2017). In proportion to show how much water is used, this is equivalent to about 2.6% of earth’s total freshwater. Not only does the industry use an immense amount of water, but the industry also contributes to the water pollution.
Water pollution is extremely harmful to the environment for a variety of reasons. The fashion industry releases wastewaters, which include toxic substances. Toxic substances, such as mercury, lead, and arsenic are released into rivers nearby throughout the production process (Charpail 2017). This harms not only the life in the water, but the communities that rely on the river as well. The contamination slowly moves through the water and eventually reaches the sea. When the contamination reaches the sea, it spreads around the globe.
The fast fashion industry also contributes to landfill annually because an equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is wasted every second. Since the materials used are inferior in quality, consumers typically throw out old clothes in order to keep up with trends. Due to this, the clothes become waste. This occurs because the materials used are hard to dispose of, the clothes are typically dumped into landfills nearby. Majority of the clothes use synthetic fibers as the main material and this material takes a toll on the environment because it is difficult to break down. It can take up to 200 years for the material to fully decompose (Charpail 2017).
Brands Leading the Sustainability Revolution
Brands such as Nike are leading the revolution in creating product lines made from recycled materials. Nike began using recycled materials, such as old clothes and plastic water bottles to help reduce the amount of energy and water used during the production process. Nike’s mission is to have zero waste during production and is able to do so because of planning prior to production. During this planning process, Nike aims to see how much waste is left during the production process and uses the waste to create new products. Nike has successfully optimized the usage of recycled materials and it is evident from sneakers, specifically flyknit shoes. Previously the flyknit was reinforced by fabric; however, Nike has shifted to using 100% recycled polyester yarn, made from recycled materials. Not only was Nike successful in creating a material strong enough to hold, but Nike has also diverted 4 billion plastic bottles from landfills by using polyester yarn. Currently, Nike focuses on including recycled materials in their products.
In 2020, Nike released the Space Hippie collection, which was essentially a set of sneakers made out of 100% recycled materials. The sneakers were an instant hit because of the sustainability and the models typically sell out because of their sleek design as well. According to data from SGB Media, “Nike Sportswear and Basketball drove double-digit growth in the quarter with a strong sell-through of key launches like Alphafly NEXT percent, Space Hippie and the AJ1 Flyease” (SGB Executive, 2020). The Space Hippie collection was a stepping stone for the fashion industry to showcase that it is possible to create designs out of recycled materials that can last. The quality of the shoe is also up to par with other sneakers and this shocked consumers. Nike’s creation of the Space Hippie collection shows that the usage of recycled materials can create quality better than other materials, such as synthetic fibers.
Many other brands have shifted their focus to using raw sustainable materials. Fashion powerhouse, Gucci, has successfully included these materials in their products. The powerhouse is known for their eclectic, contemporary, romantic products that represent fine Italian craftsmanship. Gucci has committed to environmental benchmarks and guarantees that 95% of products will use sustainable raw materials. In addition to guaranteeing sustainable materials in their products, Gucci created a 10 year plan to reduce environmental damages by 2025, in which “Gucci is ahead of schedule and already close to achieving its 2025 targets, as its results for 2019 reveal a 39 percent reduction for the house’s combined impacts and a 37 percent decrease in GHG emissions alone” (Zargani, 2020). The Italian powerhouse has been able to dominate the fashion industry, while pulling their efforts to create a more environmentally friendly industry. The brand is continuously progressing to reduce their environmental footprint. In order to reduce their environmental footprint, Gucci is striving to use 100% renewable energy, sustainable raw materials, and reduce carbon emissions.
As fast-fashion brands change their practices, they could still remain profitable in the long run as people are slowly preferring more sustainable practices.
Policy Recommendations
As fast fashion retailers consider adopting the sustainability practices of brands such as Nike and Gucci, the cost of making such adjustments deserves consideration.Altering production practices is expensive. Given the thin profit margins on which fast fashion brands operate, shifts to sustainable practices may compromise profitability, at least in the short term. However, in the long term, brands will be able to profit more when switching to sustainable alternatives to current production. This is due to the fact that the industry is moving at a cyclical pace, where after the peak, the industry will begin to slow down. Currently it is projected that by 2030, the fast fashion industry will double water usage and oil (Schlossberg 2019). With more usage, prices of water and gas will increase, which will likely decrease the amount of clothes people will buy in the future. On top of that, with the amount of resources the fashion industry consumes annually and will continue to consume, it will also affect the food chain. Animals will lose their habitat due to landfills and aquatic organisms, such as fish will become less abundant due to the toxins released into the oceans (Charpail 2017). Shifting to sustainable fashion would likely restart the cyclical pattern of the industry. Although the start will be slow, the industry will be able to increase profits in the long run and have a longer cyclical cycle.
Recommendation #1: Sustainable Materials
Shifting to sustainable raw materials would significantly reduce water consumption and waste. Using materials, such as natural fibers, linen, and recycled materials would significantly reduce water usage “Across its lifecycle, a linen shirt uses 6.4 liters of water compared with 26 liters for a cotton shirt” according to a report from the European Confederation of Linen & Hemp. On the other hand, cotton and synthetic fiber require a lot more water in order to dye the fabric and to grow. When articles of clothing with current materials are washed, microfibers are released into the water. Studies have shown that these microfibers are ingested by aquatic organisms when it makes its way into the ocean. This leads to plastic being introduced to the food chains. The usage of natural and organic materials would eliminate the possibility of aquatic life consuming plastic on the daily. Organic materials also have a longer lifespan than synthetic materials, which reduces the amount of clothes thrown out annually. If clothes were to be incinerated or dumped into landfills, it would affect the environment less, since these materials are biodegradable. The shift from synthetic materials to organic materials would not only be more environmentally friendly, but would also create clothes with better quality.
In addition to switching to sustainable materials, brands can utilize sustainable technologies, such as enzyme processing, natural dyeing, laser technology, and plasma technology. Small brands have been successful in utilizing these methods; for example, Luke Vicious uses enzyme processing for his clothes, which removes toxins and creates a high quality product. In addition, the enzyme processing gives his products a vintage texture, which is highly desirable in today’s current fashion. The sustainable technologies that are available today can benefit many brands because these processes give the clothing a certain vintage texture and feel that many consumers crave.
A serious impediment to this sudden transition is the consumers. Consumers are purchasing more clothes than ever before and the sudden shift would decrease the amount of clothes produced annually. However, with the shift to sustainable materials, progression towards sustainable materials, fast fashion brands will slow down the production of new clothes and revert back to the standard of two collections a year. Powerhouse fashion brands typically release two collections annually, a Fall/Winter collection and a Spring/Summer collection. Brands will be able to spend more time on design, quality, and most importantly reduce the impact the fashion industry has on the environment.
This is also beneficial to brands as data from a recent study conducted by FirstInsight shows the spending habits of consumers split by generations. In the study, it was found that Gen Z and Millennials preferred sustainable brands and were willing to spend more for sustainable products. “Combined, these generations wield around $350 billion of spending power in the US alone — around $150 billion by Gen Z and around $200 billion by millennials — research by McKinsey & Co shows” (Moran 2020). With the massive purchasing power and goal towards sustainability of Gen Z and Millennials, transitioning to sustainable fashion is quite profitable.
Recommendation #2: Renewable Energy
The main source of energy in the fashion industry is coal, which generates significant carbon emissions. As stated earlier the industry produces approximately 4% of the global greenhouse-gas emissions, to put this in perspective, “the fashion industry emits about the same quantity of GHGs per year as the entire economies of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom combined” (Berg, Granskog, Lee & Magnus, 2020).
Using a new cleaner energy source would reduce the amount of pollution released from factories annually. Factories can switch to solar energy and wind energy. Factories can place solar panels across and factories or wind turbines close to the factories in order to reduce the amount of coal used annually. Based on where the factory is located, brands can decide whether to use solar energy or wind energy. Solar panels will most likely be used over wind energy because most factories are in areas where the sun shines the most. In areas where the sun doesn’t shine, brands can place wind turbines around the factory in order to power the factory. Depending on how the factory wants to operate, factories can even use both solar and wind energy as the main source of energy. Switching to either solar or wind energy would significantly reduce carbon emissions, since coal is one of the biggest contributors to pollution.
Recommendation #3: Old is New
Brands can set up donation boxes around the world in order to promote using recycled garments as one the materials in clothes. Typically clothes that are outdated or no longer needed are thrown out and end up in landfills. The clothes sit there until they are either incinerated or eventually decompose within the next few centuries. Setting up donation boxes would eliminate the amount of clothes that end up in landfills and incinerated. Brands can take unwanted clothes and turn each garment into a new one. This would reduce the amount of materials and water used annually because the materials are essentially the same one brands use each year. As seen through Nike, recycled materials in clothing is sustainable and the quality is up to par with other clothing and sneaker brands. Nike was able to maximize and plan what to do with the recycled garments creating one of the most innovative designs on the market. If brands start to follow Nike’s initiative, fashion brands would not need to frequently release collections and stick to two collections annually like powerhouse brands.
However, this recommendation relies heavily on the consumer. Brands can set up donation boxes, but how many consumers would utilize the donation boxes. One way to incentivize consumers to use the boxes would be similar to how people receive change in return for recycling bottles. Brands could offer redeemable points for garments recycled in place of monetary value. Since the cost of materials is reduced, since the majority of materials would be recycled and were donated to the brands, brands would be able to afford implement redeemable points without decreasing revenue and profit.
What’s at Stake?
If the industry does not change, the earth will slowly become less and less inhabitable due to the increase in carbon emissions; food supplies being cut short from habitats and ecosystems being affected directly; and there will be a shortage of drinkable water, since the industry consumes an immense amount of water daily. With the industry growing, the industry will eventually collapse due to effects on the environment. The effects on the environment will increase prices of life necessities, while decreasing the demand for fashion.
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