Fashion and Ecology, two very important aspects of the world we live in. One caters the aesthetic side and the other relates to our health as well as protecting our planet. The question is how do we make both ends meet? Or can we make both ends meet?
“Inherent in today’s global economic system is the wasteful use of resources, labor and capital. This need to be addressed. Waste is not only things like via not recycling etc.; it is deep within the system.”[1]
We currently live in a society where it doesn’t really matter anymore purchasing good quality clothing, what is important is to be trendy, to buy what’s “in” this season and get rid of it the next one. If you think about it, have you ever asked yourself what happens to all of these outdated clothes? And if you go even deeper, you can question what about all the procedures these materials go through to become the garments you purchase at stores.
“It can take more than 20,000 liters of water to produce 1kg of cotton, equivalent to a single t-shirt and pair of jeans. Up to 8,000 different chemicals are used to turn raw materials into clothes, including a range of dyeing and finishing processes.”[2]
Here is where the problem stars, production, but how do we make production ecological? What is deteriorating our planet is the extraction of raw materials to turn them into goods. It’s from the beginning that the system is already wrong. Even if we ignored this fact, what about all the underpaid workers that work for these enormous companies? What about the consumers, that buy because of this idea of capitalism? What about the government that doesn’t regulate these companies? What about transportation?
An article that talks about Inditex, (which retails clothing for Zara, Massimo Dutti and other big brands), the ridiculous system of transportation that Imran Amed and Kate Abnett explain – “Currently, 70 percent of Inditex’s stores are in Europe, 9 percent are in the Americas and 21 percent are in the rest of the world. But since 2011, the group has almost doubled its store count in China from 275 to 500 and, if this pace of growth continues, it will soon be hard to justify moving goods between continents and back again — from an Asian factory, to Spain, back to an Asian store — in terms of wasted time, wasted resources and negative environmental impact.”[3]
“Globalization, consumerism, and recycling all converge to connect these scenes. Globalization has made it possible to produce clothing at increasingly lower prices, prices so low that many consumers consider this clothing to be disposable.”[4]
There have been amazing changes in the fashion industry such as the well-known designer Stella McCartney, who has fought and challenged herself to promote sustainability within her collections, encouraging respect for people, nature and animals.
However, the raw truth is although there does exist amazing designers who are aware of our planet and take action to change this. The problem isn’t close to getting solved, there is still a long way to being able to change the system, because these companies of mass production are at their highest point of success, why should they change their ways and step down, if their systems have been giving results so far?
The fashion business is dying, and many designers and creatives can confirm this, it’s ironic to think that you can get rip-off designs from high-end brands at basically any retail store, without having to pay the price. I believe that if people knew all the facts behind each piece of clothing they bought, this would make society way more aware and careful of what they buy and where they buy it.
There are so many solutions to making fashion ecological, but the true problem is if the consumers are willing to purchase higher quality clothing for more money, if their willing to buy less for more? The common answer would be no. Leaving us with the question What now?
Bibliographical Note:
Anup Shah “Consumption and Consumerism” Global Issues, 2015.
Business of Fashion The Issue “How can the fashion industry become more sustainable?”. Business of Fashion, 2015.
Imran Amed and Kate Abnett “Inditex: Agile Fashion Force” Business of Fashion, 2015.
Bob Petz “Waste Couture: Environmental Impact of the Clothing Industry” Ecology Global Network, 2010.
Stella McCartney “Sustainability” Stella McCartney.
[1] Anup Shah “Consumption and Consumerism” Global Issues, January 5, 2015, accessed March 28, 2018. http://www.globalissues.org/issue/235/consumption-and-consumerism
[2] Business of Fashion The Issue “How can the fashion industry become more sustainable?”. Business of Fashion, March 29, 2015, accessed March 10, 2018. https://www.businessoffashion.com/community/voices/discussions/can-fashion-industry-become-sustainable/op-ed-sustainable-or-superficial
[3] Imran Amed and Kate Abnett “Inditex: Agile Fashion Force” Business of Fashion, March 30, 2015, accessed March 10, 2018. https://www.businessoffashion.com/community/voices/discussions/can-fashion-industry-become-sustainable/inditex-agile-fashion-force
[4] Bob Petz “Waste Couture: Environmental Impact of the Clothing Industry” Ecology Global Network, November 2, 2010, accessed March 28, 2018. http://www.ecology.com/2010/11/02/environmental-impact-clothing-industry/
