Sustainable fashion

Sustainable fashion (also known as eco-fashion) is a term describing products, processes,

activities, and actors (policymakers, brands, consumers) aiming to achieve a carbon-neutral

fashion industry, built on equality, social justice, animal welfare, and ecological integrity.

Sustainable fashion concerns more than addressing fashion textiles or products. It addresses

the entire process in which clothing is produced, consumed and disposed; who, what, how,

when, where and the expected useful life of the product before entering landfill. The

sustainable movement looks to combat the large carbon footprint that fast fashion has created

by reducing the environmental impact of fashion such as air pollution, water pollution and

overall climate change.

In 2020, it was found that an approach of voluntary self-directed reform of textile

manufacturing supply chains to reduce the environmental impact of fashion by large

companies had failed. Measures to reform fashion beyond greenwashing needed to involve

policies for the creation and enforcement of standardized certificates along with related

import controls, subsidies and eco-tariff-like interventions.

Purpose

Adherents of the sustainable fashion movement believe that the fashion industry has a clear

opportunity to act differently, pursuing profit and growth while also creating new value and

deeper wealth for society and therefore for the world economy. The goal of sustainable

fashion is to create flourishing ecosystems and communities through its activity. The

movement believes that clothing companies ought to place environmental, social, and ethical

improvements on management's agenda. This may include: increasing the value of local

production and products; prolonging the lifecycle of materials; increasing the value of
timeless garments; reducing the amount of waste; and reducing the harm to the environment

as a result of production and consumption. Another goal is to educate people to practice

environmentally friendly consumption by promoting the "green consumer", which can allow

for the company itself to gain more support and a larger following.Green consumerism is the

shift in consumer behavior attitudes advocating for the efficient use of energy, which

ultimately helps in saving money, reducing utility bills, lowering emissions of greenhouse

gas, and enabling economies to meet the growing energy demands. In recent years there has

been an increase in research centered around consumer reactions to the advent of green

products within fast fashion. Critics doubt the effectiveness that this has, but companies have

already begun slowly transitioning their business models to fit a more eco-friendly and

sustainable future. Thus the industry has to change its basic premise for profit, yet this is slow

coming as it requires a large shift in business practices, models and tools for assessment.

"Fast fashion"

One of the most apparent reasons for the current unsustainable condition of the fashion

system is related to the temporal aspects of fashion; the continuous stream of new goods onto

the market, or what is popularly called "fast fashion." The term fast fashion is used to refer to

the fast paced production of goods at an unethical level which often has a negative impact on

the environment. As a way to conform to the latest fashion styles and keep consumers

wanting new garments, current fast fashion trends pre-suppose selling clothing in large

quantities. Due to fast fashion being affordable and able to keep up with the trends, there has

been an increase in apparel consumption. Consumption has risen to 62 million tonnes

annually and is projected to reach 102 million tonnes by 2030.

"Slow" fashion
Slow fashion can be seen as an alternative approach against fast fashion, based on principles

of the slow food movement. Characteristics of sustainable fashion match the philosophies of

"slow fashion" in that emotional, ecological and ethical qualities are favored over uniform

and bland convenience with minimal friction. It requires a changed infrastructure and a

reduced through-put of goods. Categorically, slow fashion is neither business-as-usual nor

just involving design classics. Nor is it production-as-usual but with long lead times. Slow

fashion is a vision of the fashion sector built from a different starting point. Slow fashion is a

fashion concept that reflects a perspective, which respects human living conditions,

biological, cultural diversity and scarce global resources and creates unique, personalized

products.

Garment use and lifespan

The environmental impact of fashion also depends on how much and how long a garment is

used. With the fast fashion trend, garments tend to be used half as much as compared to 15

years ago. This is due to the inferior quality of fabrics used but also a result of a significant

increase in collections that are being released by the fashion industry. Typically, a garment

used daily over years has less impact than a garment used once to then be quickly discarded.

Studies have shown that the washing and drying process for pair of classic jeans is

responsible for almost two-thirds of the energy consumed through the whole of the jeans' life,

and for underwear about 80% of total energy use comes from laundry processes. The dyeing

process also contributes close to 15%-20% of wastewater. For this reason, innovative

techniques are being introduced to reduce energy and water consumption, such as utilizing

CO2 in the dyeing process. Thus, use and wear practices affect the lifecycles of garments and

needs to be addressed for larger systemic impact.However, there is a significant difference

between making a product last from making a long-lasting product. The quality of the
product must reflect the appropriate fit into its lifecycle. Certain garments of quality can be

repaired and cultivated with emotional durability. Low-quality products that deteriorate

rapidly are not as suitable to be "enchanted" with emotional bonds between user and product.

It is important to notice that choosing and promoting "emotional bonds" with consumer

objects is an endeavor more easily done under circumstances of excess, as the needy have no

other option than to keep and care for their belongings.