The impact greenhouse gas emissions have on global warming and climate change are very well known. These days, most of us are also aware (or becoming currently aware) of the climate footprint of food (especially meat and dairy) for the planet.
One area that is still largely unaddressed but has massive impacts on the well-being of our planet is the fashion industry. On a global level, the textile and fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The industry consumes more energy than the international aviation and shipping industry combined.
The textile industry also uses large amounts of water. Up to 20% of global waste water can be traced back to the fashion industry. Furthermore, it is also the leading cause of plastic pollution. One third of microplastics found in the ocean comes from synthetic clothing. When washing your clothes, these micro plastics enter the water stream and ultimately end up in our oceans.
To top of all that, 85% of all textiles ends up in landfills or are burned when most of the materials could be reused.
These alarming statistics illustrate the urgent need for a change in the fashion industry. If we continue mindlessly consuming fast fashion, we actively contribute to climate change and turn our planet into a dumpster hole that will soon become uninhabitable. And all of that because of our consumerist desire to look good.
Where it is obvious that we don’t want these catastrophically circumstances to continue, what can be done to stop this madness?
Slow fashion: A counter-movement
Although the consumerist demand for more clothes is constantly growing, in the last decade, largely due to the urgency to act upon environmental concerns such as climate change, a counter movement has emerged: slow fashion. Slow fashion criticizes the principles of fast fashion, such as producing the largest amount of clothes in the shortest amount of time. Often, fast fashion comes to the expense of the environment, with toxic and unsustainable production, poor quality and unethical treatment of workers. The result is the exploitation of our planet and human workforce, just for a consumerist high of having a new piece of clothing, which will then be dumped within a few months anyways.
To stop this vicious cycle, slow fashion aims at producing clothes that are more ethically made, environmentally friendly (meaning they don’t produce large amounts of carbon-dioxide, waste, toxins or use huge quantities of water) and use organic materials with higher quality garments for a longer product life and utilization.
Slow fashion advocates a shift towards a circular economy, stopping the exploitation of our planet and the workers in the textile industry. Of course, to make the shift towards a circular economy, most of all a shift in consumer behavior is needed. A circular economy of slow fashion places a bigger value on the quality of the product, production processes and the used materials. The clothes would be maintained for as long as possible and waste and resource use is minimized to create a more sustainable outlook. The following describes what a shift from fast to slow fashion would do for our planet and all of its living inhabitants.
Save water
Did you know that it takes three years of drinking water (approximately 2700 liters) to make your favorite cotton shirt? And to make one single pair of denim jeans it takes even 10,000 liters of drinking water? As stated above, the fashion industry is responsible for one fifth of global waste water. In a time where drinking water becomes more and more precious, this is unacceptable. Luckily, slow fashion aims at reducing global water waste up to 96%. The famous jeans manufacturer Levi Strauss & Co. introduced its Water<Less campaign in 2011, which reuses cotton and other finishing techniques to produce denim that saves water. Many slow fashion companies adapt and produce eco-fashion that reuse cotton or use materials that need less water such as wool, alpaca or hemp.
Less greenhouse gas emissions
The fashion industry makes up the second most polluting industry on the planet, after the oil industry. Sustainably produced fashion that centralizes the well-being of the planet over personal pleasure, focusing on producing less fashion items and therefore also producing less waste and carbon-dioxide.
Slow fashion puts the emphasis on materials that contribute less to an excessive emission of greenhouse gas, such as local materials, reused materials or even reselling items. But the biggest change needs to happen within the consumer of course: we need to buy less or reuse clothes if we want to reduce emissions of the fashion industry.
Ethically manufacturing
The current working conditions for most clothing factories in China, India, Indonesia or Bangladesh disregard human rights. Workers often have to work extremely long hours and terrible conditions for salaries that are not even enough to buy food. Many workers are also exposed to health-threatening working conditions such as toxins and chemicals.
Slow fashion puts specific focus not only on a good treatment of the environment but also on the production process and its workers. Slow fashion workers are paid fairly, do not have to work ridiculous hours and have a healthy working place, free of toxins and with enough space for them to do their work.
Less plastic waste
Using organic materials and not synthetic ones would help reduce the micro plastic pollution of our water systems and oceans. Organic materials such as hemp, linen, cotton (although not all cotton is very water-friendly), silk, wool and alpaca have a longer endurance and don’t pollute landfills and oceans as much.
What can you do as a consumer?
All of the power lies in us as the consumers. It is our decision where we put our money. The single biggest step we can do to stop the exploitation of the fast fashion industry is of course to stop buying new clothes. Re-use the clothes you have or thrift in many second hand stores. If you have clothes you don’t need anymore, also give them away, sell them, swap or donate them.
Luckily, nowadays, we don’t need to completely abstain from new fashion items. More and more slow fashion brands are emerging that emphasize an all encompassing ethical production process. Inform yourself on which brands produce ethically and which not. A great guide for this is the app GoodGuide or Buycott, which provide information on the ethical production of brands. In general, ask: where is the item produces and with which materials and what is the price for it? If you are seeing a t-shirt for five euros in a new shop, you should be suspicious. In our day and age, to look good is not enough anymore, we also need to feel good while doing so!
Written by Clara Malzer