What Is Sustainable Fashion and Why Does It Matter?
In college, I would go out every Friday afternoon to purchase a new outfit for whatever party was happening that weekend. It was my therapeutic weekly routine. I’d take a 20-minute walk down to Newbury Street and hit up Forever 21 or H&M for the latest find that fit the party’s theme.
Week after week, my closet grew. By the time I moved out of my sophomore year apartment, I had two large suitcases of clothes more than I started out with (100-150 new articles of clothing)!
That experience of sorting, moving, and packing all those garments woke me up to exactly how much I was consuming. The hassle of packing scared me into inadvertently buying less and unknowingly, my journey to conscious consumption and sustainable-ish fashion began.
At that time, sustainable fashion wasn’t a conversation that people were having and I never thought of it as a way of living. It wasn’t until 2018 that I decided to cut out fast fashion entirely and buy only sustainable (or secondhand) fashion.
So what is sustainable fashion?
“Sustainable fashion is a movement and process of fostering change into fashion products and the fashion system towards greater ecological integrity and social justice. Sustainable fashion concerns more than addressing fashion textiles or products. It comprises addressing the whole system of fashion.” (Wikipedia)
Why does sustainable fashion matter?
Sustainable fashion (ethical fashion, conscious fashion, or eco fashion), is crucial because provides some balance to the negative effects of the fashion industry. When consumers choose to buy in line with their values, it shifts the market and businesses have no choice but to do better.
Fast Fashion’s Impact On The Environment:
The global apparel and footwear industry accounts for 8% of the world’s greenhouse emissions. (Quantis, 2018)
The fashion industry’s CO2 emissions are projected to increase to nearly 2.8 billion tons per year by 2030--equivalent to the emissions of 230 million passenger vehicles driven for a year! Global Fashion Agenda 2017)
15.1 million tonnes of textile waste generated in 2013 (NPR) and as much as one garbage truck of textiles goes to landfill or is burned every second. (Ellen MaCarthur Foundation)
Conventional fast fashion is a huge contributor to climate change and if we continue to move in this trajectory, there will be no going back. From food and water scarcity to disaster displacement, climate-related changes are going to increasingly impact our way of life. Now more than ever, there is a need to reduce carbon emissions and halt, or even reverse the impact that we’ve had on the globe.
Now what? How do I make my wardrobe sustainable?
I know, I know, the world of sustainable fashion is overwhelming. Where do you even start?
Begin with mindfulness and curiosity.
As with any lifestyle change, start small. Take note of how much and what exactly you’re buying. With each article of clothing, ask yourself (and answer truthfully), whether or not you’re going to wear that piece again and again or if it’s just going to sit in your closet.
Be curious!
The conversation around sustainable fashion is constantly changing and honestly, the best part about this journey is that there’s no clear right and wrong. We’re all just trying to make a positive impact on the world so open the conversation up to your friends or online community and get to connecting!
Remember that the sustainable fashion journey is one that you’re committed to for the long haul. We’re all human and mistakes (as well as temptations) happen so remember that it’s progress over perfection. Remember, “we don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste sustainable fashion perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.” (quote adapted from the zero waste community)
Learn more about sustainable fashion by checking out these resources:
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