Sustainable Fashion: Eco-friendly choices and practices that need to be implemented in our planet and for our planet.
Introduction
Sustainable fashion is a clothing, footwear, and accessories product design and supply chain management model that involves making environmentally and socio-economically sustainable choices throughout the life cycle of a product. Since fashion is one of the major culprits when it comes to environmental pollution, it is essential to incorporate sustainable practices into the industry.
Fast fashion, its definition and the Problems it Causes
It is fast fashion on the largest scale that is most accused of polluting the world with fashion. Frequently, mass-market brands make their clothing with minimal time and money spent on its production to supply consumers with affordable, ‘of the moment’ garments of poor quality. But this comes at a high ecological cost and it has negative repercussions for sustainable development and environmental stability. Some key issues include:
– Litter – generated from textile products and also clothing waste during the textile production process.
– The aspect of water pollution and usage from manufacturing
– Greenhouse gas emissions
– Unethical labor practices
– There [No recycling efforts]
Embracing Sustainable Materials
It is here where the choice of the materials that are used in making clothing makes a huge impact on this footprint. Some eco-friendly options include:
– Organic cotton – Produced without use of sulphur fertilizers, pesticides or other similar chemicals.
– Hemp – Takes a comparatively shorter time to grow and needs few herbicides and water
– Lyocell/Tencel – Natural fiber derived from the renewable resource, wood pulp.
– Recycled polyester – made from recycled plastics and other materials, including used plastic bottles.
Shopping Sustainably
Consumers can also make a positive change through their shopping habits:
– One should think through whether they actually ‘require’ a new piece of clothing
– The fourth and final advice is to drink water not only in moderation, but also of a good quality
– Visit thrift stores, thrift shops and other used clothing stores
– Choose brands that are associated with the ideals of sustainability.
– One should take care when using clothes to ensure that they last for a long time.
– Donate or recycle leftover materials and items
Sustainability in fashion: where to next?
Despite the improvements that have been seen recently, it is clear that there is a very long way to go before the fashion industry is entirely ethical and sustainable. In the future, it will continue by innovation in the materials, transparency from the brands, changed consumer needs, and the overall rethinking of the entire model of fast fashion. However, through educating oneself and providing preference to sustainable products, both the buyers and sellers can shape the market.
Conclusion
Fashion with its insatiable rate of production and consumption has become the biggest threat to the world, ensuring that being sustainable is no longer an option but a necessity. It is also important to note that the actions of the individuals play a critical role in bringing about changes with their legislation actions and changes in industries brought about by governments not being the only ways through which change can be brought about but through purchase and advocacy. Sustainability has to be pursued now more than ever for the fashion industry.
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