Addressing Sustainable Fashion

By: Morgan Boone

A shopper looks through the one of the shirt racks at the Statesboro Goodwill. Goodwill has around 3,000 different thrift stores across the U.S.

Clothes, style, and fashion can change the way a person looks. It can also change the state of our environment.

Although it may not seem like it, the fashion industry and its production are responsible for 10% of the global carbon emissions, microplastic pollution and tons of waste.

Regardless of the brand, making clothes comes at a detriment to the earth. Every step in the clothes-making process has an impact on nature, but fast fashion brands like Shein or H&M, expedite the environmental harm.

The Earth.org describes fast fashion as “cheaply produced and priced garments that copy the latest catwalk styles and get pumped quickly through stores in order to maximize on current trends.”

In 2018, UN Climate Change said that the total greenhouse gas emissions were around 1.2 billion tons annually, which was said to have increased since. UN Climate Change also said that some estimates predict emissions to rise by more than 60% by 2030, which is now only 7 years away.

Fast fashion doesn’t just pollute the air, it also leads to tons of waste as well. According to the Geneva Environment Network, 85% of all textiles go to the dump each year.

The clothes that are being produced are often low in quality and are made from synthetic and plastic materials, and because of this quality people tend to throw these clothes out as quickly as they get them.

These clothes end up in mass piles in landfills to be burned or buried or in the ocean which pollutes the water with microplastics.

The fashion industry is aware of the toll that production has on the environment and is working towards creating garments in more sustainable ways.

The brand Shein has gained popularity in the U.S. since it first launched in 2017. Shein is one of the leading fast fashion brands, reportedly making 3.1 billion in 2021 in the U.S.

“We are certainly seeing a variety of iconic luxury brands, well known retailers, small scale brands, and even newly formed startups focusing on sustainable product offerings and production strategies,” said Kyler Arnold. Arnold is a lecturer of Fashion Merchandising and Apparel Design at Georgia Southern.

Sustainable fashion means that the industry and brands put their efforts into reducing their environmental and ethical impact when creating clothing.

To uphold this idea, fashion can take many forms. Whether that means making clothes that are being made from fabric like organic cotton, hemp or linen or repurposing old clothes into a new garment, there are multiple ways to still get new pieces without having to harm the environment.

Putting effort into this movement means that the rate of production does slow down, and that does come at a cost for not only the industry, but consumers as well.

“Sustainable fashion does come at a cost,” Arnold said. “With more time and energy on ethical materials comes high price tags and that is to be expected.”

Thrifting and consignment stores have a positive impact when it comes to sustainability, and it gives consumers an opportunity to buy unique pieces without them having to doll out their last penny to buy something new.

“It’s economical and a lot of people do it because you can find new, used, as well as one-of-a-kind items,” Goodwill Manager Maria Sherffield said.

The industry is also trying to influence the buying behaviors of consumers to help the sustainability movement.

Consumers are used to buying and overconsuming inexpensive clothing that is produced quickly and in mass quantities. By getting them to think about where their clothes are coming from and the quality of said clothes, the hope is that it will lessen consumption and reduce the impact to the environment.