Research - Why the Sustainability in Fashion is Crucial?

    Why the sustainability in fashion is important? Sustainability in clothing helps the environment stay healthy by reducing waste, encouraging ethical practices along the whole supply chain, and positively impacting the environment (Ellevate, n. d). So, I considered making the material for my project designs sustainable; the purpose is to help the environment by reducing the litter that is hard to recycle. However, achieving a sustainable product in fashion has a challenge that needs to be faced, such as the material of clothing, consumer sentiment, and more. 

  The clothing material is one of the significant challenges the fashion industry needs to deal with. The reason is that 'Many traditional fashion materials, such as cotton and polyester, are not environmentally friendly and can require large amounts of water and energy to produce' (Sankar, 2023). Even though there is sustainable cotton, which is organic cotton, and there are recycled polyester fibers that good for the environment, the cost of these materials is higher than that of cotton and polyester. Also, using non-toxic dyes and reducing water use makes the final product more expensive.

  After that, consumer sentiment also needs to be considered by the fashion industry because they are rarely concerned with the environmental impacts. Also, sustainable clothing is relatively expensive, and the consumer is more likely to pay for something cheap, especially in the Gen Z generation, who have not seen or cared about sustainable clothing. Moreover, the 'youngsters may not find sustainable fashion attractive' (Sankar, 2023). So, they are most likely to choose something eye-catching and cheap, like fast fashion.

Types of Sustainabilty in Fashion

    This picture shows the six types of sustainability in fashion. Wearing a sustainable product can help the environment more awake from the damage caused by toxic clothing. 'The United Nations Environment Program has estimated that nearly one garbage truck filled with clothes is either dumped in landfills or burned every second.' (Mello, 2021). This statement states that clothes can harm the earth through deforestation, overgrazing, pollution, water waste, and others. In order to help the world be healthier, we need to know about the advantages of sustainable clothing to support reducing waste that endangers the environment.

Fast Fashion Brands

   The image shows the brands included in fast fashion, for instance, H&M, Shein, Zara, Uniqlo, and more. These are the brands that most people use, especially Gen Z. The brands produce attractive designs of clothes that are relatively cheap. However, the disadvantage of fast fashion is that the quality of the fabric could be better because it is so easily damaged. The material they use to make the clothing is plastic fibre, which hard decomposes in the soil, making one of the impacts that causes environmental toxicity. Additionally, 'Wastewater contaminated with toxic dyes and the use of harmful chemicals also contribute to the industry's devastating impact on the planet' (Algamal, 2019).

  So, from this research about the importance of sustainability in fashion, I will consider the material that I will use for my designs in my project because the material in clothing is the most vital to help the environment furthest away from damage because of toxicity that caused by the dangerous material, such as wool, bamboo, satin, silk, and more.

    References

Algamal, A. (2019). NEW SHOCKING FACTS ABOUT THE IMPACT OF FAST FASHION ON OUR CLIMATE. [online] OXFAM. Available at: https://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam-in-action/oxfam-blog/new-shocking-facts-about-the-impact-of-fast-fashion-on-our-climate/?pscid=ps_ggl_gr_Google+Grants+-+Blog_Blog+-+Fast+Fashion&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA3uGqBhDdARIsAFeJ5r2L2574k27CQ3UtEVTU9lmvkQrmeCL2S0rwlJ8vfvJb9wb7Aes8iSUaAoCCEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds.

Ellevate (n.d.). Why Sustainable Fashion Matters. [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ellevate/2019/10/07/why-sustainable-fashion-matters/?sh=5789eb7c71b8 [Accessed 19 Nov. 2023].

Mello, N. (2021). 10 Ethical & Sustainable Clothing Brands You’ve Never Heard of in 2021. [online] 8 Billion Trees: Carbon Offset Projects & Ecological Footprint Calculators. Available at: https://8billiontrees.com/eco-friendly-natural-products/ethical-sustainable-clothing-brands/.

Sankar, S. (2023). The Challenge of Sustainable Fashion. The Times of India. [online] 7 Feb. Available at: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/voices/the-challenge-of-sustainable-fashion/.