What is Sustainable Fashion?

We should not limit our individual impact on climate change with energy and transportation. Have you ever thought about the environmental cost of the unworn clothes you have hanging in your wardrobe? Yes, the fashion industry has an undeniable impact on climate change! Let us examine sustainable fashion trends and the fashion industry’s climate crisis dimension together.

The Role of Fashion in the Climate Crisis

As humanity’s awareness of climate change increases, discussions revolve around the impact of fossil fuels on climate crisis as well as the measures to be taken in the production process. However, consumption is an important subject that often goes unnoticed. Clothes and shoes you purchase... Fashion sector has a critical role in greenhouse gas generation as a giant industry.

As you know, consumer goods sold in developed countries are mostly produced in other parts of the world. Majority of greenhouse gas emissions are being generated in countries that may be defined as the factories of the world, particularly in China and India. This is why 27% of emissions from households in the U.S. is actually created in China. And 12% of this rate originates from ready-made clothing and shoe-making industry!

According to The World Bank’s study;

• The fashion industry uses 93 billion cubic meters of water each year; and this is a number that is enough to meet the consumption needs of five million people.
• 20% of wastewater across the world originates from fabric dyeing and treatment.
• 87% of total fiber input used for clothing is being incinerated or discarded at the landfills.
• The fashion industry is responsible for more than 10% of global carbon emissions per year. This is more than the total of all international flights and maritime transport.
• Half a million plastic microfibers, which corresponds to 50 billion plastic bottles, are being thrown into the oceans. It is not possible to remove these microfibers from the water and they are spreading across the food chain. In other words, our clothes are poisoning us!
• Accoring to the United Nations, 3,781 liters of water are being spent in order to produce one pair of denims.

Big Environmental Impact of Our Clothes

The impact of our wardrobe on climate change has become something that cannot be ignored. The textile industry is responsible for more than 10% of global carbon emissions. The projected estimation reaches 26% in the middle of this century. The production chain in the fashion industry is the third and largest sector in terms of emissions following food and construction.

As we mentioned above, the textile sector uses 93 billion cubic meters of water every year, which corresponds to the needs of 5 million people. And since 87% of all fibers are being incinerated or disposed of at the landfills, at least 20% of all wastewaters on the planet is produced by textile sector.

All clothes which are trending this season and which we will not wear next year have a great environmental impact!

Calls for Transformation in Fashion

In light of these frightening data, it would be useful to look closer into the fashion and clothing sector and to conduct some self-criticism. As consumers, we have a huge role in the unstoppable growth of the clothing sector.

​According to studies, every citizen in the U.S. disposes clothing worth 70 pairs of pants, each clothing item is worn only 7-10 times, and one out of three British citizens thinks that a clothing item becomes worn off after they wear it one or two times. Moreover, global clothing production has doubled since 2000 due to excessive consumption craze.

With all this data, calls for transformation in the textile sector are increasing every day. The purpose is to find new material utilizations in order to make clothing items more durable. Designing reusable or recyclable clothing items is a requirement.

Efforts toward responsible consumption and selecting more sustainable products are being supported by the governments, industries, and organizations. In 2018, leading textile sector firms created Fashion Industry Climate Action Convention in order to reduce emissions to net zero by 2050 and they came together under the roof of the United Nations to create Sustainable Fashion Alliance.

What Can We Do as Consumers?

All actors, from designers to producers and consumers, have to be included in the subject in order to make ready-made clothing industry and to mitigate the negative impact of this sector on climate change.

• We can repair or recycle worn out clothes.
• We can ask whether sustainable criteria have been met in the process of production of a clothing item before we purchase it,
• We can buy secondhand clothing items,
• We can donate clothes we do not use anymore,
• We can buy only what we need,
• Clothes with poor quality cannot generally survive washing cycles, as such we can save money by buying higher quality clothing in the long run,
• We can wash our clothes in the washing machine with full load and we can use non-corrosive detergents.

Moreover, natural fibers such as cotton and wool may be re-processed while products such as polyester and nylon may be recovered at a chemical level. Sustainable fibers such as bamboo, linen, and hemp provide alternatives for cotton production. Therefore, choosing natural fabrics creates a significant impact.

Things We Can Do to Reduce the Environmental Impacts of Our Clothes!

We must revise our consumption habits for individualistic sustainable fashion and focus on renewable and organic materials as well as zero waste principle. Here are some simple ways to utilize and transform what we have:

• Most people forget what they have purchased in the past. Develop methods to reuse what you already have. Give a chance to different combinations and accessories.
• If you say, “I wore it again but there is no use,” just take it apart, cut it off and reshape it! For example, you can transform a long-sleeve shirt into a sleeveless alternative, or you can change your long robe into a mini dress. We can comfortably say that “Everyone will be a designer one day!” You only need imagination in order to create something new out of one or two items of clothing.
• Do not discard your clothes due to one little spot or dropped stitch. Develop creative ideas such as patches, additions, or laces.
• Dye your discolored clothes. Use tea, coffee, red beet, pomegranate peelings, or turmeric as natural dyes.
• Donating clothes and buying second-hand clothes are also effective ways to transform.

Each individual must revise their clothing habits for a cleaner nature and a more sustainable future, and we have to participate in the collective effort. We can reduce our carbon footprint by contributing to the circular economy. Sustainability in the fashion sector will make our planet more habitable.

Now it is time to rethink our production and consumption habits for a green future!