Sustainable Fashion

Idon’t know if you’ve been on social media recently, but if you have, you will probably have heard that we’re currently in the middle of a climate emergency.

The globe is warming, the climate is changing, and there is plastic in all the places that plastic does not belong.

Thankfully, a growing number of people are actually getting quite anxious about the state of our planet and are taking action in our daily lives to reduce our impact and live sustainably.

In the fashion industry, sustainability is the new buzzword. Clothing companies have picked up on the fact that their customers want to believe that they’re making the right

choices for the planet, and they’re willing to pay more to do so. But not all sustainability pledges are created equally, and greenwashing gimmicks are proving profitable.

In the

fashion industry sustainability

is the new

buzzword.

As the demand for sustainable fashion grows, companies are trying to give themselves a more ethical and sustainable public image by changing a few things here and there for customer approval, but are they going far enough?

Take H&M; the Swedish fast fashion company has made some very positive changes in the way it operates to become more sustainable. H&M uses renewable energy in many places along their supply chain, they have a clothes recycling scheme which allows customers to turn in old items, and they are part of the Better Cotton Initiative, which aims to reduce the environmental impact of cotton production.

And yet, H&M’s entire business model is based on updating stock as frequently as possible and making sure that customers only wear items a few times before buying more. Fast fashion creates a race to the bottom in terms of

Just a wolf in sheep’s clothing?

Written by Sian Morris Designed by Kayla Annakie

the pricing and quality of garments, producing more waste and pollutants than our planet can cope with.

The continuing success of shops like H&M alludes to the idea that we are okay with their practices as long as they’re dressed up as sustainable.

Bamboo fabrics are another great example. As consumers become increasingly aware of the environmental impact of unsustainable cotton production and synthetic, plastic-based textiles like polyester, a new competitor has entered the ring.

So hardy and easy to grow that it doesn’t require pesticides, bamboo can be broken down into tiny fibres and spun into bamboo linen for clothes. But its marketing as a solution to the environmental impacts of cotton has put it in high demand for fashion retailers trying to be environmentallyconscious.

As a result, bamboo has

So what’s the

solution to greenwashing?

Simple:

don’t buy it.

become a cash crop, causing farmers to cut down forests to plant bamboo fields, destroying fragile ecosystems in the process. When consumers buy bamboo clothes they might think they’re doing right by the planet, but they’re just creating more incentives for deforestation.

So what is the solution to green-washing? It’s simple: just don’t buy it.

It has taken us far too long to realise that on a planet with finite resources, infinite consumption is not possible.

Small consumer changes just won’t cut it anymore, we have to make real changes.

Vote for environmentallyconscious politicians where you can and write letters to make your voice heard where you can’t.

Hold those responsible for selling you a broken planet to account, but don’t believe for a second that buying bamboo will save us. N