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How is the Fashion Industry Affected by the Global Issue Problem?
Tracey Wilson
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Contents 1. Introduction (page 3-4) 2. Plastics and Alternatives within the Fashion and Textile Industry (page 4-6 3. Turning Plastics into Art (page 7) 4. Women in the Chair (page 7-8) 5. Interview with Dr. Lorna Foster (page 7-8) 6. The Circular Economy (page 8-9) 7. Joining Forces (page 9-10) 8. Polyester Menace (page 10-11) 9. The Green Carpet (page 11) 10.Ethical Issues Remaining in the Fashion Industry (page 12-13) 11.Ethical Working (page 13-14) 12.Summary (page 13-14) 13.Bibliography (page 15) Abstract key words: environment, fashion industry, global issue, ethics, plastic pollution, sustainability, reusing, recycling
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Introduction
The current situation of the rise of plastic pollution in our oceans and rivers has brought the crisis to the forefront in the public mind and media. This project will highlight the issue we face and their relationship to the fashion industry. The environmentalist and ocean pioneer, Sir David Attenborough, has worked to alert the world’s media and wider population about the impending crisis of our ecosystem. As we enter the third decade of the 21st century, this issue is more important than ever, and his Blue Planet series has become a major outlet through which these problems are brought forward and criticised. This series will form one of the main primary sources of my research. A News at Ten report on fashion waste being dumped in Guana will help my research findings, alongside a recent visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California where I observed artists and their exhibitions on tackling the problem, alongside a telephone interview with Dr. Laura Foster of Clean Seas.
Ellen McArthur and the circular economy, alongside the British Government’s response from recent reports into the problem from the Environmental Audit Committee, will form my secondary research. The research material is gathered from reading books or articles that contain information about the Fashion Industry and surfing the internet. The main issues that will be looked at are corporate retailers, the top Fashion Designers’ manufacturers (specifically how and what they are doing to reduce these issues), and smaller Bespoke Designers. I will also look at the level of implementation of the four 4’s (reduce, reuse, recycle, recover) in their fight against the issue. There will also be a section on celebrities who endorse larger fashion companies, as these public figures act as icons and are able to play a huge part in endorsing certain issues and ‘influencing’ the public mindset, and the way they go about it will be analysed. I will also look at how educating the public and fashion consumers can help reduce the amount of plastics in the aquatic environment, and how
4 people can implement changes within their home and shopping habits through healthier buying. Given the severity of the issue, this concept is particularly important as it can improve the health of the consumers, their families, and the planet, and hopefully the right actions will influence future generations and help save our aquatic world and the planet as a whole.
Plastic and Alternatives within the Fashion and Textile Industry
The pollution of the world’s rivers, seas, and oceans is becoming a greater global threat than any of the world’s most eminent scientists could ever have envisaged. Faced with these problems, people have started to look for the source, and one major contributor is the fashion industry. Persson states that the “climate issue incredibly important,” Personn said. “Its a huge threat and we all need to take it seriously through politicians, companies, and individuals.”1 As of now, society is in the late stages of capitalism, and from this consumerism has grown. Mass consumerism results in massive amounts of fashion waste, and unfortunately, as with all waste products, it must be stored or disposed of somewhere. Mass consumerism allows companies who participate in ‘fast fashion’ practices to thrive, however these practices often lead to waste in terms of overstock or products being thrown away when they are barely worn. Penny Marshall, ACCRA journalist, reported from Ghana that the country was being used as a dumping ground for fashion waste. Notable brands included H & M, Adidas, Nike, Pima and Zara. Ghana has a vibrant textile industry, and the clothes being sent there were unfit for purpose. The streets were littered with fast fashion waste, and the material deposited in the sea, which can lead to major polluting issues and affect the habitation of waters. The News at 10 Report on the 16th of February 2020 found that 1.3m tonnes of clothes are dumped by the U.K fashion industry (which is estimated at a a value of £32 billion). 2 The U.K has 1
Cranley E 2019 https://businessinsider.com
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I.T.V, ’News at 10 report 16/02/2020’
5 been noted to have one of the best recycling systems and is a world leader on this issue. Chris Choi, the consumer editor of I.T.N News, highlighted how 55 tonnes of fashion waste was being saved from landfill last year in the U.K alone through recycling. However, 72% (63.4m kg) of its production is found to be dumped in Ghana. There is an increasing problem with first world countries ‘positive’ outlooks on waste and recycling hiding behind a trend of sending their waste offshore.
Sir David Attenborough, the producer of the latest acclaimed BBC Documentary series ‘Blue Planet’, has alerted the world through his affective and somber call to arms in regards to the ongoing devastation that plastic waste is having on our oceans. Images of aquatic life swimming around plastic waste generated by humans serves as a brutal reminder of the public’s own actions. Plastic pollution is choking up kelp forest. These forests are underwater areas with a high density of kelp which cover around 25% of the world’s coastlines. They are recognised as one of the most productive and dynamic engineers of the Earth’s ecosystem and produce around 70% to 80% of the oxygen in the atmosphere. Attenborough states that the “green seas, not the blue, are the basis of life in all oceans. One has to consider the catastrophic affects plastic pollution has on ocean life”. 3
Michael Cousteau, the Founder of The Ocean Futures Society and son of the celebrated ocean conservationist Jaques Costeau, states that “If you protect the ocean you protect yourself”, 4 and alongside Attenborough, the public mindset has shifted heavily to focus on the damage we as a species are doing to the planet’s ocean environments. These messages have the ability to influence the agenda of the general public towards making better choices for themselves and the environment.
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Blue Planet 11 series 1:5 series 1:7 ( 2017 )BBC I Player 10th Nov
Herbert, B. 2010, The Other 70% - Protecting Our Underwater Ecosystems, The Guardian, accessed 20th April 2020 <https://helix.northwestern.edu/article/other-70-protecting-our-underwater-ecosystems> 4
6 By highlighting the personal risk that is posed by their actions, people are more likely to change, and a commonality can be found in all of the individuals quoted.
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Turning Plastic Into Art
In September of 2019 I undertook a research trip to Monterey Bay Aquarium in Northern California as part of my studies into the harmful effects of plastic on the world’s water systems. The trip to the educational centre provided a true insight into the workings of the 3 R’s, which are understood as “rescue, recycle and reuse, within sustainability”. Neath Nash, a South African designer creates fashion products out of lampshades, floor surfaces, and other home decor materials that would have otherwise ended up in landfill. For his design line, he uses the waste of other people to create useful objects. Not only does this free up space in landfill, it also provides jobs or local craftspeople and raises awareness for the environment in the surrounding and wider area. The artist Gulnar Ozdaghar created ‘Jelly Pot Bowls’ in 2011, and she believes that “the solution to our accumulation of plastic is up-cycling not recycling”.5 Up-cycling involves the process of using already created materials to create something new, rather than them having to go through chemical or industrial processes which use more energy. With an artist’s vision, Ozdaghar transforms ordinary materials in order to create beautiful objects. Upon closer inspection, the bowls resemble ocean jellies - one of the species that would be greatly affected by plastic pollution.
Women in the chair Telephone interview with Dr Laura Foster of ‘Clean Seas’. 1st January 2020 Laura Foster stated that she believed the Government is not doing enough to combat the environmental problems caused by fast fashion. Intrigued by Laura’s words, after the interview I set about researching into the British Government. The Environmental Audit Committee published the Government’s response to its fixing fashion report on clothing and consumption and sustainability. Published in February 2019, the report called on the Government to end the era of throwaway (fast) 5
Sustainable Artists Neath Nash, Gulznar Ozdaghar (Monterey Aquarium Exhibition Visit) October 2019
8 fashion “through many wide-ranging recommendations. It covered environmental and labour market practices, all of which have been rejected.” 6 Mary Creagh, MP and the Environmental Audit Committee Chair, commented that “fashion producers should be forced to clean up the mountains of waste they create. The Government has rejected our call demonstrating that it is content to tolerate practices that trash the environment, and exploit workers, despite having just committed to net zero commissions targets. The Government is out of step with the public.”7 If the world’s highest powers refuse to bow to the demands and outcries of the public, alongside scientific evidence of the planet’s collapsing eco-structure, global goals will be increasingly difficult to reach.
The Circular Economy
Circular Economy was founded by Ellen McArthur and based off the economic principle of the same name. A circular economy is based on the principals of removing waste and pollution from the design process, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems. McArthur states that “Today’s textile industry is built on an outdated linear, take-make-dispose model and is hugely wasteful and pollution. The Ellen MacArthur foundation’s report ‘A new textiles economy: Redesigning fashion’s future’ presents an ambitious vision of a new system, based on circular economy principals, society, and the environment. We need the whole industry to rally behind it”.8 Historical movements since the Industrial Revolution have led to little change in regards to the way people work and live their lives, and the idea of a circular economy works towards a better vision that helps both the public and the environment. However, McArthur’s concept of a circular economy only works if the public and political mindset is changed to embrace these new ideas,
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Dr. Laura Foster clean Seas (turn the tide on plastic)
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<https://www.parliament.uk.business>
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McArthur, E., The Circular Economy <https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org>
9 which has been showcased through the popularity of Attenborough’s series and the increasing global outcry of the recent decade.
Joining Forces
Alongside Bespoke Fashion Designers and textile manufactures, consumers and the public can make a difference through the 3 R’s (rescuing, recycling, and reusing). Bespoke textile designers are leading the way faster due to being more hands on artisans and their presence in public. The strategic use of trade through social media as a marketing tool allows them to get the message out there easier and quicker, thus producing higher traffic. When working as an intern for a placement with the tailor and fashion designer Christine Edson, it was noted that more and more fashion designers are reverting back to the old adage of “make do and mend”. This stems from the increasing customer demand for alterations, which in turn help reduce fast fashion production as people are buying less new clothing and choosing to bring their old clothing out of the wardrobe and repairing that which is broken. Not only that, but customers are going through the door with more of their own patterns and fabrics and asking seamstresses to make up the garments for them. According to environmental news agency Ecowatch, the textiles industry is the world’s second largest polluter, behind the oil industry only. Zimbabwe born Oslo based materials designer and systems thinker Natsai Audrey Chieza, is exploring the convergence of biology, technology and design in an effort to create textiles that are dyed using bacteria, and with no chemical fixatives.9
Chieza, N., ‘Bacterial pigment Rise and Fall of Micropolis’ in Why Materials Matter: Responsible Design for a Better World (2018). Solanki, S. (ed.). London: Prestel Publishing, p. 114 9
10 Natural dyes and protein based fabrics including wool, silk and cotton with colour extracted from pulse species of seaweed have been invented, where many hues can be achieved from just one type of seaweed. The use of natural materials lessens the amount of pollution on the planet. 10 Scientists have estimated that algae (which included species such as seaweed, kelp, and dulse) first emerged around 3.5 billion years ago. Since then, algae has flourished and evolved accordingly to become one of the most important organisms on Earth. In a two year study, Nienke, based in Delft in the Netherlands, explored the potential of algae such as seaweed as a material. London based fashion designer Bethany Williams states that it is “crucial that social and environmental issues influence how we design today and tomorrow”,11 and the efforts of scientists go a long way to help these problems. Bethany worked alongside local craftspeople to create knitted garments out of rubbish. By using cardboard provided by the retailer Tesco, alongside household items contributed by visitors to the Vauxhall foodbank, Williams made woven textiles and turned them into functional pieces of clothing.
Polyester Menace
Ian Tucker, writing for the Guardian, states that “One wash load of polyester clothes can release 700,000 micro plastic fibres into the environment.”12 A study by Bangor University in 2019, which surveyed the rivers, reservoirs and lakes of the UK, “found micro-plastics pollution at all locations tested.” Polyester was first instructed in the 1940s after the wake of the second world war as a replacement for nylon. It was found to be a cheaper, faster and more profitable way to produce
Hoogvliet, N., ‘Seaweed Colouring: See Me’ in Why Materials Matter: Responsible Design for a Better World (2018). Solanki, S. (ed.). London: Prestel Publishing, p. 138 10
Williams, B., ‘Foodbank Textiles Breadline’ in Why Materials Matter: Responsible Design for a Better World (2018). Solanki, S. (ed.). London: Prestel Publishing, p. 74 11
Tucker, I. 2019, The five ways that fashion threatens the planet, The Guardian, accessed 19th April 2020 <https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/jun/23/five-ways-fashion-damages-the-planet> 12
11 fabric. At the time, manufacturers were unaware of the devastating impact of the waste produced by this product would have on oceans and public health.
The Green Carpet
Leading fashion designers and brands are using their high profiles to promote sustainability, such as Marks and Spencer, Vivienne Westwood, and Stella McCartney. Westwood has taken a principle stand against fast fashion and the disposal of cheap clothing and embraced ethical fashion in a call to arms against the nation. She states “I think it is a good thing to buy less and choose well- it’s good for the environment, and to be fair it’s also good for me because my clothes are expensive.” 13 Westwood has been a part of the ‘Ethical Fashion Initiative’ since 2010 (a movement started by former Italian fashion executive turned UN officer, Simone Cipriani). The EFI is a joint programme between the UN and the World Trade Organisation which sees luxury fashion as a path to development. The initiative set itself up to be the broker between thousands of skilled micro producers in the developing world and the wider global fashion industry. Marks and Spencer supply clothes of high quality for the customer, and help save the planet with materials not sent to landfills. They help customers recycle by ‘Shwapping’, which the use in conjunction with Oxfam. Customers can donate branded clothes in any condition inshore, and ‘shwapped’ items are either resold at Oxfam or donated to those in need. 14
Lidbury, O. 2010, Vivienne Westwood: ‘I don’t wash my own clothes very often’, The Telegraph, accessed 20th April 2020 <http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG8160552/Vivienne-Westwood-I-dontwash-my-own-clothes-very-often.html> 13
Conlon, S. 2018, Trawling for trash: the brands turning plastic pollution into fashion, The Guardian, accessed 20th April 2020 <https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/nov/23/catwalk-brands-trawl-oceanplastic-waste-for-sustainable-fashion> 14
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Ethical Issues Remaining in the Fashion Industry
As previously stated, public figures and celebrities play a major role in promoting sustainability. ‘Influencers’ are powerful advocates for ethical and sustainable change. Emma Watson, a pioneer in the revolutionary fashion movement, said “I will work for anyone for free, if they are prepared to
13 make their clothing Fair-trade and organic”.15 Celebrities appeal to younger generations and influence the products people purchase and what they wear. When celebrities are shown following ethical change and trends, these transcend onto the public.
Ethical Working
Unethical employment is a wide-arching historical issue. The Victorian Era was rife with underage employment and dangerous working conditions, and many parts of the world still follow these practices as companies lean more towards profit ratios and cost, rather than on the value of human life. Many fashion students undertake unpaid internships in order to gain experience. On top of sustainability, the ethical production and consumption of fashion is important to both the health of the public and the environment.
Summary
For my own work, I was influenced by the production of fashion through recycled and up-cycled plastics and the devastating facts I have learnt about the state of the environment. I have therefore designed a swimwear collection as my contribution to help reduce plastic waste in oceans. Through my research, I discovered the recycled polyester known as Econyl alongside the use of more natural fabrics that cause less pollution, and by choosing swimwear I further highlight the problems plaguing our oceans from the actions of the fashion industry. I wanted to create a line of clothing that represented the new sustainable ideals that brands and endorsers are beginning to develop. The BBC comments that the main issues plaguing the fashion industry are the encouragement of frantic Bonnie, A. 2010, ‘Emma Watson designs with People Tree’, Tree Hugger, viewed 20th April 2020 <https:// www.treehugger.com/culture/emma-watson-designs-with-people-tree.html> 15
14 fast fashion and the preoccupation with the publicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s consumerist lifestyle. 1 The health of the planet and its populations will increase and benefit from a more global, ethical, and environmental approach to fashion production and consumption. Great changes still have to be made, and public figures are leading the forefront and generating a wider conversation on a threatening issue. If corporate companies and the public continue with the ongoing trend of sustainability, within the next ten years issues should decrease and more positive steps can be taken towards a better, healthier planet and lifestyle. Celebrities and artists create a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;voiceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and conversational avenues for these issues to be brought to the forefront, and fashion designers and brands taking positive steps influences other companies to do so. By avoiding fast fashion practices and consumption, and choosing ethical workforces, natural materials, and slow processes in creating fashion products, the industry itself has the ability to become much cleaner. However, the fashion industry does not exist in a vacuum and is not solely responsible for the environmental problems the world faces. By working together globally, industries and populations can make great changes to their lifestyles and production that will see green house gas emissions fall, the pollution of land and water lessened, and the restoration of the ecosystem.
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Bibliography Blue Planet 2 series 1:5 1:7 series (2017) BBC I Player 10 th Nov Bonnie, A. 2010, ‘Emma Watson designs with People Tree’, Tree Hugger, viewed 20th April 2020 <https://www.treehugger.com/culture/emma-watson-designs-with-people-tree.html> Chieza, N., ‘Bacterial pigment Rise and Fall of Micropolis’ in Why Materials Matter: Responsible Design for a Better World (2018). Solanki, S. (ed.). London: Prestel Publishing Conlon, S. 2018, Trawling for trash: the brands turning plastic pollution into fashion, The Guardian accessed 20th April 2020 <https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/nov/23/catwalk-brandstrawl-ocean-plastic-waste-for-sustainable-fashion> Cranley, E. 2019 <https://businessinsider.com> Environmental Audit committee chair Mary Creagh https://wwwparliament.uk>business Herbert, B. 2018, The Other 70% - Protecting Our Underwater Ecosystems, The Guardian, accessed 20th April 2020 <https://helix.northwestern.edu/article/other-70-protecting-ourunderwater-ecosystems> Hoogvliet, N., ‘Seaweed Colouring: See Me’ in Why Materials Matter: Responsible Design for a Better World (2018). Solanki, S. (ed.). London: Prestel Publishing Lidbury, O. 2010, Vivienne Westwood: ‘I don’t wash my own clothes very often’, The Telegraph, accessed 20th April 2020 <http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG8160552/VivienneWestwood-I-dont-wash-my-own-clothes-very-often.html> Ro, C. 2020, Can Fashion Ever Be Sustainable?, BBC, accessed 21st April 2020<https:// www.bbc.com/future/article/20200310-sustainable-fashion-how-to-buy-clothes-good-for-theclimate> Tucker, I. 2019, The five ways that fashion threatens the planet, The Guardian, accessed 19th April 2020 <https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/jun/23/five-ways-fashion-damages-the-planet> Williams, B., ‘Foodbank Textiles Breadline’ in Why Materials Matter: Responsible Design for a Better World (2018). Solanki, S. (ed.). London: Prestel Publishing,