Environmental Movements within the Fashion and Textile Industry
As we’ve seen in recent years, the topic of sustainability has become increasingly important within a multitude of industries -- including the fashion and textile industry. With more consumers advocating for more businesses and companies to implement sustainable practices, I believe the environmental movement will continue to rise in popularity, making impactful advances within the fashion and textile industry. In the Vogue article “Sustainable fashion: Where the industry is heading in 2022,” Rachel Cernansky explains that a lot of brands and planning have begun to center around fashion sustainability. She notes that the biggest themes revolved around the interrelationship of supply chain, carbon emissions, and equity. Although the article was posted over a year ago -- January 5, 2022-- I find it to be even more relevant today. More often than not, a lot of big brands will claim sustainable efforts, but their claims do not always match their efforts. A great example of a company not measuring up to their claims would be the fast fashion brands such as H&M and Zara which effectively greenwash (Daily Mail, 2021). However, the sparked interest and increased debate is a positive sign, even though greenwashing is on the rise-- it indicates the possibility of change. Cernansky explains that the supply chain has been more closely examined, as countries such as the large clothing producers China and Bangladesh are facing environmental damage. She states, “The implications of textile dyeing are now a bigger part of the ethical fashion conversation…toxins are released into the wastewater near clothing manufacturing plants…water consumed and used by residents in those areas causes serious health and environmental damage” (Para 5). With the risk of those residents developing cancer, skin issues, and animal populations becoming exterminated, governments have begun to examine the supply chain to protect their natural environment while still maintaining essential business relations.
She states, “The implications of textile dyeing are now a bigger part of the ethical fashion conversation…toxins are released into the wastewater near clothing manufacturing plants…water consumed and used by residents in those areas causes serious health and environmental damage” (Para 5). With the risk of those residents developing cancer, skin issues, and animal populations becoming exterminated, governments have begun to examine the supply chain to protect their natural environment while still maintaining essential business relations. Cernansky also explains that sustainability has not been limited to the product, but the packaging and shipping of items have become more important as well with eco-friendly and compostable options becoming increasingly available. After the COVID-19 pandemic, e-commerce rose to be an important component of consumerism, leading the discussion of sustainable packaging to rise. As e-commerce becomes a prominent buying channel and individuals begin demanding change within the industry, I believe 2023 will bring sustainability to the forefront of the discussion. The change will not only come from company transparency and accountability; rather, it will be crucial that ethical wages and labor and fossil fuel depletion from all supply chains, as Cernansky views these elements to be “the real drivers of systemic change” needed to revolutionize the fashion and textile industry (para. 25). By implementing sustainable practices through all outlets within the industry we will see positive environmental impacts. Businesses must be held accountable for their contributions to environmental waste, and we find this environmental movement will gain traction as the year of 2023 progresses.
