Sustainable Fashion is becoming a growing trend in various cultures from countries all over the world, especially mainstream in 2019. Over the past few years, fashion consumers have become increasingly aware of the negative impacts on the environment of their purchasing choices. Studies show that the environmental impact of fast fashion shopping boom is immense. For this reason, the more likely they tend to slow down and make more sustainable fashion choices.
What is sustainable fashion?
According to Wikipedia, Sustainable fashion is a movement and process of fostering change to fashion products and the fashion system towards greater ecological integrity and social justice. It concerns addressing the whole system of fashion including interdependent social, cultural, ecological and financial systems. An adjacent term to sustainable fashion is eco fashion.
Here are 7 reasons why sustainable fashion is a growing trend all around the world.
Sustainable fashion uses less water
From growing cotton to dying it to laundering finished products, the fashion industry consumes a large amount of water. We may think of that a pair of jeans or a T-shirt but may not put a lot of thought into how those are made. In fact, a great deal of water goes into growing cotton, washing it, dying it and finishing process for nearly all of our clothes.
The water that is used to produce clothes is considered “virtual water,” or water that is sometimes overlooked in calculating a true water footprint. What may be surprising, it can take 2,700 liters to produce the cotton needed to make a single t-shirt.
Growing Cotton in particular is highly dependent on water but is usually grown in hot and dry areas. That is why water is increasingly scarce.
So, the solution for us is other sustainable fabrics that use little to no water during the production such as linen, hemp, REFIBRA™ & recycled fibers like recycled cotton.
Sustainable fashion reduces waste
Consumers worldwide tend to buy more clothes. Due to the growing market, many cheap items and new styles are produced. Unfortunately, it is taking a toll on the environment. Statistically speaking, people bought 60% more garments in 2014 than they did in 2000. The fashion industry contributes 10% of humanity’s carbon emissions – more carbon than international flights and maritime shipping combined. Thus, it makes up massively and actively to global warming
In addition, 85% of all textiles go to the dump each year. Polyester, a plastic found in an estimated 60% of garments that can releases two to three times more carbon emissions than cotton in producing. And polyester does not break down in the ocean.
On the other side, sustainable fashion brands often use materials from natural or recycled fabrics that minimize chemical treatment, little water, less energy and no fertilizers or pesticides to grow. Most organic fabrics are even biodegradable.
These environmental fabrics reduce our carbon footer print on consuming and are amazing sustainable alternatives.
Sustainable fashion save you money
Many people always feel like they have nothing to wear although you have an array of options. The “fast fashion” shopping culture encourages us to buy clothes that are low-cost and on-trend.
But think of its negative impacts, a sustainable approach to making clothes is really necessary. When focusing on consuming and creating clothes more consciously in slow fashion, that goes easy on our wallet and planet. Once you buy less clothing less often, and it’s typically in better condition, you’ll save a ton of money in the long run.
Sustainable fashion is healthier for people
Much of fast fashion products are made by people trying to live on shockingly low wages. They accept to work under difficult conditions and intense pressure to work faster and produce more.
Around 8,000 different synthetic chemicals are used to bleach and dye process garments. Those chemicals often cause diseases even cancer among workers and inflict serious birth defects on their children. Choosing low fashion means you do not support the unfairly paid and fairly treated on labors.
Plus, our skin absorbs anything we put on it, including the chemicals in our clothes. So make sure to always wash new clothes before wearing them for the first time or choosing products of “low fashion” instead.
Sustainable fashion is healthier for planet
Unfortunately, the fashion industry makes up an enormous environmental footprint before ending up on our hangers, from the various chemicals and pesticides in growing cotton to the toxic dyes.
By choosing organic fibers or sustainable fabrics — such as bamboo or hemp — we can reduce our carbon footprint in every clothes we wear.
Sustainable fashion saves animals
Leather is a by-product of the meat industry but this is not always the case. Every year, It’s estimated that billions of animals suffer and die for clothing and accessories.
The needs of leather, feathers of birds, or sheep that makes small animals are caged for life before being killed. Sheep are often beaten and mutilated by workers. If these processes are done just only for the need of the fashion industry, it is actually horrific cruelty.
Sustainable fashion brands have started to increasingly embrace the use of cruelty-free alternatives. Bags created from recycled seatbelts, plant-based compostable sneakers, and bio-fabricated vegan wool. And the most demanded leather alternatives these days come to pineapples, mushroom or bio fabricated Leather. They have all been tapped to produce a more sustainable future for fashion and support animal rights.
Sustainable fashion inspires green consumer and production
Green consumer and Green production depend on one another.
Consumers say they want to buy ecologically friendly products and reduce their impact on the environment but they do not many choices. But at long last, we cannot imagine the impulse to go green is spreading that much.
The sustainable fashion industry is are launching green campaigns to push to sell their products. Consumers also are getting behind the idea of being greener in buying clothes with many choices. And they connect each other to push green consumer and production, which becomes a growing trend.
Conclusion
Consumer choices drive fashion trends, so we can change this revolution towards a sustainable future in fashion. You can be part of this movement by being conscious of what you buy, and how often you buy clothes. Even if we may not be able to control the ongoings of a fashion company directly, we can raise awareness and our choice to make sustainable fashion becoming a growing trend in the fashion industry.