Sustainable Fashion

I must admit, this was a hard article to write. Not just because the fast fashion crisis is complicated, but also because it’s hard to feel hopeful for change. As I read article after article on the fashion industry’s environmental footprint, I became completely overwhelmed. Take a read of Business Insiders’ article on fashion’s carbon emissions and you’ll understand why (1). The fashion industry contributes 10% of all carbon emissions and is the second-largest consumer of water worldwide (2). Although global warming is widely accepted, we seem to be at a roadblock: What can we do about it?

The climate crisis feels extremely daunting, especially when we’re told we have less than a decade to stop otherwise irreversible damage to our earth.3 There is so much information on the industries and activities that are culpable for the state of our climate; none of our hands are clean. What’s less clear is what to do about it. Studying global warming and combating it are two different beasts. Researching climate change is incredibly challenging but scientists are aligned on a shared goal: understanding global warming. This is not the case for combating global warming. Global warming is a worldwide problem that requires worldwide participation. The foundation of this participation must be born from a shared goal: to end global warming. Climate change spans the entire world, stretching over all people, cultures and economies. Different worldviews coupled with population size make collective change seem almost impossible. Fashion being at the forefront of culture has become a mirror for the world, reflecting the spirit of the times. As we’ve moved through the 3rd industrial revolution and into the technological and social media era, we’ve seen a new side of consumerism. A New York Times article follows the buying habits of three Gen Z women and the psyche behind their habits (4). The shared want from all three: cute, cheap clothes that look great on Instagram (4). The pressure of social media and influencer culture has amplified fast-fashion consumption. A quote that stood out from the article was this:

“I wouldn’t really want someone seeing me in a dress more than once. People might think I
didn’t have style if I wore the same thing over and over.” (4)

When a person’s definition of style is motivated by only wearing something once, their style directly opposes sustainability. This can be seen as a symptom of our broader culture represented by the idiom “keeping up with Jones’s,” where we use others as our benchmark for our social standing. This never-ending treadmill of “keeping up” has increased speed after the emergence of social media and the curated life it shows. Although the shopping habits of these young girls are not environmentally sustainable, it’s not hard to empathize with these habits. Social media has created immense pressure on people, especially young people. As a fellow Gen Zer, I understand their shopping habits because I’m also guilty of them. I understand the pressure of trying to keep up with social media and not having the money to buy the more expensive sustainable option to do so. In this complexity, I resist the argument that sustainable fashion is only up to the consumer to fix.

But I also don’t believe that it is only up to companies either. In our ever-increasing globalized world, to ask a company to sacrifice the speed or price of their goods is a death sentence without global participation. International companies are currently between a rock and hard place. Aja Barber explains this well when she says:

“The fashion industry is eating itself, producing more clothing at a rate and price point that is impossible to maintain long-term ... the only way that they are going to survive is if they rebuild their production model from the ground up. Unfortunately, they have boards that want a profit every single season, and investors who want to profit ... So, for a lot of brands, I actually think they’re in a hard place because the change that needs to happen isn’t one that’s investor-friendly, but at the same time, if they keep going at this rate, they’re going to eat themselves anyway under the climate emergency.” (5)

I don’t think the companies are the enemy here, we’re asking them to sacrifice short-term profits for long-term gains in a system that rewards the opposite. No one wants to be the sacrificial lamb and many that have tried struggled in vain.

The next logical solution would be government regulations. Again, I think this conclusion is lazy. Governments need companies, especially large international companies, to operate in their country for the sizeable economic stimulus they provide. If a government taxes the production process of garments, companies will migrate to countries that don’t impose these penalties. That is, unless there is global participation.

The common thread throughout this article is that we must have global participation to effectively address the climate crisis. Collective change is a daunting task, but I believe that we can do so; consumers, companies, and countries working together for our collective future. As Yuval Noah Harari states, humans control the world because we are the only animal that can cooperate flexibly in large numbers (6). This cooperation that has sustained our 6-million-year existence is the answer to a sustainable future.

Here are some tips on how to shop sustainably:

1. Shop second-hand:
   a. Nu2You Consignment Boutique
   b. Wrinkled
   c. Swish
   d. Wardrobe on Whyte
   e. Consignment Loft Home Furnishings

2. Buy investment pieces: buy items that may be more expensive but are high quality so they will
   last you a lifetime

3. Buy from sustainable brands:
   a. https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/fashion/what-to-wear/g19491797/the-best-and-
   still-chic-sustainable-brands/

4. Participate in clothing swaps:
   a. @lifepreloved hosts curated clothing swaps in Edmonton. Follow her for future swaps!

   Global Shapers YEG partnered with her in November to host a clothing swap!

Meghan Markowski

(1) https://www.businessinsider.com/fast-fashion-environmental-impact-pollution-emissions-waste-water-2019-10#a-lot-of-this-clothing-ends-
up-in-the-dump-the-equivalent-of-one-garbage-truck-full-of-clothes-is-burned-or-dumped-in-a-landfill-every-second-5
(2) https://www.businessinsider.com/fast-fashion-environmental-impact-pollution-emissions-waste-water-2019-10#in-uzbekistan-for-example-
cotton-farming-used-up-so-much-water-from-the-aral-sea-that-it-dried-up-after-about-50-years-once-one-of-the-worlds-four-largest-lakes-the-
aral-sea-is-now-little-more-than-desert-and-a-few-small-ponds-18
(3) https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/ga12131.doc.htm
(4) What Do Gen Z Shoppers Want? A Cute, Cheap Outfit That Looks Great on Instagram - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
(5) How to Quit Fast Fashion, According to Aja Barber | Vogue
(6) Why humans run the world - Zeldman on Web and Interaction Design