How can the Fashion industry become more sustainable?

The Fashion Industry is responsible for around 10% of the world’s carbon emissions and nearly 20 percent of the world’s water waste. An estimated 85 % of the world’s textiles end up in landfills or burned. Fast fashion no doubt contributes to this waste, but it is by no means alone.

Clothing in general has a very advanced and complex supply chain that makes it difficult to account for all of the emissions that come from producing clothes. On top of that you have to consider how the clothing is transported and disposed of when the consumer no longer wants it.

What makes the fashion industry particularly problematic is the fast pace of change it not only undergoes, but encourages. Fast fashion involves rapid design, production, distribution and marketing, which means that retailers are able to pull smaller quantities of greater product variety and allow consumers to get more fashion and product differentiation at a low price.

Another important point when thinking about sustainable Fashion is material and fabrics. A great deal of innovation is going into crafting lower-impact fabrics. Fashion made from more environmentally sustainable materials, is increasingly big business. Some companies are looking to use waste from wood, fruit and other natural materials to create their textiles. Others are trying alternative ways of dyeing their fabrics or searching for materials that biodegrade more easily once thrown away. Here at Vanilla Sand we use ocean waste and recycle it into comfortable and soft fabrics. 

All in all the answer to the question ‘can the Fashion Industry be sustainable’ is yes. There is still a long way to go of course but there are many companies and small start-ups with this aim in the market and it is up to us as consumers to support them.