How is the fashion industry staying sustainable?

Many companies and brands are becoming more environmentally friendly and trying to reduce their impact on global warming. The fashion industry is no exception. From adapting their manufacturing methods to varying the materials that they use, what is the industry doing to reduce their carbon footprint? Trilogy Stores, retailers of premium designer clothing, investigate.

What's the issue? 

Companies operating in the fashion industry have been under scrutiny recently for not being proactive in tackling global warming. The players in the industry should be working together to improve their production process and become more environmentally conscious. Currently, less than 1% of the material used to make clothing is then recycled into new clothing. There are other worrying facts that are associated with the industry too:

• -          The estimated cost to the UK economy of landfilling clothing and household textiles is £82m per year.
• -          People aren’t wearing their garments as much as they used to — the average number of times a piece of clothing is worn before it’s no longer used has decreased by 36% in 15 years.
• -          One kilogram of fabric generates an average of 23 kilograms of greenhouse gases.

What’s the solution?

Brands can begin to use new materials to reduce their environmental impact. Hemp, for example, is a plant-based material and is one of the most versatile out there. It’s currently used for cleaning products, building materials and has been found to be stronger than the commonly used cotton. It’s good for the environment too as it requires fewer pesticides and herbicides than cotton needs to grow.

There are calls for more transparency too. This can push them to become more environmentally friendly as consumers and governing officials can see their supply chain and identify any areas that could be improved. Fashion Revolution have their own index, The Fashion TransparencyIndex (FTI), that ranks how much information the largest 100 global fashion businesses reveal about their social and environmental policies. In 2017, they discovered that 31 brands now disclose a list of their suppliers for all to see — an increase from five in 2016.

Another option is soy. Unlike silk and cashmere, animals aren’t involved in the production of the material and it is machine washable and wrinkle resistant — a plus for fashion consumers.

H&M launched a project where they asked individuals to come up with ways that the fashion industry could become more sustainable. This is what some of the innovators discovered:

• -          Polyester-eating microbes — this discovery of a new type of microbe is able to eat an old shirt and break the polymers down so that they can be sold back to manufacturers that work with polyester. 
• -          Recycling food waste — this innovation involved turning by-products of citrus fruits into raw materials that can be used to create clothing.
• -          Recycling cotton — using an environmentally friendly solvent, old cotton clothing is dissolved and a new material is created that can be spun into new fibres.
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 How to purchase with sustainability in mind

There are existing brands that are making a difference and paving the way for sustainability.

AG Jeans

This brand uses innovations such as Ozone Technology. This is where water use is reduced by 50% and there is less of a need for chemicals and energy in clothing creation. AG Jeans uses sustainable fibres such as Tencel® and Modal® which are entirely biodegradable and therefore don’t have long-lasting effects on the environment as other materials do.

Heat-saving equipment is another way to reduce energy usage. AG Jeans do this by recycling heat from dryers to reduce laundry energy consumption by 46%.

Stella McCartney

The range by Stella McCartney is free of animal products. In fact, hers was the first luxury brand that was anti-leather and anti-fur, with many other brands following in her footsteps. Her brand prides itself on its commitment to leading ‘a responsible, honest and modern company’.

Stella can proudly say that over 50% of her womenswear is sustainable. She has developed jackets and sneakers that were made from 100% recycled polyester.

Almasanta

Almasanta brings together sustainable brands from around the world. They have created a platform where eco-conscious fashion customers can browse various garments in one place. Brands are all made from natural fabrics and long-lasting products.

This company only stocks products that use reduced energy and water. Almasanta sends their products out in 100% recycled packaging too.

There may be a long road ahead when it comes to a fully sustainable industry — but there are things that can be done. Even if each retailer made a small environmentally-focused change, we’d see a huge difference. With advancements in technology with eco-friendly clothing materials, who knows what the future holds?