The Consumer's Role In Fashion Sustainability.

Everyone in this community is interested in fashion in some way. It could be the clothes themselves or just the industry at a whole. One way or another, the fashion industry is important in our lives. We are constantly shown articles of clothing that are priced very low or clothing with astonishingly low prices and we give into it because it's cheap. Plain and simple. 

 But does it ever cross your mind how these pieces of clothing are created and its effects on the environment and its people? 

I want to shed light on fashion sustainability and how the consumer can push the fashion industry onto a more sustainable route. 

The fashion industry is an important part of the consumer's lives. We can determine what to buy and how much we buy it. We can determine if want to buy something at a cheap price that'll last us for a short amount of time or invest in something expensive that'll last us for a long time. I've noticed that the fashion industry has become very negligent in their effects on the environment. Whether this negligence stems from the crops that they grow for the products or through the actual production of their products. The only way that the fashion industry can become more sustainable is the consumer. The industry is so rooted in their ways that we must direct them to a more sustainable route. We, as consumers, have so much power and can push the fashion industry into sustainability. 

We all know that the fashion industry is incredibly unsustainable and the effects on the environment are very grave.  

Just how bad is it? 

Well... 

The fashion industry is unsustainable right from the beginning through the pesticides that they put on the cotton and the machines that are used to pick the cotton that contributes to air pollution. The cotton is then shipped to a factory where it has to use a lot of water in order to create the clothing that the consumer wants. According to Kirchain, "Several dozen gallons (or more than 400 pounds) of water were required to process one pound of textiles"(Kirchain). This is an unbelievably large amount of water to make just one pound of textiles. Where's the logic in that? Plus, water is a non-renewable resource. Once we run out of it, we simply cannot make more.  

We as consumers don't really realize how much the fashion industry negatively impacts the environment because we see it on a 50% clearance rack at Target. The consumer is paying the industry for this to continue and that is not right. 

Once you buy from companies that you KNOW are unsustainable your money, no matter how small the purchase goes straight back to the people that are making these unsustainable choices. 

Clearly, there is a problem. Now let's talk about the solutions. 

The only way for the fashion industry to stop their ways is through fashion sustainability. The goal of fashion sustainability is to create a system which can be supported indefinitely in terms of human impact on the environment and social responsibility. This includes using recycled material, using cotton grown organically for their materials, amongst countless other fashion revolutionary ideas Fashion sustainability lessens the impact on the environment and is not as natural resource dependent as the fashion industry is now. This could only happen if you, the consumer, voice your opinion on fashion sustainability.  

Why would my voice matter? I'm only one person and a big company won't listen to me. 

Well, your voice really does matter even if you think it doesn't. 

I'll give you an example where the consumer's voices really did matter. 

Nike is currently a multi-billion dollar company and is synonymous with using sustainable materials and being an ethical brand. However, in the late 90's this was not the case. Nike was exposed for using unethical sweatshops overseas and for not using sustainable materials in their products such as organic cotton or recycled fabric. This caused an uproar in environmental groups, human rights activists, and the consumers. During the year of this scandal, many new Nike shops were picketed and Nike lost $1 billion in profit because the consumers weren't buying their products. It wasn't until they started losing money and customers that they started to shift towards sustainability. They invested in more sustainable materials and disassociated themselves with sweatshop labor into the reputable brand that they are today.  

My point is that Nike, a huge company, was pushed into a more sustainable production by, you, the consumer. If the consumers were able to push Nike into becoming more sustainable, then think about how many other major brands we could push to start redesigning the fashion industry into one that is ready to take on the future. 

The time is now to stop ignoring how unsustainable the fashion industry is. It's up to you to start purchasing products from sustainable companies. 

Don't know where to start? Here's a quick look at three unsustainable brands you should stop purchasing from, and three brands you should go to as an alternative. 

 I hope I opened your eyes to the unsustainability of the fashion industry that we are all so deeply invested in. We can't pretend that problems like this don't exist. 
What happens when the fashion industry becomes so accustomed to unsustainability that it collapses once non-renewable resources begin disappearing? 
Are you going to allow that to happen, or are you going to rethink your purchases and shift to a path of sustainability? 

Credits:
Picture = InsideEurope