Sustainable Fashion—Rationale and Policies
Definition
:1. Introduction and History
1.1. The Rise of Fast Fashion
1.2. Environmental Implications of Fast Fashion
1.3. Social Implications of Fast Fashion
1.4. Technology Increases Consumption of Excess Fashion
2. Sustainable Fashion—Assumptions and Constructs
2.1. Sustainable Fashion Can Take Many Forms
- Markets for second-hand clothes: increasing the legitimacy and even prestige of clothes that have been bought and usually also worn in the past by other consumers [42].
- Local design and independent designers: small and medium-sized designers, who are not affiliated with a fashion corporation, who produce a low number of collections each year and aspire for as short a supply chain as possible [42].
- Making clothing from more sustainable materials: this involves constituents like organic cotton, bamboo and linen [44].
- Upcycled Clothes: This refers to clothes made from textile scraps, old fabrics such as curtains and bedding and clothes that have become obsolete. In upcycling all materials are dismantled to the level of construction rather than to the fiber-level, as in recycling [45].
- Consumption patterns that strive for a general reduction in the number of items purchased: this implicitly suggests a willingness to pay more for a smaller number of items.
- Changing consumer perceptions about the role of price of clothing: One of the underlying suppositions found in alternative, sustainable fashion strategies is the assumption that a central contributor to the environmental and social problems associated with the fast fashion industry, is the “race to the bottom”. Pursuing the lowest possible price frequently produces environmental and social externalities [44]. In this context, an interesting convergence of interests has taken place between luxury fashion brands and slow fashion advocates, who both embrace a greater appreciation, not only of the environment but of artisans [11]. By producing unique items, individually while targeting a specific clientele, luxury fashion brands distinguish themselves from the alternative fast fashion model. The fact that consumers are willing to wait for over a year to receive a Hermes bag becomes a selling point which flies in the face of fast fashion’s emphasis on immediate gratification of consumer desires [11].
- Extending the use of our items and caring for and washing clothes in a way that reduces microplastics and prolongs life: Many of the clothes produced by the fast fashion corporations are produced in low quality, with built-in aging mechanisms. This planned obsolescence model is designed so that consumer buy more and more clothes [25,42,45]. This includes treating clothes properly once they are purchased is important to avoid the secretion of micro-plastics into the sea and maintain the colors and quality of the clothes, while extending shelf life.
- Another way to consume and produce slow fashion is to promote models of a circular economy. On a theoretical level, a circular economy seeks to emulate cycles found in nature, where no materials are lost. In so doing, this economic paradigm decouples economic growth from unsustainable exploitation of virgin or perishable natural resources. Waste outside the system can be reduced by applying alternative business models including utilization without ownership or collaboration and prioritization of social justice and sustainability. Products are designed to last, and thus are minimized during production. Products can be repaired and, when this is not possible, recycled. These are the same principles which drive natural systems [46].
2.2. Slow Fashion
Public Policies to Promote Sustainable Fashion
- In June 2015, in response to the Rana Plaza disaster, in which over a thousand workers were killed due to noncompliance with proper safety conditions, G7 Leaders’ issued a Declaration that “welcomed international efforts to promulgate industry-wide due diligence standards in the textile and ready-made garment sector”.
- The United Nations Alliance for Sustainable Fashion was started in 2019. The Alliance is an initiative that brings together myriad UN agencies and associated organizations, with the objective of contributing to sustainable development goals, through coordinated action in the field of fashion. Inter alia, the Alliance works to facilitate coordination between UN bodies working in the field of fashion and prioritize projects and policies in the fashion industry that can contribute to achieving sustainable development goals [9].
- 3.
- In 2017, the OECD published the Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector. The Guidance was developed through a multi-stakeholder process and has been approved by forty-eight governments. This constitutes about 72% of the clothing importers in the global industry [53].
- 4.
- Australia’s Modern Slavery Law was enacted in December 2018. It requires companies with revenues above AUD 100 million to publish an annual Modern Slavery Statement, that detail potential modern slavery risks and practices in their operations and supply chains. These statements are then submitted to a central government-run repository to ensure that there is public oversight [54].
- 5.
- Under a French statute adopted in 2019, fashion sellers and retailers are not allowed to discard or incinerate unsold clothes. The law requires unsold clothing to be collected, with their disposal in conventional landfill strictly prohibited. Surplus clothing and unsold clothing must be donated by clothing companies, compelling them to implement the associated logistics required [55,56,57].
- 6.
- A 2021 regulation enacted in the state of New York broadly expands and extends manufacturers’ warranties. The rule contains specific provisions regulating the textile sector requiring that if textiles make up over 10% of a company’s wastes, the business must send their residuals for recycling [58].
- 7.
- The California Legislature enacted sb62 in 2021. The statute proscribes payment by output, payment below the threshold allowed in the wage laws as well as exploitation that might take place due to lack of follow-up [59]. Apparel factories are required to pay garment workers an hourly wage (rather than payment by piecework). At the same time, the law employers to offer productivity-based incentives to workers. Workers are allowed to demand the return of stolen wages from large fashion brands and retailers.
- 8.
- In New York State, at the beginning of 2022, the Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act (“Fashion Act”) legislation was passed which became known as the “America’s First Fashion Sustainability Law”. The statute stipulates that clothing companies with an annual revenue turnover greater than USD 100 million are required to expose the climatic and social impacts of their production methods and take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The law also requires them to map at least 50% of their suppliers, and to report the wages that their suppliers pay to production workers, compared to the local minimum wage.
3. Conclusions and Prospects
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
References
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A Possible Solution for Consuming Sustainable Fashion | Details | Benefits of Each Solution | Disadvantages of Each Solution |
---|---|---|---|
second-hand clothes | Increasing the legitimacy and even prestige of clothes that have been bought and usually also worn in the past by other consumers | Does not add clothes or waste to what already exists in the world |
|
Local design and independent designers | Small and medium-sized designers, who are not affiliated with a fashion corporation, who produce a low number of collections each year and aspire for as short a supply chain as possible |
|
|
Fashion produced in small quantities | Fashion companies that produce from one to six collections a year | Averts the need for constant renewal and, with it, the anxiety inducing “fear of missing out” (FOMO) syndrome among consumers |
|
Making clothing from more sustainable materials | Involves constituents like organic cotton, bamboo and linen | Reduces the environmental impact of creating new clothes |
|
Upcycled Clothes | Refers to clothes made from textile scraps, old fabrics such as curtains and bedding and clothes that have become obsolete. In upcycling, all materials are dismantled to the level of construction rather than to the fiber-level, as in recycling | Based on existing resources and uses textile scraps | Each item is one of a kind so it is difficult to implement on a commercial scale. |
Purchasing quality clothing that will last for many years | This is done with the under-standing that extending the life of garment use is the single most significant envi-ronmental action one can take in relation to fashion | Based on deep consumer understanding |
|
Prioritizing clothing manufactured under fair trade conditions | Based on the understanding that sustainability is not solely concerned with the environment, but considers all aspects of the relationship between humans, the environment and the economy | Refers to the terms of employment of the workers in the most substantial and significant manner | Refers little or often does not refer to the environmental aspects at all. |
Consumption patterns that strive for a general reduction in the number of items purchased | General reduction in the number of clothes purchased. Most often in a willingness to pay more money for a low number of items. | Constitutes a truly sustainable solution |
|
Changing consumer perceptions about the role of price of clothing | One of the underlying suppositions found in alternative, sustainable fashion strategies is the as-sumption that a central contributor to the environmental and social problems associated with the fast fashion industry, is the “race to the bottom”. Pursuing the lowest possible price frequently produces environmental and social externalities. | Leads to a long-term market education and expected to lead to a reduction in the total amount of clothing purchased and even to the support of freelance designers and manufacturing workers, who will receive a fairer wage for fewer working hours |
|
Extending the use of our items and caring for and washing clothes in a way that reduces microplastics and prolongs life | Many of the clothes produced by the fast fashion corpora-tions are produced in low quality, with built-in aging mechanisms. This planned obsolescence model is designed so that consumer buy more and more clothes. | Treating clothes properly once they are purchased is important to avoid the secretion of micro-plastics into the sea and maintain the colors and quality of the clothes, while extending shelf life | There are no disadvantages |
Promote models of a circular economy | Circular economy strives to eliminate the waste outside the system, by relying on new business models (such as collaboration or use without ownership), designing products for long-term use with minimal residuals in production, as well as designing product sand materials in a way that allows them to be repaired, or at least easily recycled. In the context of fashion, a circular economy refers to all stages of the life cycle of the garment from design, through the ways and frequency of use to the treatment of textile waste | Addresses issues of the fashion industry from the root | The fact that a garment is sustainable and manufactured in circular economy processes does not guarantee sustainable use by consumers. For example: Jeans can be made from recycled textile scraps, but if the consumer wears it a few times and then sends it, the loop does not close. |
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Peleg Mizrachi, M.; Tal, A. Sustainable Fashion—Rationale and Policies. Encyclopedia 2022, 2, 1154-1167. https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia2020077
Peleg Mizrachi M, Tal A. Sustainable Fashion—Rationale and Policies. Encyclopedia. 2022; 2(2):1154-1167. https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia2020077
Chicago/Turabian StylePeleg Mizrachi, Meital, and Alon Tal. 2022. "Sustainable Fashion—Rationale and Policies" Encyclopedia 2, no. 2: 1154-1167. https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia2020077