Fashion – a science issue?
Outline
- What has fashion become?
- The damaging effects of fashion
- My intentions for the outreach project
I am excited to welcome you on my website (yes, my website) on my outreach project on sustainable fashion.
Sitting in front of your computer, sipping your late afternoon tea (we’re in Britain), and having stumbled upon my website, you might be surprised: why should this be necessary? Isn’t fashion already the translation of tradition and culture, and hence, one big outreach project on its own?
Well, fashion might be a little more complicated than it appears…
What has fashion become?
From satisfying our basic needs with warmth and functionality, fashion has gained many other functions in our lives such as the communication of social status, and, in particular, a sense of individuality and the creation of a persona. Fashion allowed a kind of quick communication of who we are, which will immediately be understood (or misunderstood) by other people around us, whether we desire it or not.
Because of this, and the various aspects of a capitalist economy, fashion production has doubled since early 20001 and is continuing to create more profit2. Clothes are so well marketed that we subconsciously accept that buying more clothes is not only better but necessary to keep up with society. And by dropping the prices to the absolute minimum (or lower than that if you consider the moral and environmental issues described below), the industry is able to provide runway looks for the smallest budget, making the whole thing even more appealing to even more people. Luxe, or what is marketed as such, is now affordable and available to everyone, provided that you frequently dispose of clothes that can’t last you long enough, because of the reduced quality of material and pattern.
But why should we outreach about this? What is there to communicate from a scientific point of view?
The damaging effects of fashion
You might have noticed that fashion is getting more and more critique in the last decade. In fact, it is one of the most important drivers of climate change, yet still appears innocent in the eyes of consumers thanks to its aesthetically pleasing and inviting outlook. But there are so many things that went horribly wrong.
The fashion and textile industry contributes between 4 to 8% of global CO2 emissions1,3,4, are a major source of microplastic pollution of surface waters5, are extremely wasteful of water, and produce over 90 million tons of waste per year6. It is the business models that allowed to scale fashion brands globally at cheap prices that cause the most harm to people and the environment. The active exploitation of land and water for cotton, fossil fuels for polyester, energy for production and transport, coupled with overexploitation of human labor is a threat to climate change, biodiversity, and human rights, and only slowly and reluctantly are they being translated to positive action by the businesses themselves.
As a matter of fact, policy and legislation can rarely be implemented in the fashion industry because of the global nature of the supply chain and the general ignorance of transparency and reporting.
In a nutshell, fashion is, just like climate change, an issue of both social and environmental justice, and should be approached and communicated as one. As you will see in my outreach project, I want to demonstrate the positive initiatives that are transforming fashion as I am writing this blog and highlight the various options and possibilities to contribute to a better climate in fashion and on the planet. In other words, we need to understand the issue but what is even more important is to be motivated by the knowledge to take steps in the right direction and eventually maybe even change how fashion is perceived by society and how it interacts with the world around us.
My intentions for the outreach project
Now that you know what was my motivation to participate in this course, let’s look at what are my intentions for the project.
Looking back at the beginning of this course, I didn’t have a project figured out, unlike some of my classmates. As I have undoubtedly revealed above, I was sure that I want to make it on communicate the damage the fashion industry is causing to the environment and the ways in which society can understand these issues. It is important to me because I didn’t grow up in a consumerist family and unnecessary spending and careless shopping sprees have always been utterly wrong and also completely out of question for me growing up. As I became an adult and started to make my own money while living in a notably capitalist country, it was harder and harder to resist witty marketing and the little serotonin that each purchase brings. I understood that people need help understanding why this seemingly innocent behavior is so harmful to many other people in the local economy but also around the world. But understanding isn’t enough. Just like every student on their academic journey, just like anyone trying to achieve anything, people need motivation and positive encouragement. Especially in times of irreversible climate change, an overshadowing pandemic, and countless ethical issues, people need reassurement that there is hope and that indeed their action matters in the grand scheme of things.
This is why I wanted to create a resource for people to find small local sustainable businesses, preferably from Scotland, who have enough hope to share it by making unique garments in line with the sustainability goals. I wanted to show that people don’t have to wait until sustainable options are easily accessible because they already are. I wanted to bring their attention to the miracles happening in Scotland despite all the recent and long-term environmental and social disasters that today’s generations are facing. I wanted to connect people and businesses and make sustainable fashion the logical option (as it rightly is). I am not yet sure how exactly will this happen but I am excited for this journey of growth for me and for the hope of a better fashion.
References
1Changing Markets Foundation. (2021). Synthetics Anonymous Fashion brands’ addiction to fossil fuels. www.changingmarkets.org
2McKinsey & Company. (2021). The State of Fashion 2021. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/state-of-fashion
3Quantis (2018) Measuring Fashion: Insights from the Environmental Impact of the Global Apparel and Footwear Industries. Available at: https://quantis-intl.com/report/measuring-fashion-report/ (Accessed: 25 March 2021).
4UNFCC (2018) UN Helps Fashion Industry Shift to Low Carbon. Available at: https://unfccc.int/news/un-helps-fashion-industry-shift-to-low-carbon (Accessed: November 1, 2021).
5Henry, B., Laitala, K., & Klepp, I. G. (2019). Microfibres from apparel and home textiles: Prospects for including microplastics in environmental sustainability assessment. Science of The Total Environment, 652, 483–494. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2018.10.166
6Niinimäki, K., Peters, G., Dahlbo, H., Perry, P., Rissanen, T., & Gwilt, A. (2020). The environmental price of fast fashion. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment 2020 1:4, 1(4), 189–200. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-020-0039-9
