Fashion, fashion, fashion… Why is the fashion industry currently being singled out ? And above all, what are the paths to follow to preserve a Clean planet and the solutions to put in place to prevent it not become the first victim of fashion?
First of all, some figures to help you understand:
- In Europe, a report from the European Parliament (dating from the beginning of 2019) considers fashion to be the 4th most polluting sector after housing, food and drink, and transport.
- Worldwide: The fashion industry is considered the second most polluting industry , after the oil industry.
- 100 billion: that’s the amount of clothing sold each year in the world.
- 20 kilos: that's the colossal amount of clothes we buy on average per year! To end up always wearing the same clothes.
The positions in the top polluters vary… but the observation is overwhelming. Behind the rhinestones and glitter, the fashion industry is extremely polluting . How can this be explained? Excessive water consumption for textile materials (especially cotton), use of pollutants (especially for dyes), soil degradation near textile factories, CO2 emissions, but also high carbon footprint of transporting finished items. Especially since fashion is an eternal restart. What was trendy the previous year is “has been” or almost this season, which encourages overconsumption and overflowing wardrobes. The closets are full to bursting, but we never have anything to wear. Not to mention the “mistakes” of purchasing clothes that will never be worn, but hey “at that price, it’s hard to resist!”
Welcome to the world of Fast Fashion!
The excesses of Fast Fashion
Fast Fashion like Fast Food… an etymology that does not bode well. A fashion that is consumed as soon as it is thrown away. If the processes of the fashion industry are denounced today, in particular the use of less durable textiles that wear out quickly, we can also question the attitude of the consumer. According to Erwan Autret, Pole Coordinator, Products and Material Efficiency Service (ADEME), declared “Half of the impact is due to production, but we also forget half of the pollution linked to the consumer: because they buy too much, because only a third of the clothes go into the right bins and can thus be recycled, because they use a lot of water when washing their clothes…”
In short: we buy more, we wash more, we don't throw in the right bin. Thus, some clothes are only worn a dozen times before ending their life in recycling centers or other landfills. Worldwide, getting rid of still wearable clothes would represent a loss of 460 billion dollars per year.
How to act?
In 2019, 32 fashion manufacturers (ready-to-wear, sports, lifestyle and luxury) signed the Fashion Pact as part of the G7 summit in Biarritz, aiming to drastically reduce the environmental impact of textiles by focusing on three key areas: global warming, restoring biodiversity and protecting the oceans. A very good initiative, but since then we haven't heard much about it. According to the Environment and Energy Management Agency ( Ademe ), "It's up to all of us to act to limit the impact of fashion on the planet!"
The important thing is not to boycott fashion (because many jobs also depend on this sector), but to show common sense and buy consciously. This will probably prevent you from buying yet another black dress that you don't need! The most delicate period? The sales of course with all its temptations, each more desirable than the last. Taking advantage of the sales consciously is like shopping when you're on a diet: you stick to your shopping list (necessary or previously identified) and you try not to give in to... all the other temptations (a real challenge!). Another possibility: regularly do a closet detox by sorting, recomposing different looks and rediscovering little treasures hidden in the wardrobe. What is no longer useless will go straight into the recycling bins for a second life if you can't give them directly to someone.
Too high an environmental impact
The textile industry has a strong environmental impact… But what exactly are we talking about? In addition to the carbon footprint of a product (the greenhouse gas emissions attributable to it), the notion of environmental impact includes other factors such as water consumption (for example, it takes 7,500 liters of water to make a single pair of jeans!), toxic emissions or the energy required from fossil resources.
Clothes that go around the world
"If you want to know what the fashionable colour will be in Europe for the next season, then go and see what colour the river is". This joke in Asia highlights a sad reality, that of the direct impact on natural resources. Indeed, the textile industry uses many polluting dyes for clothing: nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPE) to fix colours, azo dyes, phthalates for plastic parts, formaldehyde, known to be carcinogenic, for non-iron clothing...
Designed on the other side of the world (for obvious economic reasons), the clothes will then travel a long time before arriving in your wardrobe. Raw materials produced in one country, finished items manufactured in another. By traveling in this way, fashion items accumulate miles in greenhouse gases. According to the magazine Science et vie , "fashion emits 1.2 billion tons of greenhouse gases compared to, for example, 0.532 for international flights." This method of manufacturing is not new, but recently, general ecological awareness has rejected this operation with its too strong environmental impact.
How to act?
Start by changing the way you consume jeans ... and favor eco-responsible brands like Fairblue Jeans or Made in France like 1083 jeans, les Ateliers de Nîmes, Atelier Tufery or even le Gaulois Jean. It's always by small steps that we move forward. According to the press release from c, in 2020, less than 5% of jeans produced in the world were designed in an eco-responsible way... that's a lot of room for maneuver!
Clothes that consume too much water
Addressing water consumption plunges us directly into the mode of production. For example, still according to Science et vie "the production of textiles (including cotton cultivation) requires approximately 93 billion m3 of water per year." Or, to better understand in image, a t-shirt is equivalent to approximately 70 showers (one shower = 38.6 liters of water). But we would almost forget the water used at home when washing clothes. And there is the drama, because clothes, especially those made of synthetic materials or polluting materials, release plastic microfibers that end up in the oceans.
How to act?
According to the very informative report of WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) , the consumption of clothes in the world is not expected to decrease (in particular because of the increase in the number of inhabitants). Thus, the WWF foundation has identified three levers of action concerning the world of fashion:
- Ecological efficiency: reducing the impact on the environment throughout the clothing and textile industry's creation chain, starting for example with savings in water use.
- Innovation and transformation: finding technologies to limit the exploitation of resources.
- Sustainable consumption : consume less, but better and rely on consumer engagement to promote the brands involved in this process of change. Consume less, but better. And stop this overconsumption, overproduction and over-pollution.
Recycling, THE solution?
It's not so easy to answer yes... even if at first glance you might think it's obvious. In fact, there are two different types of recycling. The first offers a new life to old textiles by transforming them into brand new rags, building insulation, or thread. A clever way to limit cotton production, a big consumer of pesticides and water... It's perfect on paper, but not so obvious in practice, because the pieces to be recycled can contain non-recyclable parts (like the rivets on jeans for example). Not to mention that here too, they have to be transported before being transformed. Finally, the perverse effect is also to exonerate the consumer who can continue to buy what they don't need under the pretext that at worst it will be recycled. The best way to limit the footprint is still to buy less, even if we continue to love fashion and its world. We need to change the way we consume it and also think about second-hand markets, thrift stores and other sales on Instagram from accounts specializing in vintage ( @odael_vintage , @biquette_market ,@la_pagaille_friperie , etc.).
Towards an energy label?
As with household appliance purchases, we can imagine in the near future the requirement for each item of clothing to have an "energy label" (with a simple and universal rating system A, B, C, D, E, etc.) to indicate to consumers the environmental impact of the t-shirt they are about to buy. Finally, a clarification of the labels would also help the consumer to see things more clearly. In the responsible clothing section, it is not easy to find your way around without a good headache. Between the Oeko-Tex label (certifies products without toxic substances for humans and the environment), the Fair Wear Foundation label (certifies fair working conditions for textile workers in member companies), the Max Havelaar label (for fair trade) or the Origine France Garantie label...
Author of the recent book "Ma Transition écologique, Comment je me suis radicalisé" (éditions Novice/France Culture), Hervé Gardette, star presenter of the radio show "La transition" on France Culture, emphasizes that today "in the marketing approach, in addition to price and aesthetics, the sustainable, ethical and responsible side has become a selling point." This is rather good news if fashion becomes more respectful of the environment and if it is not greenwashing obviously. Because some brands do not hesitate to give themselves a clear conscience by launching green lines on any report while the rest of the collection leaves something to be desired.
In short, we're going to think twice before falling for this little dress that's been catching our eye in the window!
