Fashion. Delusion. Emission.

The ever-changing fashion industry enormously impacts the environment—be it cultivation, production, transportation, washing and wastage. To put things in perspective—  it takes 3,781 litres of water to produce a single pair of jeans.

As India becomes third largest economy with a swelling middle class there is a fashion explosion happening around us. To keep up with the latest trends, the average person now purchases 60% more clothing. Shockingly, less than 1% of used clothing is recycled into new garments, leaving the majority of barely worn or unused fashion to end up in landfills.

The persistent demand for affordable, new clothing incentivizes manufacturers to prioritize speed and cost, often at the expense of sustainability. This approach involves heavy reliance on synthetic materials and chemicals, leading to water pollution and ecological harm. The production process itself contributes to high energy consumption and carbon emissions, from raw material cultivation to global product transportation, resulting in a substantial carbon footprint. The disposal of these short-lived garments exacerbates the problem, as consumers frequently discard them, creating a staggering amount of textile waste overwhelming landfills. The decomposition of synthetic materials releases harmful substances into soil and water, causing environmental damage. Fast fashion's comprehensive impact includes resource depletion, pollution, waste generation, and a significant contribution to climate change.

In today's era of heightened environmental awareness, the fashion industry stands at a critical crossroad. The environmental toll inflicted by fashion's linear 'take-make-dispose' model has reached alarming levels, contributing significantly to waste emissions and pollution. However, amidst these challenges lies a transformative solution: Circular Fashion. Embracing a Circular Economy approach within the fashion sector is no longer a choice but a necessity. It championsa paradigm shift, emphasizing the reduction, reuse, and recycling of materials throughout the production cycle. This shift towards circular fashion not only mitigates environmental harm but also fosters innovation, ethical practices, and a sustainable future for the industry and our planet.

Governments worldwide are actively considering sustainability in the fashion sector by implementing laws for industry regulation, ensuring all stakeholders prioritize climate impact. Notably, France's recent AGEC law mandates brands supplying products in the French market to include anti-waste data points on product sheets, which is a beacon in delineating environmental issues because of fashion industry. In effect since January 1, 2023, the law covers all French-market products, including clothing, footwear, and home textiles, requiring brands to disclose garment details like recycled materials, unsafe chemicals, or synthetics prone to shedding plastic microfibers.

Some of the most powerful economies have the following bills in their pipeline:

European Union

• Extended Producer Responsibility on Textiles: This legislation propose to reduce industry waste and also aim to hold the brands accountable for the environmental impact their products make.
• Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive: This legislation proposes to evaluate the whole supply chain of businesses for their environmental and human rights due diligence.
• Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive: This legislation makes it mandatory for businesses of all sizes to report their social and environmental activities which would be then subject to audits.
• Eco-Design for Sustainable Products Regulation: This act makes it mandatory for businesses to include a ‘product passport‘ with its items so that consumers are able to make informed decisions. Resource use, Repairs and Circularity are the focus areas of this legislation. Inspiring

Legislations from the United States

• Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act: This proposed legislation focuses on the bigger brands and makes it mandatory for them to map their supply chains in addition to addressing the broader environmental and social impacts of their business operations.
• Fashioning Accountability and Building Real Institutional Change Act (FABRIC Act): This act is for the protection of workers in the textiles and fashion industries and to ensure fair and safe working conditions and fair wages for them.
• Garment Worker Protection Act: This act has been proposed to end the exploitation of the workers and also to eliminate the by-the-piece payment used to underpay the workers.

SUSTAINABILITY IN BRANDS ACROSS THE GLOBE

Some leading textile brands have taken a call to implement sustainability in their businesses and move a step closer to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. A few examples of the same are:

• Whimsy & Row is a US brand which ensures that it produces limited quantity of clothing without generating waste. It also has a wait listing feature on its website which ensures that there is no unnecessary overproduction leading to wastage.
• Reformation is another apparel brand of the US which prioritizes reducing waste, water and energy by keeping track of the carbon and water footprint of its products and also prepares a report of its impact on the business. To ensure transparency these quarterly reports are also sent to its consumers.
• Pact, another sustainable brand, has been a pioneer for sustainable packaging by use of recyclable and usable solutions.
• Adidas, which is one of the most loved brands throughout the world has made significant strides towards sustainability. It aims to replace all virgin polyester with recycled polyester by 2024. The company has been collaborating with an environmental organization “Parley for Oceans” which utilizes “Parley Ocean Plastic” as a substitute of virgin polyester.
• Patagonia is yet another progressive leader in the fashion industry which has taken pride in make quality clothing which has stood the test of time. It uses Fair Trade Certified organic cotton and 98 per cent of its clothing is made of the recycled materials.
• Tentree, in their clothing line of active wear and loungewear uses eco-friendly fabrics including organic cotton. The company has also taken the initiative of planting 10 tress for every purchase. 70 million trees have already been planted by them and they have a target of planting one billion trees by 2030.
• Walmart, aiming for sustainable manufacturing, collaborates with San Francisco biotech company Rubi Laboratories to create clothing from carbon-captured emissions using advanced technology. Their vision is to achieve net zero emissions in all operations by 2040, with a significant reduction of over 750 million metric tonnes in greenhouse gas emissions since 2017, underscoring their commitment as a sustainability leader.
• Rothy, a shoe brand, manufactures shoes from recycled plastic water bottles which is converted to a fabric to produce the final product. Time and again the company has been featured in magazines like Vogue and Elle for its innovative shoes and commitment to sustainable fashion.
• Allbirds is another sneaker brand which has received accolades from the sustainability industry for using sustainable materials like merini wool and eucalyptus fibers for production of shoes which do not produce any carbon emissions during the manufacturing process

After reviewing the global advancement towards sustainable fashion and responsible clothing, India too, is witnessing an increased scrutiny about its efforts towards promoting sustainability in fashion. It is crucial to acknowledge India's long-standing role in textile recycling and its position as a key importer of used garments for several decades. While the influx of imported clothing contributes to India's clothing waste, it is essential to actively support recycling facilities that contribute to the supply chain of various sustainable brands. Doodlage, a Delhi-based brand established in 2012, stands out in this endeavor, specializing in transforming upcycled factory waste into exclusive limited-edition collections. Their recent initiative focuses on collecting post- consumer waste, encouraging Indian consumers to responsibly dispose of clothes they no longer need.

Along with, from fashion brands making environmentally responsible decisions, consumers too play a crucial and equivalent role in reducing their environmental footprint by re-using and recycling clothing, actively contributing to the advancement of sustainable and recycled fibers. Thus, the ethical duty exists at both stages of a garment's lifecycle —during its production and consumption. These initiatives in India signify a concerted effort towards fostering sustainable practices in the clothing industry, aiming to reduce waste, promote authenticity, and mitigate environmental impact.

Mumbai based Circular Apparel Innovation Factory (CAIF), an initiative led by Intellecap and supported by the DOEN Foundation, positions itself as a catalyst for transforming the apparel and textile industry toward circular practices. The CAIF team operates on two fronts: Firstly, they curate a stream of innovations for brands, aiding them in reaching their sustainability targets by 2030 and minimizing their carbon footprint. Secondly, their focus lies in establishing an ecosystem and developing circular models for textile waste to close the gap in recycling. In November 2021, in collaboration with sustainability advocates Enviu and the IKEA Foundation, they embarked on a mission to empower India's informal waste workers, aiming to provide green employment opportunities within marginalized communities by imparting skills and knowledge in sustainability practices.

Entrepreneurs like Kirti Poonia and Prateek Gupte have introduced Relove—a technology-driven platform enabling brands to establish thrift shops. With a focus on transparency and authenticity, Relove disrupts conventional second hand fashion by establishing direct brand partnerships, extending garments' lifespans, and reducing the carbon footprint through garment- reselling

"When I look back when fashion started marrying sustainability, I believe that Copenhagen Fashion Week, in a watershed moment, is taking a decisive step towards sustainability by mandating that all designers adhere to 17 key sustainability standards by 2023. These include incorporating a minimum of 50% certified organic, upcycled, or recycled textiles in their collections, implementing sustainable packaging, and adopting zero-waste set designs for shows. Similar initiatives in other global fashion weeks are pivotal for the industry's progress. In India, Union Minister for Textiles, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, launched Project SURE (Sustainable Revolution), rallying the industry towards environmentally friendly fashion. Leading brands like Future Group, Shopper’s Stop, Aditya Birla Retail, Arvind Brands, Lifestyle, Max, Raymond, House of Anita Dongre, W, Biba, Westside, 109F, Spykar, Levi’s, Bestsellers, and Trends have pledged to significantly increase their usage of sustainable materials and processes by 2025, championing the widespread adoption of eco-friendly production practices.

At least after reading that my one jeans costs 3781 litres of water to get manufactured, it is difficult for me to continue buying multiple pair of jeans and talk about sustainability. I clearly remember on more than three occasions I ensured that my jeans is not even washed regularly as the guilt of my contribution towards not promoting circular fashion was far more acute than being greedy about the Boxing Day Fashion Sale," reflects Sudhir Mishra.