It has been reported that the clothing industry is the second largest polluter in the world, second only to oil. In more recent discussions at Climate Week, the apparel sector was identified by a senior fellow at the World Resources Institute as contributing approximately 5% of the world’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which is roughly equivalent to GHG emissions from the global aviation sector or to country emissions from Russia. With its long and varied supply chains of production, raw material, textile manufacture, clothing construction, shipping, retail, use and ultimately disposal of the garment, there is little doubt that fashion is a complicated business. As the apparel sector reflects on the environmental impacts of “fast fashion” and looks to shift the industry on to a more sustainable path, designers and clothing manufacturers are looking at how they can move in the right direction. At the most recent Climate Week, fashion industry professionals agreed that while there are numerous points of impact throughout the supply chain, the way in which raw materials are sourced is an issue that is close to the top of the list.
Scope of the Problem
According to the World Resources Institute (WRI), cotton is the most common natural fiber used to make clothing. It accounts for approximately 33% of all fibers found in textiles, and requires 2,700 liters of water to make one cotton shirt. In areas where water resources are under stress, cotton production can be particularly damaging. For example, in Central Asia, the Aral Sea has nearly disappeared because cotton farmers draw excessively from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers. The WRI has set up the Aqueduct tool to see where cotton production and water risks intersect. Cotton farming is also responsible for 24% of the world’s use of insecticides and 11% of pesticides.
In terms of GHG, the carbon footprint of a garment will largely depend on the material. The WRI notes that while synthetic fibers like polyester have less impact on water and land than grown materials like cotton, they emit more GHG per kilogram. A polyester shirt has more than double the carbon footprint of a cotton shirt (5.5 kg vs. 2.1 kg, or 12.1 pounds vs 4.6 pounds). Polyester production for textiles released about 706 billion kg (1.5 trillion pounds) of GHG in 2015, which equals approximately the annual emissions of 185 coal-fired power plants. Leather is also a strong climate forcer, as it is responsible for a significant amount of methane emissions.
In addition to land and water use issues, as well as GHG emissions, the fashion industry has also started to address the issue of microfibers that find their way into lakes and ocean and wreak havoc on fish and ecosystems.
The Fashion Industry Takes Action
A growing number of companies are aware of the environmental risks and are looking to take action. The adage of “if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it” is particularly relevant to the apparel sector. In order to understand the areas where they can improve, companies must first measure their environmental impacts. The Sustainable Apparel Coalition’s Higg Index has been designed as a standardized, self-assessment tool that enables companies to measure the environmental, social and labour impacts of their products and services, and to identify areas for improvement. The Sustainable Apparel Coalition is the apparel, footwear and textile industry’s foremost alliance for sustainable production. In addition, work is being done on developing Science Based Targets (SBTs) guidance for the apparel industry. The SBT initiative is a partnership between CDP, WRI, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). It is designed to support companies in setting SBTs by defining and promoting best practice, offering tools and guidance to reduce barriers to adoption, and independently assessing and approving companies’ targets. The establishment of SBTs recognizes the important role of the the apparel sector in transitioning to a low-carbon economy. The concept is that by setting SBTs that are aligned with the level of decarbonization required to keep global temperature rise well below 2° Celsius, companies will have a powerful strategy to boost their competitive advantage.
Certain companies are also working to improve their resource efficiency. In May 2017, major fashion companies (including H&M and Zara) signed the 2020 Circular Fashion System Commitment to increase their clothing recycling by 2020 and to collect and recycle used clothing at many of their stores. By 30 June 2017, 64 companies had signed the 2020 Circular Fashion System Commitment, representing a total of 143 brands and 7.5% of the global fashion market. Global Fashion Agenda has outlined four immediate action points to accelerate the transition to a circular fashion system:
- Action point 1: Implementing design strategies for cyclability
- Action point 2: Increasing the volume of used garments collected
- Action point 3: Increasing the volume of used garments resold
- Action point 4: Increasing the share of garments made from recycled textile fibres
The signatories commit to setting targets in one or more of these four categories for 2020 and to annually report on their progress. Global Fashion Agenda has opened up a final round for commitment signatories between October and December 2017.
As fashion companies work towards reducing the environmental impacts of their products, individual consumer education is also important, particularly as it relates to creating a mindset of more sustainable consumption. Some companies such as Patagonia (through its Worn Wear program, which offers a service to fix old clothes rather than only sell new ones) and Mud Jeans (which is experimenting with clothing rental) are looking at innovative business models to improve sustainability. One thing is clear, sustainability has arrived on the fashion scene.