The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicates that 10% of the global greenhouse gas emissions are the result of the textile industry. In addition to contributing significantly to global warming, my previous posts have also shown the various impacts of pollution through the manufacturing processes of fast fashion textiles. However, IPCC alludes that this percentage cannot be attributed to manufacturers alone, the shipping, washing and throwing of clothing all contributes to the carbon footprint. In other words, we are definitely guilty of that 10% as well!
Why care about consumption at all?
It is not uncommon to see news and reports about big ‘evil’ corporations that are damaging the environment through their production of goods. However, we often neglect a rather important party in the process of transaction — us, the consumers.
Similarly, it would have been easy to blame fashion companies for all the negative impacts of fashion, but a 2014 study by the European Union shows that consumers share equal responsibility for the consequences of the industry. What this reveals is that consumption patterns are as critical as those of production.
Thus, to begin dealing with pollution issues of the fashion industry, we cannot simply correct our production methods. As Strähle (2016) explains, consumers need to take action and alter the ways in which we view and use fashion products. Only if we begin changing our consumption behaviours, can we continue to overcome the negative impacts associated with the fashion goods.
(Source: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fast-fashion-bad-for-planet_l_607efb04e4b03c18bc2a12bd)
Unfortunately, the success of the fashion industry is exceedingly good. In particular, fast fashion has managed to capture the hearts of consumers with its rapid cycles of new collections, allowing us to freshen our wardrobes easily. As pioneers of fast fashion, companies like Zara and H&M have managed to produce affordable garments in new styles on a monthly basis. However, as new clothes enter our wardrobes continuously, so do they leave as quickly. The problem of textile disposals is a major form of waste pollution that consumers contribute to.
In fact, CGTN warns us that the people are buying an average of 60% more clothing than they did 15 years ago. If our current consumption pattern continues, we are expected to be discarding 134 million tonnes of textiles a year by 2030. Aside from being waste that pollutes our environment, getting rid of such waste would often use methods of burning or energy intensive processes. This further pollutes our environment through release of air pollutants like carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, causing a cascade of environmental impacts.
The Wider Implication
In the bigger picture, consumers are essential parties to solving the fashion industry’s pollution problems due to the power we hold. As we adjust our attitudes and consumption habits, so will producers in effort to better market their products to us.
As Weller and Walter (2013) put it, aside from consumer’ environmental protection interests, there is still a gap in our eco-fashion consumption. This may lead to events of green marketing and the development of more unethical anti-environment sentiments in the industry. It is therefore, largely up to consumers to truly alter our habits at the end of the day.
COMING UP
Okay, you get it now. We consumers are at major faults too, but how did this all start? In my upcoming posts, we will try to understand what exactly is motivating many consumers to purchase in the first place!
Cheers,
Hui Jie
References
Kimbrough, Liz. (2020, April 23). Trendy, cheap, and dirty: Fashion is a top global polluter. Mongabay. Retrieved from https://news.mongabay.com/2020/04/trendy-cheap-and-dirty-fashion-is-a-top-global-polluter/.
Mearns, E. (2021, June 26). Indonesia's fast fashion pollution problems fueled by consumer demand. CGTN. Retrieved from https://newseu.cgtn.com/news/2021-06-26/Indonesia-s-fast-fashion-pollution-problems-fueled-by-consumer-demand-11ohJceggmc/index.html.
Strähle, J. (2016, 8 July). How to change the world by fashion consumption [Video file]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We6tLMR5wx8
The World Bank. (2019, September 23). How Much Do Our Wardrobes Cost to the Environment?. Retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2019/09/23/costo-moda-medio-ambiente#:~:text=The%20fashion%20industry%20is%20responsible,more%20than%2050%20%25%20by%202030.
Weller, I., & Walter, S. (2013). Ecology and fashion: development lines and prospects. In Fashion-Wise (pp. 323-334). Brill.
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