Is the practice of sustainability in fashion possible? Here’s how the environmental cause became controversial in the industry and tips on how you can authentically integrate it in your lifestyle
Engagements, materials, and procedures—these are some of the practices that businesses often use to sell the idea of sustainability. While some may be considered as good interventions to reduce the carbon footprint of the fashion industry, there are others who prefer the road of band-aid solutions. This means little prevention, better marketing tactics.
Nowadays, we are bombarded with strategies that relate to sustainability, yet it seems that the very core of it loses its importance. It begs the questions of what sustainability is, if it’s being applied properly, and if it even creates an actual sustainable lifestyle.
What is sustainability?
It’s simply maintaining ecological balance by preventing the depletion of natural resources, which, in turn, would decrease the attacks on the environment on a larger scale. Agriculture is even at its peak as people look for ways to contribute to the cause by researching various methods in food, textile, and land.
Fashion comes into the picture with an unfavorable effect on even just the idea of sustainability. In a perfect world, each clothing piece being made would have little to no negative effect on the environment. But in reality, the fashion industry is one of the main contributors of pollution and the economic problems. It’s massive textile dumps, the release of microfibres in the ocean, usage of toxic chemicals, and exploiting underpaid workers. These are only a few examples of how fashion plays a part in the depletion of our natural resources.
Is it being applied properly?
At first, there is a call to improve the state of the environment with their chosen practices. It seems promising in the beginning and definitely eye-catching to some since they are open to take part in the collective effort. But as time went on, we noticed that the use of sustainability was tainted for various reasons.
When we’re talking about the general environmental impact, this is where the term “greenwashing” comes in. This happens when one claims to promote a positive procedure in their business that will contribute to the environment, but in the end, this does not reflect in their actual practices.
Another unfortunate factor on how sustainability is being implemented is the hike in prices of certain products. While it may be reasoned out with their organic textiles and manpower, an argument for this is that a sustainable lifestyle can only be accessible to a specific group of people, making it unreachable to larger markets.
Is it a sustainable lifestyle?
Keep in mind that being sustainable in fashion can be done outside the use of expensive clothes and major donations. An example of this would tackle the discussion of consumer habits. It’s easy to be swayed to buy numerous clothes since fashion tends to fabricate various style trends that are being promoted by the minute. A trouble-free solution to this is to curate one aesthetic you want to go for and curate a capsule wardrobe that will give you more options with as minimal cost as possible. This contributes to both overspending and overcrowding your closet with clothes.
Another practice we can do is knowing how to properly preserve your clothes. Think of the pieces you buy as investments since they can be worn over and over again if the fabric handling is taken care of seriously. Make sure to do your research on certain materials to avoid quick color fading and fabric shrinking.
There’s definitely more ways to contribute to the drive towards sustainability without having to overspend or being greenwashed by companies. With the right amount of research and discipline, it can be a sustainable lifestyle if you can integrate it into your daily life.
Photos: MEGA ARCHIVES
