Fast fashion is the second biggest polluter in the world. 150 billion pieces of clothing end up in landfill yearly, taking up to 1000 years for a single shoe to decompose, according to Greenmatch.
Speaking to Olivia Pinnock, lecturer at the London College of Fashion and the London Metropolitan University, founder of The Fashion Debates and fashion speaker and journalist, she says there is hope for the fashion industry to become totally sustainable.
“Of course I think there’s hope and of course I think there’s work being done otherwise I wouldn’t keep writing about it and talking about it. I think we should think about more sustainable rather than totally sustainable, and the best that we can do for people and planet and everybody involved in the fashion system.”
“The big aim is to be carbon neutral by 2050. We’ve already made small progress, there needs to be more. The thing that is really urgent is obviously climate change and our carbon emissions. We really need to keep pushing for these science based targets, which basically means working towards keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees.”
However, making big changes can come at a cost.
I asked Olivia whether it was financially possible for companies to become more sustainable. “Yes, for starters they have loads of money, of course they can afford to do it! I think there are financial incentives as well to going more sustainable, so while some things might cost you money, things like being more energy efficient or water efficient is going to save you money. There is a business case for it.”
But we can all make small changes to our fashion habits to become more sustainable.
When asked what affordable changes we can make, Olivia responded “I totally appreciate that we all want to look good, we all enjoy fashion and expressing ourselves, there’s nothing wrong with that at all. But once you start to research into these issues and realise what’s going on behind the things you own and the things you have given money to, that was a big catalyst for me.”
“As much as I got excited over a £10 top, once I could sit there and go but actually that doesn’t align with my values and what I think the world should be like, makes it easier to quit. But I think the problem nowadays is not how cheap fashion has become but how accessible it is to us and how often we see things we weren’t even thinking about shopping for.”
“A really good tip is to think about what is encouraging you to maybe make purchases that you wouldn’t otherwise make, unfollow brands on social media, block ads if you’re struggling with that. Start to follow influencers who are focussed on sustainable fashion. Sadly, maybe it does mean buying less and saving up for something that is a bit more expensive.”
“That’s what we all have to do.”
You can sign up to The Fashion Debates here http://www.thefashiondebates.com/
Preedy Posts 