Fashion's role in collective circularity

You can learn a lot about a society by way of its fashion.

What, then, do these photos say? And how did we get here?

One could highlight cotton’s role in the Industrial Revolution. The same would point out fashion’s role in industrializing countries, driving economic growth and development and leading to the mass expansion of the fashion industry.

However, society, now, sits at a crossroads as “the production of polyester textiles alone emits about 706 million tons of greenhouse gases a year, and hundreds of gallons of water go into making a cotton garment.” Digging into fast fashion’s history reveals precisely how we’ve arrived right here.

Connecting the dots isn’t difficult. The current supply chain, the linear “take-make-dispose” system, depends on outsourced labor and manufacturing because it’s cheaper and less regulated, and it allows for mass production, meeting consumer demand yet destroying the planet.

Fashion’s role in collective circularity, is then, two-fold. Both brands and consumers must take responsibility.

An Appetite for Fast-Fashion

It isn’t entirely our fault for wanting those trendy pair of jeans or that cute fall sweater. Fashion is a form of expressing our truth, our stories, but it’s also an industry – an industry which lives and breathes consumer demand. It’s capitalizing on our self-expressions, our anxieties, and our desires. And we allow this.

As Michael Solomon, a consumer behavior expert, told Vox, “It’s not just about clothing, it’s about a disposable society.” Fast fashion is a breeding ground for waste. Consumers don’t see what happens behind the clothing they purchase from stores, such as H&M and Zara. Fast fashion is fast because its meant to be disposed of as the seasons, trends, and demands change.

Consequently, the dress, or suit, you purchased for a special occasion, or those ‘never-again’ heels or slip-ons end up in the back of your closet. Until you rediscover them. Then what? You could try to return them, but chances are they’ll be landfilled. You could certainly donate them, but where you donate matters, too, because 84 percent of donated clothing end up landfilled.

The solution, then, in eliminating fashion waste from landfills and creating a circular system, must come from both fashion’s brands and consumers, collectively.

Sustainable Fashion Satiates

According to Green Strategy:

“More sustainable fashion can be defined as clothing, shoes and accessories that are manufactured, marketed and used in the most sustainable manner possible, taking into account both environmental and socio-economic aspects.”
“In practice, this implies