To the untrained eye, the fashion industry appears to be shifting towards sustainable practices. Every shop on the high street has a conscious range that claims to be environmentally friendly, made with ethically sourced, often organic material.
The reality of the situation is much darker, with emissions rising year on year. The fashion industry currently accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions. If it continues business as usual, that figure could rise to a quarter by 2050.
Over the past 15 years, production has doubled, and consumption of fossil fuels has sky-rocketed. Fossil-fuel based synthetic materials now account for more than half of global fibre production. It’s cheap to make and readily available, enabling companies to create more clothes quicker. While this has allowed companies such as Shein, a Chinese fast-fashion company that overtook H&M and Zara last year for sales to boom, the impact on the climate is devastating.
The Art of Greenwashing
Companies making misleading claims regarding their sustainability is an unfortunately common practice, known as greenwashing. A 2021 report from the Changing Markets Foundation found over 60% of claims from the UK and European fashion companies were false. Among the companies analysed were H&M, Zara and Asos.
H&M’s “Conscious Collection” is their sustainable range, “created with a little extra consideration for the planet”. Upon analysis, the collection uses more synthetic materials than its main collection. One of the five pieces analysed was from 100% fossil fuel-derived synthetic materials.
The recycling points featured in H&M’s stores aren’t much better either, as only 35% of what is collected is recycled. On average, just 1% of clothes are recycled into new garments, and 73% go to landfills.
Dame Vivian Hunt, a leading economic expert, said, “fashion has a long way to go to demonstrate its commitment to achieving net-zero emissions”. Speaking at the Business of Fashion Voices conference in Oxford last year, she highlighted the industry’s urgent need to tackle the waste crisis and raise garment workers wages.
Underpaid workers suffer the cost of cheap clothes, as poor work conditions and terrible wages plague the industry’s production lines. The unethical and abhorrent conditions don’t justify the small price tag.
While fossil-fuel derived materials are cheap, their impacts on the environment are devastating. Moving away from their use to a sustainable option would reduce overproduction and toxic chemical use.
