In a Nairobi hotel last week, models strode down a runway to promote the idea of reuse in fashion. Clad in upcycled looks created by emerging designers, the show focused on avoiding new production and repurposing items already in circulation.
Models appeared in outfits such as a suit jacket recreated from curtains, a vest transformed from faded jeans and trousers that began life as tablecloths. Even guests were invited to rewear their most elegant outfits rather than buying something new.
The “No New Clothes” event took place in Kenya’s capital during Eco Fashion Week Africa, which aims to unite designers, artisans and consumers in celebration of sustainable fashion. It came just ahead of Black Friday, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season in North America and other parts of the world. American shoppers alone will spend a record-breaking US$75 billion across Black Friday and so-called Cyber Monday sales this weekend, much of that on clothes, experts estimate.
The Nairobi event was part of a global movement to rein in the conspicuous consumption that defines the textiles industry. The movement’s disparate leaders, which include everyone from social media influencers to fashion industry insiders, are hoping that by encouraging consumers to buy less and reuse more, they can limit the environmental impact of the textiles sector, which is driving everything from climate change to biodiversity loss and pollution.
“Right now, the planet is paying the price for humanity’s unsustainable patterns of consumption and production,” said Elisa Tonda, Chief of the Resources and Markets Branch of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “In its transition towards circularity, the fashion industry has huge power to encourage solutions for lower environmental impact that keep clothing longer in use, supporting reuse, upcycling, repairs and rental, so as to redirect aspiration to more sustainable lifestyles.”
UNEP, through the Textile Initiative, is focused on accelerating the transition towards a sustainable and circular textile value chain.
Globally, voracious demand has caused textile production to skyrocket from 8.3 kilograms per person in 1975 to 15.5 kilograms in 2023, with projections at 18.8 kilograms by 2030, reports the non-governmental organization Textile Exchange, which has collaborated with UNEP.
That is taking a heavy toll on the planet. A 2023 report from UNEP estimated that 2 per cent to 8 per cent of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions come from the textiles sector. The industry also consumes 215 trillion litres of water per year or the equivalent of 86 million Olympic-sized swimming pools, emits 9 per cent of annual microplastic pollution to oceans, and uses approximately 3,500 chemicals in production, the same report found.
How can you make your wardrobe more sustainable?
- Cherish what you own. Revisit and repair items in your closet instead of throwing them away.
- Reconsider consumption. Opt for renting or buying secondhand.
- Speak up for change. Demand retailers be more sustainable, question companies on their actions, and call on policymakers to make circular fashion affordable for all.
A growing number of textile makers have begun to embrace standards for sustainability, say experts. But an analysis by Textile Exchange indicates the sector will not meet its targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 unless production of new clothes falls. Beyond climate, its work shows reining in production could also preserve water, limit pollution and slow ecosystem loss.
Experts say reducing the overall volume of textile materials and minimizing waste directly lowers the chemicals used in processing and their associated impacts.
UNEP is collaborating with Textile Exchange and the textile industry to reduce the volume of clothes produced while ensuring that textile value chain players, including workers, who are largely in developing countries, are consulted and not negatively affected.
UNEP is also leading a Global Environment Facility-funded programme on eliminating hazardous chemicals from fashion supply chains. One participating project in Trinidad and Tobago will address the carnival sector’s trend for costumes that are worn once then discarded, focusing instead on repurposing, upcycling and re-wearing.
This follows the recent “underconsumption core” trend on social media platform TikTok, where creators showcase how they’re buying less and better. A fashion and lifestyle magazine called the trend “a pleasing antidote to the constant pressure to buy more on social media”.
Central to addressing overconsumption, is confronting fashion's emphasis on newness, according to The Sustainable Fashion Communication Playbook from UNEP and UN Climate Change. One of the Playbook’s principles is to eradicate messages encouraging overconsumption. Instead, it calls for campaigns, fashions shows and social media content to promote circular solutions, demonstrate alternative models of success, and redirect aspiration to sustainable lifestyles.
Each year, more fashion brands engage on the topic of overconsumption, either by abstaining from Black Friday discounts, shutting down their stores for the day, or donating a percentage of profits to charity.
Last year, Re-Action Collective, a group of independent outdoor retailers, launched Citizen Friday as a counter narrative to consumerism, inviting people to “repair, share and get outside.”
“Change is happening, which is very encouraging,” says Tonda. “UNEP invites all value chain actors – be they textile companies, governments, financial institutions or consumers – to join hands and scale up action together at the pace needed.”
Contact information: To learn more, please contact Bettina Heller, Programme Lead, Textiles, UNEP, bettina.heller@un.org.
The UNEP Textile Initiative provides strategic leadership and encourages sector-wide collaboration to accelerate a just transition towards a sustainable and circular textile value chain. To stay updated on UNEP's textile work, and broader developments in the textile sector, sign up to the monthly newsletter.
