In Chile’s Atacama Desert, piles of unwanted clothes reached so high they were reportedly visible from space. In Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, textile dyes turned a river black, said international media. And in the English channel, researchers found synthetic fibres in the bellies of fish.
These are all hallmarks of a clothing industry that experts say is taking an increasingly heavy toll on the planet, not only stoking pollution but also feeding climate change and gobbling up land.
Want some stats? The fashion industry churns out up to 8 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and every second, the equivalent of a garbage truck full of clothing is incinerated or dumped into landfills, found the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
But experts say there are some simple things that governments, businesses and everyday people can do to minimize waste in the sector and reduce its environmental toll.
“The good news is that it’s not too late to build a more circular, more sustainable fashion sector,” says Elisa Tonda, Chief of the Resources and Markets Branch of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “But we need everyone pulling together if we’re going to make the systemic change necessary to transform the fashion industry into a force for environmental good.”
On 30 March, the world will celebrate the International Day of Zero Waste, which this year focuses on fashion and textiles. Ahead of the observance, we spoke with Tonda about five ways to make the sector more sustainable.
1. Build a more circular fashion industry
The fashion industry’s linear business model is behind most of the waste it generates, says Tonda. A staggering amount of clothes are made cheaply and quickly, without much consideration for their impact on the planet. These clothes are often worn for only a short time, then jettisoned into landfills or incinerated. This feeds climate change, depletes natural resources and floods land, sea and air with hazardous chemicals.
The solution?
The industry, says Tonda, needs to reduce production volumes of new items and become more circular by keeping clothes and raw materials in use for as long as possible. To do that, clothing manufacturers can design garments that are more durable, use more sustainable fabrics and make clothes easier to recycle.
As the industry and consumers adopt circular business models and shift away from fast fashion to more durable products and sustainable consumption, it will be important to support producing countries, so they are not left behind in the transition, Tonda adds.
2. Improve fabric recycling
Just 1 per cent of the fibres available for use in new apparel, fabrics and cloths for furnishing, and footwear come from recycled textiles, finds Textile Exchange, a non-governmental organization.
To increase recycling, Tonda says municipalities can invest in infrastructure for collecting textile waste, like clothing banks, which allow people to drop off their old garments. They can also expand fabric recycling programmes. Meanwhile, national governments can implement extended producer responsibility programmes, which make manufacturers – as opposed to municipalities and consumers – responsible for what happens to clothes at the end of their life. Many countries are beginning to do this.
Meanwhile, clothing brands can design garments that are easier to recycle, including by choosing easily reusable fabrics and phasing out hazardous chemicals.
3. Remove hazardous chemicals from clothes
More than 15,000 chemicals are used in textile manufacturing, according to an article in the journal Springer Nature. Some chemicals, like those added to make clothes flame retardant and stain resistant, are hazardous and can build up in the environment for decades, potentially harming humans, animals and the planet. These chemical cocktails can also interact in complex ways and make it hard to safely recycle garments.
That’s why Tonda says it’s important for governments to regulate and push for the safe management of hazardous chemicals used in textile production. Meanwhile, clothing brands can ensure their products are made with eco-friendly substances, embracing what experts call “green and sustainable chemistry”.
When synthetic clothes are washed and worn, they let loose plastic microfibres, some of which are laden with hazardous chemicals, as found by a study in the journal Microplastics. That’s another reason, Tonda says, brands should design out hazardous chemicals from products. Textile producers, washing machine manufacturers, and municipal wastewater treatment plants aalso all need to gather and share more data on microfibre shedding and effective filters for them, and brands need to provide information to consumers on how to care properly for products, she adds.
4. Change the narrative that newer is always better
Critics say the fashion industry, fueled by one of the world’s most powerful marketing engines, has long encouraged consumers to buy more clothes than they need. Clothing production doubled from 2000 to 2015, while the number of times a garment was worn plunged by 36 per cent, found the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
A recent UNEP and UN Climate Change report called on fashion industry insiders – including brand marketers, magazine editors and social media influencers – to counter the new-is-better trend. The report said they can do that by promoting more sustainable lifestyles, pushing clothing brands to scale back production and eliminating messages that encourage overconsumption.
“Brands can create both marketing messages and products that have emotional longevity – where customers are inspired to, and are able to, wear and keep products longer,” says Tonda. “Everyone can encourage people around them to value and be creative with the clothes they already have, rather than buying more.”
To support this, governments can require companies to disclose the environmental impact of the clothes they make, which would help consumers make better informed and more sustainable decisions.
5. Shop less, shop better
While most of the onus for making the fashion industry more sustainable should fall on governments and businesses, Tonda says consumers have an important role to play. She encourages them to “shop within their own wardrobes” and support circular business models. That means, for instance, repairing or altering existing clothes, renting pieces for special occasions, shopping at vintage stores, buying second-hand garments online and swapping items with friends.
If buying new is the only option, Tonda recommends choosing sustainable brands and materials when possible, and focusing on high-quality garments that will stand the test of time.
“Consumers have a tremendous amount of power and by choosing more circular options, they can send a signal to those with the influence and means to make the fashion industry more sustainable,” says Tonda.
International Day of Zero Waste observed on 30 March, was established through UN General Assembly Resolution 77/161 and is jointly facilitated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). This day aims to raise awareness about the critical role of waste management and responsible consumption and production in achieving sustainable development. It calls on individuals and organizations to adopt a life-cycle approach, focusing on reducing resource use and environmental emissions at every stage of a product's life cycle.
