When we think of industries that have a harmful effect on the environment, manufacturing, energy, transportation, and even food come to mind. However, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the fashion industry is the second most polluting in the world.

Data from UNCTAD indicate that the clothing sector uses 93,000 million cubic meters of water each year, a sufficient volume to meet the needs of five million people, and that half a million cubic meters are also thrown into the sea each year. tons of microfiber, which is equivalent to 3 million barrels of oil.

In addition, the fashion industry produces more carbon emissions than all international flights and ocean shipments combined, with the consequences that this has on climate change and global warming.

The industry's dominant model is "fast fashion," which offers consumers constantly changing collections at low prices and encourages frequent shopping and discarding of clothing. As a consequence, the production of garments doubled in the period from 2000 to 2014. Many experts, including UN specialists, consider that this trend is responsible for a wide range of negative social, economic and environmental effects. , and underline the importance of ensuring that clothing is made in the most sustainable and ethical way possible.

Innovation and Sustainability

Despite the grim statistics, fashion producers and consumers are increasingly aware that the industry needs to change and many companies, including mass retailers, are beginning to integrate sustainability principles to their business strategies. For example, the global chain H&M has adopted a clothing collection scheme and the jean maker Guess is part of a wardrobe recycling programme; while the Patagonia company produces polyester jackets obtained from recycled bottles.

Some smaller companies have also joined the movement to change the apparel industry and implement a sustainable business model. These include the Swiss company Freitag, which uses tarpaulins and truck seat belts to make bags and backpacks; Indosole, for its part, makes shoes with old tires; and Canada's Novel Supply has a take-back scheme where customers can return their out-of-use garments for recycling by the company.

The founder of Novel Supply, Kaya Dorey, won the UN environmental award “Champions of the Earth” in its youth category, for her initiative to design a production model with materials that do not harm the environment and to find solutions for waste resulting from the manufacturing process.

The UN's role in cleaning up the fashion industry

Intent on curbing the garment industry's destructive environmental and social practices and leveraging the catwalk to protect ecosystems, Ten United Nations agencies launched at the Environment Assembly in Nairobi in March this year, the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion.

Elisa Tonda, head of the Consumption and Production Unit of the UN Environment Program (UNEP), one of the ten UN agencies that are part of the Alliance, explained that the global production of clothing and Footwear generates 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. “And with those manufacturing concentrated in Asia, the industry relies heavily on coal and natural gas to generate the electricity and heat it needs.”

“If we continue working with the current business approach, the emissions of polluting gases from this industry will increase by almost 50% by 2030,” he warned.

The Power of Influencers

British celebrity and environmentalist Elle L was one of the speakers at the launch of the Alliance. On that occasion she told UN News that “fast fashion” is the biggest obstacle to sustainability. “There is real pressure to buy and there is no brake on reducing excessive production and consumption. We need better labeling so people know what they are buying, we need a tax or a ban on synthetic fibers that cause serious environmental damage and contribute to the microplastics crisis. And we need a change in mindset about excessive production and consumption.”

Increasingly, especially in the last decade, social media influencers like Lucia Musau, an award-winning fashion blogger based in Kenya, are successfully disseminating messages that can help highlight the negative consequences of fast fashion.

UN News spoke with Lucia while participating in talks on sustainable fashion at the UN Environment Assembly. On that occasion, she agreed that over time she has become a trusted voice advising people and influencing what they should buy: “As global citizens we have an important role to play. We have become more conscious about what we consume and the days of buying just because it was fashionable are long gone. If a Kenyan designer wants me to promote it, I ask him how exactly he produces his clothes,” says the blogger, who also supports the new UN alliance. “As consumers become more informed, the industry will have no choice but to adapt to their needs,” he says.

Less is more

Regardless of the measures taken by some retailers so that the industry does less harm to the environment, it can be said that at the end of the day, the only way to make the industry truly sustainable is fashion is to end the culture of waste.

According to the 2019 McKainsey State of Fashion report, each person today buys an average of 60 cents more clothing than 15 years ago and throws it away in half the time they used to back then.

UN Environment considers that, if a change in the forms of consumption were promoted through measures such as better care of clothes and recycling and return programs, it could have a greater impact, and that with only doubling the time that we use each article of clothing we could cut in half the greenhouse gas emissions produced by the fashion industry.

In any case, for this to happen sellers and consumers would have to renounce the “buy, use and dispose” model, and recognize that, for the good of the planet, when it comes to fashion, less is more, and the need to convert the model towards a circular economy.

Environmental impact of the fashion industry

• 7,500 liters of water are required to produce a pair of jeans• The clothing sector uses 93,000 million cubic meters of water each year, enough to 5 million people survive• The fashion industry is responsible for 20% of total water waste globally• The production of clothing and footwear produces 8% of greenhouse gases• Every second an amount is buried or burned of textiles equivalent to a garbage truck• Clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2014