It was a one and a half-hour journey, travelling from my office to the venue. I was so excited to be invited by Brighton Fashion Collective, having a chance to be in the audience of this panel of sustainable fashion advocates.
The title of the event., “The Apocalypse will be Accessorised: Fashion, Waste and the Endless need for more.”
Sitting on the train, I was munching an egg mayo sandwich and flipped to a blank page in my notebook. I started to crack my head and think of questions that I would like someone to answer me. How do we push the fashion industry (the second most polluting industry) forward into a more environmentally sustainable industry, in such a nuanced, complicated situation.
Fashion is not a black and white topic. Before jumping into conclusion and labelling the fashion industry as the bad kid in class. Should we rewind and look into the big part of fashion history, and analyse what went wrong?
The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world. But fashion is a form of social or cultural expression, a non-verbal communication. Fashion brings communities, like-minded people together. The revolutionary changes in womenswear that signifies female empowerment, various musical influence eras like the hippies, disco, grunge, and now wearing the Keffiyeh is a symbol of supporting the Palestinian solidarity. Protest dressing has long been used as a way to express support for a cause.
We cultivated cotton, flax and made into yarn and turned into clothing. Making garments to cover our bodies isn’t just a necessity, but also an indicator of societal or wealth status. In ancient Roman society, clothing was a significant indicator of social status, citizenship and office. In ancient Greece, clothing was a marker of social status and wealth. Elite individuals could afford elaborately draped garments made with finer fabrics that were often dyed in expensive colours, such as the Tyrian Purple.
Now, we have a fashion waste crisis. Endless creation of new garments has taken a toll on the environment and threatens the well-being of communities. A huge patch of clothing waste in Chile’s Atacama desert is visible from outer space. How terrifying is that?
Who is the culprit?
A few points were mentioned in the evening’s conversation that I totally agreed with was:
1. Mass production
Big fashion brands that keep making new clothes. According to studies, 80 billion and 150 billion garments are made every year and between 10%-40% of these are not sold.
Where do these garments end up? Poorer countries, landfills and probably our unclose-able wardrobe.
2. Unethical marketing
To begin with, I find “unethical” sounds too serious because personally, as a comms graduate, I understand that marketing is an activity to promote or sell a product or services. In other words, marketing professionals in all fashion businesses are doing what’s been told.
But anyway, to achieve sales KPI, to touch on the customer’s pain points and sell them the dream. Marketing strategies usually would be: You must have this item to stay trendy! If you own this item, you are fashionable! Buy now because it’s limited edition. Buy more!
Hence, leads to the next problem.
3. Overconsumption
As mentioned, the “haul” content on social media platforms. That encourages consumers to buy more. Showing everyone how little money could buy lots of garments.
Poor quality? Who cares! It’s easy to get another one. It’s cheap, there’s next day delivery.
4. Synthetic Materials
Around 60% of materials used in clothing are synthetic. Polyester being one of the most well known fabrics. Then we have nylon, acrylic, elastane and the list goes on.
They are not biodegradable. It would stay on this planet forever. It releases pollutants to the environment.
Solutions?
Why do we need new clothes all the time? Why do we see seasonal sales, further reductions, promotional emails in our faces at all times? Why do all social media platforms have a black hole of “haul” related content?
One of the panel speakers mentioned that fashion marketing can evolve. Redirect in a better way, sell fashion as a service. I find this mindset shift interesting.
If a business starts thinking about overconsumption, the marketing strategy would change. Rather than highlighting that we need a new colour palette in our wardrobe because the seasons change, should we emphasize garment functionality that helps us go through the seasons change? What’s precious about all these materials? Who is behind making all these clothes for us?
Materials matter. At the design stage, start putting circularity in mind. Look at the measurable impact of different materials. What is the brands’ approach to create the most sustainable garment using the most sustainable material without jeopardising quality.
Hope?
Personally, as a consumer or an aspired fashion business owner to-be. I do have my doubts and hold backs when addressing these nuances.
52% of consumers want the industry to be more sustainable, according to surveys. That’s a huge fraction of people caring about the environment and it’s a good sign. But are people willing to pay for the price? Crochet is something that is impossible to make out of a machine. What should an authentic crochet dress cost then?
Yes, materials do matter. It’s often we see bad press about cotton being a high water consumption crop. Polyester is plastic, recycled materials are not traceable, trademarked materials are not 100% trustable. With the audience jumping into conclusions rating good and bad materials. It’s so difficult to come up with the best sustainable fibre recipe especially taking different aspects into consideration such as newness, design, hand feel, garment structure and cost. Elastane adds stretchability into our jeans, socks and underwear. Nylon is highly waterproof, quick dry which is efficient for sportswear. So? What’s best and what’s not?
Conclusion:
Advocacy and awareness is ultimately important. Besides, a change in business models, a systemic change in the education system is crucial. How do we advocate mindful consumption? Shaping a mindful mindset should be what the fashion industry drives towards. The price wars, the throwaway culture, and the “buy new” mindset has to stop before our future generation pays the price of the apocalypse.
In terms of policies, the “Make, Do, Mend” campaign during World War 2 is such a great example of how the government could influence such a significant shift. Unfortunately this kind of top down communication is more unlikely to happen in the modern world, but something that policy makers should look into locally-made policies. Embrace local social movements like mending clothes in public, “stitch it, don’t ditch it.” England has a rich garment-making heritage, why can’t this be rebuilt? Could any expert share with us under the comments section?
It was an insightful night with discussions and interesting points to think about. It was great to meet a group of sustainable fashion enthusiasts, a panel of sustainable fashion advocates, come around together and learn, having the hope to see a change. Most importantly, continue the advocacy and share the hope with more people.
References:
https://rauantiques.com/blogs/canvases-carats-and-curiosities/threads-of-time-fashion-in-the-ancient-world?srsltid=AfmBOoplF7Me4pSfDqVoRlIYF_TmxTtAcjEEdSkBFexwoSZfMI7R3K0I
https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2025/sep/19/wear-it-loud-wear-it-proud-how-marchers-for-gaza-are-bringing-protest-dressing-up-to-date
https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2024/jan/18/its-the-industrys-dirty-secret-why-fashions-oversupply-problem-is-an-environmental-disaster
The History of Fashion Through The Decades
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