Sustainability Initiatives in the Fashion Industry

Jennifer Xiaopei Wu and Li Li

## Abstract

A heightened awareness toward the fashion industry's environmental impact has emerged in recent years, stirred by mounting evidence of intensified global clothing consumption and driven by the increased accessibility and affordability of clothing. In the last 3 years, the release of several comprehensive reports years detailing the extent of the fashion industry's environmental impact, as well as the founding of several fashion industry-targeted sustainability campaigns (e.g., the "2020 Commitment" of the Global Fashion Agenda), has not only helped draw a great deal of attention to the issues but has also triggered an evident wave of intention toward a concrete, quantifiable action. With the abundance of information surrounding the subject of sustainability in the fashion industry, this chapter intends to provide an overview of (1) the most concerning environmental impacts caused by the fashion industry, (2) current leading collective sustainability campaigns mobilizing the fashion industry, (3) current available benchmarks and tools for measuring environmental impact of the textile life cycle, and (4) examples of how companies in the fashion industry are executing sustainability initiatives in their products or processes. Finally, the chapter will conclude with some of the current challenges and future opportunities in sustainability confronting the fashion industry.

Keywords: fashion industry, Textiles and Apparel, sustainability, environmental impact, sustainability initiatives

## 1. Introduction

The taxing impact the fashion industry has had on the environment is by no means a new revelation—having accumulated a great deal of evidence over the years. However, unlike in the past when "sustainability" seemed more like an ideal adopted by individual, niche grassroot organizations, it is now considered a core value globally across the fashion industry. The fashion industry's recent wave of intentional action toward sustainability is in part motivated by several comprehensive and revealing industry sustainability reports released in the last 3 years [1–3], but moreover it is a collective response to the recent fashion industry-specific sustainability campaigns such as the "2020 Commitment," spearheaded in the last 2 years by several sustainability-driven coalitions (e.g., the Global Fashion Agenda and the Waste and Resources Action Programme UK), which have rallied formal commitments from a significant portion of the fashion industry toward concrete, quantifiable action for sustainability by 2020.

### Fashion Industry - An Itinerary Between Feelings and Technology

inputs and outputs of the textile product life cycle is reflected in Figure 2. (It is worthwhile to note that the term "life cycle" used is misleading in that the above chain of processes does not form a "cycle," but is instead linear sequence of events, with a definite beginning and end. A true cyclical life cycle would be indicative of recycling or reuse, feeding the end waste back into the system to be

As shown, the inputs and outputs of the fashion industry's "textile product life cycle" pose impact on the environment, but it is the size of the impact which is staggering. This is partly due to the immense scale of the fashion industry, which has been evaluated to be a USD 1.3 trillion dollar industry [6], and the world's third largest manufacturing industry, after automotive and technology [7]. But also, according to a report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, data confirms that the greenhouse gas emissions produced by textile production exceeds that of international aviation and maritime shipping combined. If it continues down this path, it is projected that by 2050 it could account for 1/4 of the worlds' carbon emissions [1]. To put it into perspective further, the annual carbon footprint of the fashion industry's product life cycle (3.3 billion tons CO2 emissions) is almost equivalent to

However, greenhouse gas emissions are not the only harmful environmental outputs from the fashion industry; it is just one of the numerous other inputs and outputs which have strenuous environmental implications, as exemplified in Figure 2. The below provides a summary, along with examples, highlighting some of the leading concerns (note that there are indeed many others; however, for the

◦ For example, coal/natural gas (nonrenewable) energy to power

• Polluting waste outputs (e.g., chemicals, pesticides, carbon emissions, etc.):

◦ For example, fertilizer/pesticide runoff from cotton crops

that of 28 countries in the EU (3.5 billion tons) [7].

Environmental impact (inputs and outputs) of the textile life cycle.

Sustainability Initiatives in the Fashion Industry DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87062

• Heavy consumption of depleting natural resources:

manufacturing facilities

purpose of this condensed article, we will focus on the following):

◦ For example, water consumption for cotton crops

used again).

5

Figure 2.

#### Figure 1.

Growth of clothing sales and decline in clothing utilization since 2000. Source: World bank, [4].

The heightened concern toward the fashion industry's environmental impact is also stirred by evidence of intensified global clothing consumption—which according to data from the World Bank [4] has doubled from around 50 billion units of clothing sales in 2000 to over 100 billion units in 2015 (see Figure 1). This dramatic increase in clothing consumption has been fueled by fast fashion, an increasingly bargain-driven consumer, increased accessibility via an expanding online shopping landscape, and more buying power from a growing middle class, especially in emerging economies such as China (projected to surpass the United States "as the largest fashion market in the world" in 2019, according to McKinsey FashionScope [5]). Unfortunately, the increased accessibility and affordability of clothing simultaneously propagated not only a culture of excessive consumption but also a quicker disposal of clothing, as exemplified by an approximately 20% decrease in the average number of times a garment is worn before it is abandoned as shown in Figure 1.

Given the abundance of information surrounding the subject of sustainability in the fashion industry from many sources, there is an opportunity for a collated overview on the subject. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to provide an overview of (1) the most concerning environmental impacts caused by the fashion industry, (2) current leading collective sustainability campaigns mobilizing the fashion industry, (3) current available benchmarks and tools for measuring environmental impact of the textile life cycle, and (4) examples of how companies in the fashion industry are executing sustainability initiatives in their products or processes. Finally, the article will conclude with some of the current challenges and future opportunities in sustainability confronting the fashion industry.

## 2. The environmental impact of the textile life cycle

In any given industry, each stage of the product life cycle poses an impact on the environment—by consuming environmental inputs (e.g., water for harvesting raw materials, fossil fuels to power manufacturing equipment, etc.) and releasing environmental outputs (e.g., carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels, landfill waste after product is disposed, etc.). For the fashion industry, the environmental

Sustainability Initiatives in the Fashion Industry DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87062

#### Figure 2.

The heightened concern toward the fashion industry's environmental impact is

also stirred by evidence of intensified global clothing consumption—which according to data from the World Bank [4] has doubled from around 50 billion units of clothing sales in 2000 to over 100 billion units in 2015 (see Figure 1). This dramatic increase in clothing consumption has been fueled by fast fashion, an increasingly bargain-driven consumer, increased accessibility via an expanding online shopping landscape, and more buying power from a growing middle class, especially in emerging economies such as China (projected to surpass the United States "as the largest fashion market in the world" in 2019, according to McKinsey FashionScope [5]). Unfortunately, the increased accessibility and affordability of clothing simultaneously propagated not only a culture of excessive consumption but

Growth of clothing sales and decline in clothing utilization since 2000. Source: World bank, [4].

Fashion Industry - An Itinerary Between Feelings and Technology

also a quicker disposal of clothing, as exemplified by an approximately 20%

the fashion industry from many sources, there is an opportunity for a collated overview on the subject. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to provide an overview of (1) the most concerning environmental impacts caused by the fashion industry, (2) current leading collective sustainability campaigns mobilizing the fashion industry, (3) current available benchmarks and tools for measuring environmental impact of the textile life cycle, and (4) examples of how companies in the fashion industry are executing sustainability initiatives in their products or processes. Finally, the article will conclude with some of the current challenges and

future opportunities in sustainability confronting the fashion industry.

2. The environmental impact of the textile life cycle

shown in Figure 1.

4

Figure 1.

decrease in the average number of times a garment is worn before it is abandoned as

Given the abundance of information surrounding the subject of sustainability in

In any given industry, each stage of the product life cycle poses an impact on the environment—by consuming environmental inputs (e.g., water for harvesting raw materials, fossil fuels to power manufacturing equipment, etc.) and releasing environmental outputs (e.g., carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels, landfill waste after product is disposed, etc.). For the fashion industry, the environmental

Environmental impact (inputs and outputs) of the textile life cycle.

inputs and outputs of the textile product life cycle is reflected in Figure 2. (It is worthwhile to note that the term "life cycle" used is misleading in that the above chain of processes does not form a "cycle," but is instead linear sequence of events, with a definite beginning and end. A true cyclical life cycle would be indicative of recycling or reuse, feeding the end waste back into the system to be used again).

As shown, the inputs and outputs of the fashion industry's "textile product life cycle" pose impact on the environment, but it is the size of the impact which is staggering. This is partly due to the immense scale of the fashion industry, which has been evaluated to be a USD 1.3 trillion dollar industry [6], and the world's third largest manufacturing industry, after automotive and technology [7]. But also, according to a report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, data confirms that the greenhouse gas emissions produced by textile production exceeds that of international aviation and maritime shipping combined. If it continues down this path, it is projected that by 2050 it could account for 1/4 of the worlds' carbon emissions [1]. To put it into perspective further, the annual carbon footprint of the fashion industry's product life cycle (3.3 billion tons CO2 emissions) is almost equivalent to that of 28 countries in the EU (3.5 billion tons) [7].

However, greenhouse gas emissions are not the only harmful environmental outputs from the fashion industry; it is just one of the numerous other inputs and outputs which have strenuous environmental implications, as exemplified in Figure 2. The below provides a summary, along with examples, highlighting some of the leading concerns (note that there are indeed many others; however, for the purpose of this condensed article, we will focus on the following):

	- For example, water consumption for cotton crops
	- For example, coal/natural gas (nonrenewable) energy to power manufacturing facilities
	- For example, fertilizer/pesticide runoff from cotton crops

◦ Dyes/chemical waste from garment factories (e.g., for dyeing and washing processes)

◦ Industry commitment (as of May 2018):

◦ Mission/action points:

Sustainability Initiatives in the Fashion Industry DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87062

• Industry commitment (as of March 2019):

Figure 3.

7

1. Ninety-four companies signed on (represents 12.5% of the global fashion market), including ASOS, H&M, Nike, Inditex, Kering, and Target.

The SCAP (spearheaded by WRAP) is a collaborative framework and voluntary commitment for organizations to deliver industry-led targets of a 15% reduction in carbon, water, and waste in the clothing industry by [10]:

• The "Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP) 2020 Commitment," introduced by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP)

1. Reinventing how clothes are designed and produced

3. Redefining what is possible through reuse and recycling

including ASOS, Marks and Spencer, Ted Baker, and others.

A diagrammatic expression of the goal of "circularity" in the textile product life cycle.

2. Rethinking how we value clothing by extending life of clothes

• Eighty companies signed on (represents 58.5% of the UK's retail sales volume),

The action points of both these campaigns show an emphasis on cyclability—not just of materials but also practices—and reshaping the product life cycle toward circularity [10] (see Figure 3). The number of companies committed to these campaigns so far is a promising sign that sustainability is gradually becoming an integral factor in the fashion industry. Aside from the global sustainability campaigns such as above, another industry resource supporting companies toward sustainability is the various benchmarks and tools developed to help the fashion industry gauge the environmental

	- For example, shedding of polyester fibers (considered microplastics) in the laundry process: a domestic wash load can release around 700,000 fibers and, as they are unable to be completely filtered out by waste water treatment plants, end up infiltrating and accumulating in marine ecosystems [8]. This issue is exacerbated by the drastic increase in the annual consumption of polyester fibers in the fashion industry, which has grown exponentially, from 8.3 million tons in 2000, to 21.3 million tons in 2016 [6].

This section provided a condensed overview of the extent of the fashion industry's impact on the environment and highlighted the most concerning forms of impact. However, it is worth noting that the abundance of published data and literature on the environmental impact of the fashion industry is truly inundating and could easily extend beyond the scope of this section. The following section will present some of the current collective global sustainability campaigns which are striving to alleviate the environmental impact of the fashion industry in the future.
