SDG 12: Ensure Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns
Written by: Barbra Kangwana, Africa’s Regional Coordination Team Research Leader @ Threading Change
15 September 2022
[8-minute read]
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were established seven years ago (2015) by the United Nations (UN) and were adopted by all UN Member States at the time to act as “a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.”
These SDGs were supposed to be the “urgent call” governments, industries, and citizens needed to commence the long and hard process of creating lasting change and global solidarity in the pursuit of a better tomorrow. Seven years down the line though, and many industries have barely begun implementing sustainable development…
Here at Threading Change, our specialty is fashion and the textile industry; that is what we can speak to, and so we encourage you to follow us along on this ride and learn about the UN SDGs and specifically how they relate to the fashion industry.
SDG 12: Ensure Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns
The first target of Sustainable Development Goal 12 is to achieve sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources. The fashion industry has significantly contributed to the evolution of the world’s economy. Despite this, it is one of the most extravagant industries when it comes to consumption of natural resources. Currently, having a value of about $3 trillion dollars, it still remains the second highest consumer of water and contributes up to 20 percent of global water waste. After the consumption of all these resources, the lifespan of each garment is still half as long, with up to 40 percent of them being discarded to landfills, some even before they are sold.
Fast fashion is the mass production of cheap, poor quality clothing designs from the cat walk or celebrity culture to disposable clothes. It involves quick production times and very fast distribution of cheaper clothes with trendy designs that consumers will find appealing. This linear economic model is driven by the consumers’ demands emerging from the different trends and the industry's race to the bottom . The industry might seem to quench the insatiable need for consumers to have more trendy outfits however it pushes us back in achieving global sustainability. It also makes its profits at the expense of the environment, natural resources and the labor force.
The fast fashion industry is responsible for 10 percent of global carbon emissions. This does not account for synthetic fiber production from oil. The industry is responsible for 24 percent of insecticides and 11 percent of pesticides and additional water pollution by dumping dyes and chemicals into water systems. Most of this information is hidden from the consumers as most do not know how fashion and the environment are related.
The impact of the fashion industry is already being felt on the environment and on the human communities living in the areas where there is industry presence and production is located. It is not only resource-demanding but also a high waste generating sector. As the global population increases so does the expected demand for clothes. This means that the impact is more likely to worsen in the coming years if no sustainable measures are implemented. The apparel industry, through its current practices is not just undermining SDG 12 and its targets but also other SDGs that are linked with it. Producing companies need to make information available for people to make sustainable choices like buying less clothes and keeping the ones they already own for as long as possible.
There are so many unexplored grounds for the fashion industry to substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reusing, what has rarely been adopted by manufacturing companies, and along fashion’s supply chain. Adopting this form of circularity can also act as an avenue for revenue generation. A circular economy in the fashion industry will ensure that garments stay in use for longer, "before being disposed of." The process has to start with ensuring that a garment is designed and developed to be durable. Once it has served its purpose, it becomes a raw material for another process in the cycle. It can either be recycled or up-cycled into a new product. Africa Collect Textiles is an example of such a company that collects, recycles and up-cycles clothing and footwear waste into carpets, shoes, bags and blankets. Returning textile that would have instead been thrown into landfills back into the market as a new product, saving the environment of waste. The best thing about circularity is that any textile considered as waste can be transformed into a different product that can generate profit at any point of the cycle. This just proves that it is very possible to move towards a more circular and just economy that protects by shrinking production and consumption, rethinking waste and producing social and ecological sustainability.
How can you help?
This month is Second Hand September, Threading Change pledges to work with and collaborated with a number of organisations who are also pledging for #NoNewClothes . Second Hand September is a campaign to encourage people to buy only second hand items for 30 days, in the month of September! The industry has made overconsumption and disposable clothing normal, with millions of tonnes of textile waste being made every year!
This campaign has us rethinking this month that is filled with the fashion industry's bustle and cycles of over consumption. It is a pledge to only buy secondhand clothing for the duration of the month and encourage to do so beyond the month of September.
It’s important to understand that Second Hand September, is not there to encourage overconsumption but to challenge how and what we are consuming and ultimately find new ways to wear and take care of the clothes we already own.
Take the pledge this month to extend the life of garments that already exist, challenge the idea of planned obsolescence and fashion for disposability.
Join a growing movement of people taking on the challenge of choosing second hand for the month of September.
A way to commemorate this month and only choosing second hand come visit Threading Change’s Vancouver Clothing Swap happening on September 17th! All the details to our other global swaps can be found here!
Our clothing swaps are an up-stream solution to textile waste that celebrates personal style and aims to re-ground clothing consumption habits in a traditional 4-season fashion year.
Our goal is to divert clothing from landfills and reduce carbon emissions by extending the life-cycle of clothing already in our community, while engaging individuals in local solutions to textile waste. We bring SDG12 to our communities’ attention through swaps because only 1% of textiles around the world are recycled properly and the dominant fashion system is a waste crisis that is often mystified and now even romanticized by many Global North brands.
If you missed our previous educational works on SDGs 1-11, check out our Instagram! Try searching the hashtag #ThreadingChangexSDGs to see all of our informative posts in one spot.
About the author:
Barbra Kangwana is an environmental and climate activist. She has been actively involved in environmental conservation, climate justice and fossil-free campaigns to advocate for better policies and sustainable practices. She is the Research Lead at Threading Change. She is a community trainer and climate educator. She expresses her passion for addressing the climate crisis through training youth groups, initiatives and organizations on climate change, its spill-over issues and ways in which they can be more resilient and adaptable in the climate crisis. Barbra is also the founder of Lastshade Initiative which focuses on creating awareness on environmental conservation and climate change and increasing resilience in the local communities through behavior modification. During her free time she likes to see clothes and bags from leftover fabrics.
