SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities & SDG 15: Life on Land
Written by: Chemitei Janet, Africa Regional Coordinator @ Threading Change
28 July 2022
[12-minute read]
SDG 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Cities are hubs for ideas, commerce, culture, science, productivity, social, human and economic development. Within the fashion industry, water, sanitation, waste management, disaster risk reduction, access to information, education and capacity-building are all relevant issues to sustainable urban development. As a 1.5 US trillion dollar revenue industry, it has a significant developmental impact on our planet.
Fashion is linked to dangerous working conditions due to lax in regulations and safety for its workers. Along the supply chain, workers are suffering from unsafe working conditions with long hours and low pay, which in some instances, is an indication of modern slavery.
The number of garments produced globally has increased significantly since 2000, and an estimated 92 million of textile waste is produced each year from the fashion industry. An equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is either incinerated, or ends up in landfills across the world every second.
The current fashion linear system of production impacts people and the planet in terms of water and energy use, human rights, pollution and contributes significantly to the global amount of carbon emissions to the environment while also degrading the very same ecosystems that support it. In Bangladesh Dhaka April 2013; a garment factory collapsed killing 1134 workers, and injuring a further 2600. This Rana Plaza collapse tragedy shows the human cost of fashion, and forces us to see why we need to rethink fashion as we know it, to find innovative sustainable business models and practices that will create a better industry for sustainable and resilient communities.
To achieve this goal within the fashion industry, must develop circular systems. Clothes are worn less in comparison to 15 years ago, thanks to an insatiable consumerism desire for new clothes. The linear business model produces poor fabric quality and sewing techniques that renders a garment being worn out quickly. Waste is not only achieved through discarding of these fast fashion clothing after a few wears, but also disregards pre-consumer textiles which is just as good to produce other clothes or used in upcycling or recycling designs.
There is a significant opportunity for new and better growth in the fashion industry in a circular business model. These include resale, rental, repair and remake which have shown a potential to grow, and lead to significant low clothing utilization and low rates of recycling after use. This way, the circulation of products and materials in the economy is ensured and for a low impact on the climate in comparison to the current fashion climate.
The opportunities transcend beyond materials and resources, it is also about creating sustainable jobs for people across fashions’ supply chain; an opportunity to build a fashion industry by redistributing power where people are enabled and value creation is shared equitably. For the industry to truly move forward; and leaving no one behind, then collaboration and innovation must be at the center.
How do we manage textile waste effectively? While clothes continue to flood landfills globally and take over local economies there are initiatives that are working in recycling to ensure that most of the clothing they encounter do not end up trashed. Africa Collect Textiles, one of the companies featured on our Global Innovation Story Map(GISM) collect used clothing that they sort and then recycle and upcycle in Nairobi, Kenya. They do this through setting up branded collection points where used clothes and unwanted footwear can be dropped off. Their initiative not only contributes to circularity in fashion especially in Africa, but also provides employment opportunities to people such as weavers who are an integral part of their process. ACT also educates on the citizens role in reducing textile waste.
SDG 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
The fashion industry is one of the top polluting industries, accounting for 20% of global waste water, affecting life on land, drying up water sources, and polluting rivers and streams. Pollution is one of the biggest threats to biodiversity. In Bangladesh alone, garment factories and mills involved in fabrics wash, dye and finish processes consume 1,500 billion liters of water annually, reducing groundwater levels and discharges toxic contaminants to water sources and surroundings which impacts human and environmental health.
The fashion industry has a heavy reliance on biodiversity, primarily through the production and processing of all the different materials used to make clothing, in the materials used for packaging, and has a significant impact on biodiversity, even during wear, care and disposal of clothes. Biodiversity is fundamental, and its loss will impact the health and well-being of people globally, while deepening the existing inequality that continues to show through the climate crisis.
A typical pair of jeans uses up to 7,000 liters of water to produce(Ellen MacArthur Foundation), while toxic chemicals and dyes are routinely used to achieve their desired look. Agricultural productions like cotton require an intense use of pesticides and water which not only contributes to pollution, but also directly leads to climate disasters and soil degradation in areas where there is large scale production of cotton as water sources are diverted to farmlands thus impacting communities in these regions such as the Aral Sea in Central Asia. The cultivated area of cotton covers about 3% of the world’s agricultural land but it uses 16% of all insecticides, and 7% of all pesticides which contributes to harming insects that are vital in crop pollination.
Forests account for 80% of the global terrestrial biodiversity habitats. Fashion is one of the significant contributors to deforestation with over 150 million trees logged every year to be turned into cellulosic fabrics such as rayon and viscose.
Approximately 60% of all materials used by the fashion industry are made from fossil fuels; synthetic fibers such as polyester, nylon and acrylic. This massive global fabric consumption of synthetic fibers creates an environmental catastrophe because they are non biodegradable; and is the main clothing waste found in mountains of landfills across the world. Synthetic fibers also contribute to microplastic and coupled with its extraction to create these fibers; it contributes significantly to climate change and biodiversity loss. Its production makes up 10% of humanity’s carbon emissions.
Overproduction and overconsumption is evidently linked to the overexploitation of natural resources, pollution and climate change which are the drivers of biodiversity loss. Shifting to circular systems requires consumers and citizens to dramatically reduce clothing production, put value back into the ways of making, the labor and the materials involved while buying less and better, keeping clothes for longer and finding innovative solutions to limit the amount of textiles ending up in landfills.
How do we design a sustainable fashion industry? Reducing fashions’ carbon emissions requires breaking free from fossil fuels dependency in their supply chain and focusing on renewable energy, committing to reduce their emissions by being fully transparent and sourcing for long lasting materials which also means factoring in the hazardous chemicals used in fiber transformation.
One of the greatest ways to replenish nature is through regenerative agriculture in order to improve biodiversity cover and help to lower CO₂ levels. Brands such as Patagonia are partnering directly with farmers to achieve biodiversity conservation. This however needs a commitment to transparency and traceability so one can easily understand and know what is happening across the supply chain.
There is rising consumer demand for clothes that puts people and the planet over profit and this is a great opportunity to demand for action.
About the Author:
Chemitei Janet (she/her) is an Environmental Planning and Management graduate with a passion for sustainable fashion and landscape restoration. She is a climate and social justice activist from Kenya, and also advocates for mental health and body positivity. Her interest in fashion started when she was young watching runway shows and design competitions. Chemitei's commitment to sustainability began in 2017 when she watched the True Cost movie and even went ahead to contest for Miss Environment in her home county Elgeyo Marakwet and won. She expresses her love for fashion and the environment through actively volunteering in environmental organizations such as Greenpeace and GLFx Nairobi, and learning how she can impact change in her community. She incorporates her love for crochet in upcycling projects and loves storytelling through writing.environmentalism, and climate justice.
