Ethical fashion: A rising trend or empty rhetoric?

Yet, consumers are increasingly sensitive to the ethical argument, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic. The time spent reflecting on the interconnected nature of the world, our values, and how we can build a better future, has only reinforced this trend. A global survey of readers of the fashion magazine Vogue, found that the number of respondents who say sustainability is an important factor when making a fashion purchase rose to sixty-nine per cent in May 2021, from sixty-five per cent in October 2020.

If fashion brands are taking steps to clean up their businesses and the majority of fashion shoppers are keen to support it, why isn’t fashion doing better at shaking off its reputation as one of the world’s most polluting industries? 

It boils down to one simple truth – the way we currently make, consume, and discard fashion items is fundamentally flawed.

Self-esteem and our desire to belong

Clothing is an essential human need, so it’s no wonder that consumption has increased along with global population figures. However, clothes also tap into deeper human needs. Our desire to belong is shown outwardly by dressing in a similar manner to our peers. Our self-esteem and confidence are intrinsically linked to dressing in ways that make us feel good, and we might even attempt to garner respect from others through the labels we wear. The act of getting dressed can also be a form of self-expression and creativity for some. It’s these needs which the fashion industry has manipulated to sell us more and more, sending   production skyrocketing in recent decades.    

Changes in the geopolitical landscape and technology have also supported this growth. In the 1980s and 1990s, fashion brands in the West gradually began to offshore their production to Asia, where the cost of labour is cheaper. Cheaper clothes meant more purchases, and lower quality became more acceptable to consumers as it became easier to replace items at low cost. With the advent of internet shopping in the 2000s, fashion-lovers were able to shop around the clock from a wider choice of stores. And the rise of social media and smartphones in the 2010s has provided a 24/7 marketing machine for brands to advertise products. 

Between 2000 and 2014, clothing production doubled, and the number of garments purchased per person increased by around sixty per cent, according to McKinsey. The pace at which fashion collections are renewed has definitely accelerated. Fashion stores, which used to release two collections a year, now offer new lines every week. And ultra-fast, online fashion retailers aimed at Generation Z consumers, can put up thousands of new products on their sites every day.  

This staggering increase in production has put enormous strain on natural resources such as cotton, including the land and water required to grow it, and on fossil fuels that are used to produce polyester. At the same time, it has increased waste in both the supply chain and at the end-of-life stage, and accelerated carbon emissions.