Fast fashion impact on the environment
"Modern luxury means being socially and environmentally responsible,” said the Burberry’s CEO Marco Gobetti. The thing is that the clothing industry has one of the highest impacts on the planet, it is on the second place after the oil industry. One of the most obvious reasons for the current unsustainable condition of the fashion industry is related to "fast fashion" - the continuous stream of new goods onto the market. The trends in fashion are changing very fast and we have so many brands that globally produce on-trend clothes and make it signify cheap and accessible. Among them are Zara, H&M, Asos, Forever 21 etc.
At the same time - 50% of fashion made in the world is not wanted by consumers and sold at a discount; 40% of sold clothes are rarely or never worn and only 20% of the clothes bought are worn on a regular basis; the average lifetime of a piece of clothing is approximately 3 years.
So far, no brand can label itself as fully sustainable, and there is no certain stable model among the designers for how to be sustainable in practice. The fashion industry has to find a better way of the processes of material production, dying, assembly, accessorizing, shipping, retail, washing, recycling etc. But there is something we can do as consumers: reuse and repair what you own; recycle by donating and buying preloved clothes; rent or borrow occasional wear items; research ethical brands.
