Recently, the fashion industry has been pushing for ethicality and sustainability all while it's one of the top most polluting industries. Sustainable brands have emerged to slow the pollution that is caused. In an effort to “make the world a better place”, there are topics that need to be addressed in regards to lack of representation, and overall hypocrisy.
Sustainability focuses on methods to have eco friendly fashion. Fabric is being upcycled, colored with natural dyes, and even making fabric out of natural substances like spoiled milk (this fabric is called QMilch which was created by Anke Domaske). Many upcoming designers have been starting slow fashion brands, recognizing the impact the fashion industry has caused to our dying planet. While all of these are excellent progress to correct what's wrong, there is still more work to do.
For decades, the fashion industry has ignored its negative impacts on society. If we look at textile factories, one can see the direct impact it has on neighboring communities. In Dhaka, Bangladesh, there are many rivers polluted because of the chemicals and dye these factories use making the water inhabitable. One river in particular is the Buriganga River. It has been immensely polluted with a mix of waste, and harmful chemicals used to process fabrics. Reuters has stated that the river is so polluted that all of the fish have died and the water has turned into a black gel. Water is a pivotal resource for life to thrive, so just imagine how many people are struggling with health because of the lack of care and greed the fast fashion industry has adapted. The fashion industry often brings these factories to developing communities, to perceive like they’re helping when in actuality they are destroying it.
. There’s this constant theme in the media that depicts these brands as “saviors” when making some type of change when they were the same ones causing chaos. Sustainability has become an act of consumerism, led by well off non-people of color, capitalizing off of those who have practiced those methods for years in means of survival. The only representation people of color get in sustainability or fashion in general is mostly acts of labor. It's important for POC to be included due to the underlying oppression that we face that others may be insensible about, like inequities in pay.
The lack of transparency in brands often leave us consumers unaware what exactly we are feeding into. Mostly the things that attract our eye (affordable clothing) comes with a downfall, and that is the lack of wages given to workers, lack of resources they have to healthcare and more working in toxic conditions, and polluting our planet. Furthermore, there is a high cost to be sustainable. A pair of organic pants may cost you around $150. An everyday person cannot afford the price to even help make a difference due to the fashion industry profiting off of pain making it a trend, an expensive one at that.
Overall, reality is, nothing can be done effectively until corporations make a change in their methods to stop their pollution, and the world raising their awareness of the tremendous amounts of consumption that we all have adapted. What you can do for now, if haven't already, is read some brand ratings using “Good on You”, and see the impact brands have ethically and environmentally.
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