The Need for Green Fashion

The rise of fast fashion over the last few decades has seen an alarming increase in the production and disposal of clothing articles. Therefore, the contribution of the textile and fashion industries to the ongoing climate crisis cannot be understated. Green Fashion offers a poignant solution to this dilemma by presenting a model and ethos that holds both producers and consumers accountable for the part they continue to play in global warming.

The Green Fashion movement calls upon corporations to cut down on their carbon emissions and industrial wastages, especially in the textile manufacturing processes. Taking this particular case as an example, reports indicate that roughly 20% of the world’s wastewater is produced by the fashion industry in the processes of bleaching, washing, drying and treating textile. This figure is anything but sustainable, and so the movement calls for the fashion industry to move away from a quantity centric production model to a quality centric one. Profits must take a backseat in the face of a global catastrophe.

Getty Images / Moment / Photograph © Jon Cartwright

However, the onus of responsibility does not fall solely on these large corporations. Green Fashion calls upon consumers to take an active role in preserving the environment by shopping less. To be more precise, however, the movement calls upon individuals to prioritize quality over quantity by deeming an unnecessary expansion of one’s wardrobe an environmentally expensive vice.

There are multiple ways in which consumers, at the very least, can contribute to the movement. Firstly, they can opt for clothing articles made of recycled materials. Recently growing in popularity, these ventures combine looking chic with being environmentally friendly. Similarly, clothes thrifting ventures are popping up all over social media and act as a wonderful and convenient way to update one’s wardrobe responsibly.