Fashion is the second largest industry that has a negative impact on the environment. The production of clothing in cheap and unethical ways contributes to climate change, habitat destruction, animal suffering, water pollution, air pollution and human rights abuses. Water pollution is also one of the biggest results of fast fashion, with chemical run-off from fabric dying making all of the water in Indonesia unsafe, and causing 320 million people in China to be without clean drinking water.

In the 80’s, manufacturing clothing in the UK became no longer viable due to increasing expenses. Fashion brands began to seek out cheap and fast methods to produce garments and embraced the importation from countries with little to no boundaries. In sweatshops throughout the Eastern part of the globe, there is a huge lack of effective monitoring of health and safety of workers and a number of incidents have occurred since the production of fast fashion began.

On 24 April 2013, the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which housed five garment factories, killed at least 1,100 people and injured more than 2,500 (ILO). This crisis kick-started one of the biggest backlashes of campaigns, fighting for the rights of ethical production of clothing. Fashion Revolution is a global movement that wants to unite people and organisations to work together to radically change the way clothes are sources produced and consumed. Their mission is to ensure our clothing is made in a safe, clean and fair way. The campaign strives for brand transparency and the notion that garment workers can be empowered and treated humanely in their own country. Disruption creates space for conversation and debate.

April 2019 saw the rise of a new campaign fighting to save the planet, Extinction Rebellion – “using non- violent civil disobedience to achieve radical change in order to minimise the risk of human extinction and ecological collapse”.

Overproduction is also growing ever-more damaging on the planet, with there being nearly £50billion of unworn clothes in wardrobes throughout the UK, and 300,000 tons of clothing going to landfill every year (Hubbub). Social media campaigns such as Love not Landfill and Clean Clothes Campaign have been set up to combat this. In addition, Green Peace Detox Fashion has half a million campaigners, challenging top brands to produce toxic-free fashion.

Since such things have been brought to the attention of the general public, through numerous fashion documentaries such as The True Cost and David Attenborough’s Blue Planet 2, many brands are beginning to embrace ethical clothing lines. H&M’s Conscious Exclusive uses materials such as recycled fishing nets to create fabrics and Urban Outfitter’s Renewal line sells reworked and second-hand garments. Charming and affordable fashion, without the guilt.

Second-hand shopping is still as popular as ever, with even more stores popping up all over the country. 2019 will be the year for reworking and reusing. According to EPA, if all 300 million Americans reused just one t-shirt, it would save 210 billion gallons of water and 1 million pounds of CO2. But how can students afford to live and shop sustainably?

The aim of Fashion Revolution, among many other campaigners, is simply to educate. It would be ideal to have zero impact on the Earth’s destruction but this can be difficult with a low budget. We need to understand that little changes can make all the difference. Just being aware and sharing your knowledge can help.

Many events are held all over the country to help further your education on how to make more sustainable choices. On Saturday, The Sustainable Fashion Fest was held in Southampton - a chance to network with ike-minded people, discover new sustainable brands and a chance to educate, with a number of guest speakers and workshops available. With jewellery made from recycled bottles, cans and bicycles tyres, an overwhelming clothes swap, a raffle and a ‘Who Made my Clothes’ (Fashion Revolution) stall, there was something for all ages.

The Future of Fashion is Sustainable