As someone who grew up enthralled by fashion and immersed in mall culture like most others my age, it took a few decades to peel back the layers and truly see the industry for what it is. While it has elements of beauty and utility, from my perspective, the fashion system is largely rooted in consumption rather than true need. Brands are stuck in a cycle of producing more and selling more with no end in sight – all the while, extracting natural resources, polluting, and growing at the expense of individuals and communities.
I found this article from Atmos to be enlightening for the future of the fashion industry. Innovation and creativity are key for deviating from this fast fashion cycle, but only when the brands selling the products are responsible for what they produce and how. While there are no clear winning solutions right now, I am inspired to learn about the research and attention the issue of what happens to our garments when we’re “done” with them is getting. As time goes on, the environmental repercussions of what we wear will be more and more visible as clothing items go out of style, become too worn to wear or resell and inevitably need to be discarded.
Recycling programs are a hopeful solution but more work and infrastructure is needed to make it possible! My team at Solana Center for Environmental Innovation has been working to develop a new program collecting and recycling unusable fabrics in our community. As mentioned in the article, there are still some barriers and we’re looking for partners to help us making this program possible. If you or anyone you know is working in the textile recycling space I’d love to be connected. Thank you!
Must Love Sunshine 