Sustainability in my closet?

The clothes we use every day say something. They have a personal meaning and are sometimes the first thing people see when looking at us. We all have different motivations as to why we purchase what we purchase and there are many factors we consider when buying new clothes, but it is not just us. The global population of 7.6 billion (Worldometers, 2018) which annually consumes an average of 7 kilos a year of textiles and apparel (Nimkar, 2018) translates into over 50 billion kg of textile products a year. To accommodate this demand, the textile and garment industries have increased their production and with it come a number of consequences ranging from the economic, social and environmental.

The amount of resources needed for such production is vast and diverse. Just four years ago, in 2015, the global apparel industry produced more than 400 billion square meters of fabric (Kirchain, Olivetti, Miller, & Greene, 2014). For that amount of fabric to be produced, it took nearly 100 million tons of fiber and filament yarns, about 40% of which are agriculturally derived -like cotton or wool- and 60% synthetic -such as polyester or nylon- (Gugnani & Mishra, 2012).

A recent study conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology regarding cotton t-shirts estimated that producing one kg of manufactured dyed knit or woven cotton fabric, generated 10.8 kg of CO2-eq, and so when one considers an average t-shirt weighs less than 200 grams, that translates into 2.1 kg CO2-eq per shirt. Most of these greenhouse gases (80%) are generated during the manufacturing stage –when raw cotton is transformed into yarn, is dyed and weaved. The remaining 20% of emissions occur during the agricultural production, shipping and eventual release of biogenic carbon from landfilling. One must now put into perspective the 2.1 kg –roughly the same as burning 1 kg of coal or driving 8 km in a passenger car- needed to produce one shirt. In 2013, 10 billion kilograms or cotton were used in the apparel industry, which would be equivalent to 107.5 million tons of CO2-eq –equivalent to driving 400 billion km (Kirchain et al., 2014). Thus, what initially seemed like a relatively small impact at first, soon becomes much larger when thinking of the apparel industry as a whole.

This increasing demand, production and use of resources have derived in what today is commonly referred to as “fast fashion”, a buyer-centric business model that has taken over the global garment industry, percolating into developed and developing nations.

This way of production is characterized by its swiftness, as brands can have new products in store in just a couple of weeks. To do this, companies rely on producing prototypes quickly, which then are produced in small batches of a wide selection of styles. The manufacturing portion is usually in developing countries close to the final destination where they will be purchased, low manufacture and labor costs allow for a larger profit margin (Joy, Sherry, Venkatesh, Wang, & Chan, 2012). Companies are now very efficient when meeting consumer demand with their quick response times, which when combined with fashionable items and low costs translates into continued growth in sales and profits (Cachon & Swinney, 2011).

Globalization has thoroughly transformed the garment industry, displacing manufacture from developing nations, to offshore locations. Some of the environmental consequences have mentioned but there are many other aspects to consider, such as shipping -which is frequently done by air, to ensure fast delivery in stores, which as we know produces significant emissions of CO2. Some of the social and economic consequences are carried over to the workers who actually make our clothes, who often endure very harsh conditions for very little pay, and who tend to be women or minority groups such as children and ethnic minorities (Turker & Altuntas, 2014).

Although most people usually think about what they are going to wear or what they will buy, what goes into the production of an item of clothing more often than not goes unnoticed. The true cost of clothing is hidden behind a cheap price tag.

Sources:

Cachon, G., & Swinney, R. (2011). The Value of Fast Fashion: quick response, enhanced design, and strategic consumer behavior. Management Science, 57(4), 778–795.

Gugnani, A., & Mishra, A. (2012). Textile & Apparel Compendium 2012.

Joy, A., Sherry, J. F., Venkatesh, A., Wang, J., & Chan, R. (2012). Fast fashion, sustainability, and the ethical appeal of luxury brands. Fashion Theory - Journal of Dress Body and Culture, 16(3), 273–295. https://doi.org/10.2752/175174112X13340749707123

Kirchain, R., Olivetti, E., Miller, R. T., & Greene, S. (2014). Sustainable Apparel Materials- An overview of what we know and what could be done about the impact of four major apparel materials: cotton, polyester, leather & rubber. Resources, 3(1), 319–339. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources3010319

Nimkar, U. (2018). Sustainable chemistry: A solution to the textile industry in a developing world. Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry, 9, 13–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsc.2017.11.002

Turker, D., & Altuntas, C. (2014). Sustainable supply chain management in the fast fashion industry: An analysis of corporate reports. European Management Journal, 32(5), 837–849. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2014.02.001

Worldometers. (2018). World Population Clock. Retrieved August 14, 2018, from http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/

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