The Conscious Shift: Transitioning to a More Environmentally Conscious and Sustainable Clothing
This is how the planet wants to be perceived in the coming future. As we bury the past of our collective neglect towards climate change, deforestation, pollution, global warming, and other natural hazards to our planet, the world is trying its best to retain our resources, and sustain the planet.
From installing solar panels to switching to bamboo toothbrushes, consumers have also been taking baby steps to preserve the planet. You can notice this in the difference in consumer patterns. One industry that has marked a significant change in consumer patterns is the clothing industry.
The clothing industry contributes more than 10% of the total greenhouse gas emissions across the world. As people woke up to the news, we saw them inclining towards clothing that is eco-friendly.
Sustainable fashion has been the talk of the town lately. It is a method of sourcing, manufacturing, and designing clothing that maximizes the benefits to the industry and society as a whole while minimizing environmental impacts. It compromises vegan or cruelty-free brands that use leather alternatives that are made of fruits, mushrooms, or lab products.
Benefits of adopting environment-friendly clothing-
Less waste– Fast fashion sponsors wastage. Every second, one garbage truck of textile waste is disposed of in a landfill or burned. This massive amount of waste is generated by these fast fashion companies, which launch weekly trends and fill them with low-quality and low-cost products. Sustainable brands, on the other hand, focus on high-quality clothing made from long-lasting materials. This helps in the reduction of recurring dumps.
Fair wages– One of the most crucial realities of the modern-day fashion industry is the unfair wages offered. Harsh working conditions for garment workers enable the production of low-cost fast fashion garments. The majority of fast fashion brands manufacture their garments in developing countries where workers are paid less than the living wage.
Poor safety and health conditions and more factors contribute to a work environment that is exploitative of workers. However, on the other hand for sustainable brands, employees’ well-being is a priority. They pursue our objectives holistically, including paying fair wages and providing safe and healthy working conditions for our tailors and employees. Positive work environments are essential for workers’ mental and physical well-being.
Reduces CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases– Most of our favorite clothes are made of fossil fuels or are petroleum-based. A large amount of energy is churned while producing them. However, this is not the case with Eco-fashion. Sustainable brands frequently use materials made from natural or recycled fabrics that require little to no toxic or hazardous chemical treatment, little water, less energy, and no fertilizers or pesticides to grow.
This is not it! Sustainable fashion is good for our health as well.
For the maker as well as the wearer.
Before they end up on our hangers, fast fashion items frequently go through a lengthy and intense chemical process. During these operations, to dye, bleach, and wet process garments, approximately 8,000 different synthetic chemicals are used. These chemicals can cause diseases or even deaths among farmers, as well as serious birth defects in their offspring.
What happens to your health if you quit wearing fast fashion?
Great for your skin– Our body is always exposed to dirt, bacteria, and chemicals. Since synthetic chemicals are not used in organic fabrics the risk of skin infections is reduced tremendously.
Bamboo, cotton, and hemp are all-natural fibers that are anti-bacterial and anti-allergic. They do not have any kinds of side effects. So when you make a switch to eco-friendly clothing, you’re choosing better skin with it.
UV resistant– Too much exposure to harmful UV rays of the sun can cause severe skin damage. Organic clothing is made of fabrics lightly packed together which makes it difficult for the UV rays to penetrate through.
Skin Infections– Since sustainable clothing is all about fabrics that are light and breathable it makes sure that oil sweat and dirt are not accumulated and stuck on the skin causing any infections- redness, acne, and other severe skin problems.
In a nutshell, fashion has a huge hold on our future. Be it economic equality, our health, and the environment, it largely affects our life in diverse ways. We have to be mindful of what we consume to conserve the planet. Be it individual efforts or businesses in the clothing industry taking up steps to make this shift towards making apparel that protects our tomorrow, it is a collective duty to consciously make this shift for a greener planet. And spread the word. Because sustainable clothing matters and this is our time to make a difference.
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