If we use fashion to express ourselves, is it possible to use fashion to express our need for change?
The fashion industry is the second most polluting in the world; It needs no explanation that society and businesses alike need to do all they can to bring about change. So why haven’t we? In a world of influencer culture, it can be difficult to push back on societal norms and start advocating for change; we need to demand for more sustainable fashion. It can be daunting to start looking at our ways of living and analysing what we can do to pioneer a more sustainable future for fashion; Sometimes it feels easier to turn away and continue on a destructive route because, isn’t that what everyone is doing?
The SDG breakdown
SDG stands for Sustainable Development Goals which every country, big or small, are being urged to bring into action. It’s comprised of seventeen different goals which will all lead to a more prosperous and loving world if taken into effect. These Sustainable Development Goals are here to enforce change as long as all parties commit and contribute to providing us with a greener future.
Substance over style
How is fashion impacted through this? It’s important to know how fashion is really incorporated into the SDG’s; The how and the why. We all know how fashion is notoriously unsustainable, unethical and underpaid. Within the seventeen SDG’s, there are two which are prevalent in combating fast fashion; number twelve responsible consumption and production and number nine, industry innovation and infrastructure. Let’s start with the latter, it’s vital to know why innovating the industry is important, being stuck in our ways and keeping our head in the sand will never lead to change, it’s only by looking the problem in the eye and acknowledge our wrong doings we can ever lead to change.
Many factories oversea are infamous for bad sustainable practices, underpaying and overworking employees. These employees don’t have a choice but to continue to work in these awful conditions as it’s how they support themselves and their families. By applying the SDG’s, we would be removing impoverished work environments and promoting more love for the employees involved.
Calling... we mean shouting them out!
Calling out these big brands is so important to bring about change. We need to be the ones advocating for it and the best way to do this is to use our platforms; social media has allowed us to have access to brands in a way we haven’t seen before. If you notice a brand committing malpractice, comment on their socials, post it to your stories, make a video or even as simply as showing others what you’ve seen and educating them on why it’s so wrong. The best way to stop brands from doing this is to show them that we can see behind the curtain, that we can see exactly what they’re doing and that we won’t support them if they continue.
Creating change
It’s vital to be educated on the importance of sustainability in the fashion industry and striving towards a cleaner approach to clothes. It’s important to know what are clothes are made of, where they came from and the manufacturing process; It’s also important to know how to care for our clothes, finding a personal style and learning how to choose pieces that have longevity in our lives and not fall into the trap of buying into trends. We can focus on buying from sustainable brands, following content creators who promote a sustainable fashion lifestyle rather than influencing you to buy into cheap fast fashion.
You don’t have to be perfect; No one is perfect. The incredible thing about caring for our planet is that if everyone makes one small change we can create a massive change, not only ourselves, but for everyone else who will walk on this earth!