The polluting textile industry – what alternatives are there to reduce the impact of fast fashion?

In the two previous posts in our series of articles on textile industry pollution, we discussed the environmental, social, and human consequences of disposable fashion. In this final issue, we will show you that there are solutions to change our clothing consumption habits to reduce textile waste. The solutions we are presenting today are the 4 Rs: Reduce, Repair, Re-use, and Recycle. Alternatives to reduce the impact of Fast Fashion

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The first R - Reduce

One of the biggest problems with fast fashion is the frenzy of production by brands and the purchase of clothing. The evolution of fashion has led to overconsumption of textile products. We buy more and faster. It is urgent to reflect on our consumption habits, as the planet can no longer pay the cost of our frantic consumption. Reducing primarily addresses the consumer. This is not to put pressure on you, but you are the only ones who can force multinational brands to slow down and rethink the economy of the fashion sector.

Fast fashion still means 100 billion tons of clothing produced each year, collections released every season or even month, trends that appear and pass quickly... Reducing your purchases means slowing down this frantic pace of clothing production and consumption.

A better, more sustainable and responsible economic system could be envisioned with:

Fewer greenhouse gas emissions and less use of natural resources during manufacturing (factories, workshops), transportation (thousands of kilometers for air or truck delivery...), and for clothing maintenance (washing, drying, ironing...). Less textile waste and environmental pollution (non-biodegradable synthetic materials, fertilizers and chemicals, water pollution due to dyeing...). A more egalitarian and fair system for the artisans of this industry.

• All this to move towards more responsible fashion. A process that Peau-Ethique has embraced by limiting the number of collections per year and minimizing waste from packaging, advertising materials, and physical marketing, etc.

Discover our approach

Second R – Repair

Another solution to reduce our carbon footprint: repair. It extends the lifespan of our clothes, allowing us to use them longer. Sometimes a simple exercise, it allows you to tap into your creativity to give a second life to our favorite items that have worn out over time.

Holes in socks, stubborn stains on our T-shirts, signs of wear on our jeans... repair can save almost anything. You just need a sewing kit and to think about what types of modifications and fixes to make to save our clothes and the planet. Several initiatives are being implemented by brands to encourage this practice. In the UK, the platform The Seam connects individuals with local tailors to repair, alter, and mend their clothes. You can also find plenty of tutorials and DIY videos explaining how to make repairs.

In a tutorial video, we explained how to repair a hole in a Peau-Ethique sock in collaboration with Les Réparables. And after being worked on by the experts of this company, the socks were almost new again. This is only possible with quality products. All the more reason to buy from ethical and responsible brands that offer you items made from reliable and durable fabrics and materials.

Third R – Reuse

To avoid waste and reduce textile waste, nothing beats reusing, reselling, or exchanging clothes we no longer wear. In short, second-hand fashion. Reuse is a good solution to combat overproduction and overconsumption of fashion products. And it is one of the alternatives to reduce the impact of Fast Fashion.

However, buying used clothing is nothing new. This practice has been seen since the 1960s with thrift stores and Emmaüs shops. It has grown in recent years. Previously a common practice among people (mostly students) looking for affordable clothes or vintage style enthusiasts, this trend has gradually expanded with the help of the internet. In 2009, 15% of French people bought second-hand products; today, it's nearly 40%. This shows the enthusiasm for this type of consumption.

According to a study by the research institute GlobalData, the second-hand market was worth 21.2 billion euros in 2018 and is projected to reach 45 billion euros in 2023. By 2028, it will surpass the luxury and fast fashion markets.

So, how does it work? There are many platforms and websites that help buy used items. The best known are Vinted, Vestiaire Collective, Vide Dressing, and Ethic2hand. These are primarily platforms for connecting individuals and facilitating sales between them.

Evidently, given this success, many brands have tried to follow the trend. This is the case for the British brand Asos, which created a marketplace section on its website in 2011 to allow individuals and small designers to sell on the platform. More and more brands are offering a second-hand version on their website (e.g., Balzac Paris).

And all of this results from consumers' awareness of the threats of the fashion industry to people and the environment, and their desire for a more sustainable and responsible consumption system.

Fourth and final R - Recycle or Upcycle

More than a trend, recycling is a real solution to textile waste management problems. It uses specific technology to transform and recover textile materials and fibers so that they can be reused. The principle is not far from that of repair or reuse. Again, the goal is to increase the lifespan of clothes and fabrics. Clothes discarded in clothing bins are collected and then transformed into materials used in the manufacture of other products.

But let's also talk about another solution: upcycling. Upcycling, or "recyclage vers le haut" in French, involves transforming a product by improving it. For upcycling, there's no need to re-process the fibers. It can be done by recovering fabric (scraps or leftover from old collections) to make new clothes. Peau-Ethique, for example, has used its fabric scraps, remnants from an old collection, to make bralettes and scrunchies.

This method of recycling is much more ecological, as it does not require many resources (water, energy, technology...). The result of these transformations is sometimes beautiful and original.

Second-hand fashion not always ecological

Second-hand sites, Vinted in particular, are promoted as solutions to curb the ecological consequences of textile overconsumption. But if we look closer, we notice the same dynamics as those present on fast fashion sites.

The danger is that we can easily enter a cycle where we consume as much as with other brands, all while thinking we are fighting the consequences of the textile industry by buying on a second-hand platform.

And since we feel like we're getting a good deal every time, we buy compulsively. Second-hand sites also play the game of other fashion players by using the same marketing methods as them; notifications, recommendations on homepage items based on our previous searches, price reduction alerts... everything is there to encourage us to consume more.

The other concern is that fast-fashion brands' clothes are most often found on these apps.

Beware, we are not trying to discourage you from buying second-hand. Circular fashion obviously remains a good solution to counter the disposable fashion system and its deplorable environmental, social, and human consequences. What we want to say is that we should not transfer the problem of overconsumption from one platform to another. It is true that it has become so easy to dress affordably that we might be tempted to buy as much and as frequently.

Let's remember, then, that the goal is to slow down the pace to reduce pollution from the textile industry. Let us all make conscious choices about which products to buy and consume less and better.

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