It's that time of year again: time to switch out the wardrobe.
It seems that fall is here, and the first thing that comes to mind in our modern society is what we're going to wear this season.
The stores are full of trendy clothes—affordable and accessible in many cases, but unfortunately, in many cases, they're just disposable items.
So shopping malls fill up with shoppers, and the contents of our closets change.
Meanwhile, in other parts of the world, mountains of used clothing from faraway places are piling up, flooding the beaches. That is the sad reality.
The fashion industry is extremely polluting. It has a massive carbon footprint: due to the materials it uses, its supply chain, its production processes, the distribution of finished garments, and the high turnover of those garments.
Fortunately, in recent years, many sustainable fashion initiatives have been emerging: recycled or eco-friendly materials, secondhand clothing platforms (VINTED, PERCENTIL, etc.), and shared fashion with monthly subscription plans (“fashionsharing” such as ECODICTA, OHLUX, PANOPLY, or the pioneer RENT THE RUNWAY). The industry is also investing in new production processes that consume fewer resources (water, energy) or generate less pollution or waste by using less polluting materials.
But as consumers, we are the final link in this unsustainable fashion chain, known as "fast fashion."
So it’s up to each and every one of us to decide whether to buy less fashion or to consume more sustainably.
If we prioritize our actual needs when updating our wardrobe, if we choose more durable garments, and if we opt for more sustainable clothing based on its materials or production processes, we’ll be doing our part to be part of the solution—not the problem.
