Fashion

The greening of the fashion industry presents a number of challenges. The industry is immense, worth over $1 trillion worldwide. Its global influence on sustainability results from its long extended chain of activities, including production and supply of raw and man-made materials (e.g., cotton, polyester), clothing manufacture, distribution and sale of finished goods, fashion goods purchase and usage by the public, and final disposal after use. As a result, the fashion industry has multiple, significant sustainability effects on society at every stage of the clothing life cycle—environmentally, economically, and socially. In recent times, High Street fashion retailers have exacerbated the unsustainable aspects of the sector. The advent of fast fashion—the shortening of the lead times between the appearance of a garment on the catwalk and ...