The textile and garment industry is one of the major contributors to the economy and employment worldwide; however, it is also considered to be a significant cause of environmental pollution. Though textile is hailed as the mother of industrialisation based on the invention of the first mechanical loom, its offspring is considered to be a polluting one owing to the uncontrolled growth and inadequate measures in curbing the negative impact on ecology.

As handloom was taken over by powerloom, it resulted in mass production to achieve economies of scale, resulting in rampant depletion of natural resources, consumption of cheap raw materials and exploitation of low-cost labour to make large volumes of inexpensive garments, which led to the evolution of mass consumption. Several leading brands promoting fast fashion have tripled their sales in the period of a decade, continuing with a year-over-year growth of 10-20 per cent. Although this concept of fast fashion acted as huge revenue generation model for the global brands, it embodies unsustainability.

Mass consumption pattern is further fuelled by the growing human population—which increased from about 100 crore in 1800 AD to over 800 crore in 2022 globally—changing demographics shift from rural to urban areas, increasing life expectancy as well as the standards of living and the insatiable expectations of garment brands in terms of fast fashion.

With new patterns and designs appearing each season to meet the trends and satisfy consumer demands, the fast-fashion business model aims to shorten the lead textile production periods and buying cycles associated with the newest fashion trends. For instance, one leading textile brand employs 200 designers and creates 40,000 styles, of which 12,000 are manufactured. This results in clothes with a shorter use period and which are typically worn less than seven times before being discarded. Currently, more than 60 million tonnes of clothing are purchased annually, and by 2030, that number is predicted to grow even more to over 100 million tonnes.

The need to satisfy short-term consumer demands has led to long-term effects on our earth. Fast-fashion garments that are barely worn have encouraged consumers to buy ‘throwaway’ or ‘disposable’ clothing. According to a study, making of one cotton shirt uses 2,700 litres of water, which is enough to provide two and a half years’ amount of drinking for the average individual. The utilisation of water, energy, minerals, colourants, and various harmful chemicals has resulted in an enormous consumption of earth’s resources. The significant effects can be seen in landfills overflowing with discarded clothes, microfibres contaminating aquatic life, air pollution contributing to global warming, and depletion of potable water levels.

The negative effects are apparent to all stakeholders involved in the textile value chain, from farm to fashion, as well as to policymakers in governments worldwide. Many global non-government organisations like Friends of the Earth are researching and highlighting environmental pollution and its impact on future generations.

Consumers are becoming more conscious towards sustainable brands and products, although it seems to be not a fad but a lifestyle trend to be achieved. Therefore, the stakeholders’ increased awareness of the fashion industry’s environmental impact has driven brands and corporations to take remedial action and reduce their ecological footprint. As a result, many fashion brands have collaborated to form associations like the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) and Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) and started integrating corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies and sustainability concerns into their business strategy.

With organisations like the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) promoting sustainable development goals, including responsible consumption, climate action and climate change, ensuring sustainability and circularity have become important tasks in the textile industry, as highlighted in the discussions organised by the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).

The fashion business may stimulate a circular economy in a variety of ways. A slower fashion with higher quality and longer product use will result in a more sustainable industry, combined with initiatives to reduce production’s adverse effects on the environment. A change in consumer behaviour and mindset is needed for the adoption of proposals such as clothing rentals for reuse, and resale.

Reinvestment in luxury fashion has always aimed to create clothing intended for regular use and long product life, with garments that are durable and timeless. Extended product use will benefit the consumer through increased product satisfaction and attachments. Though the production of textiles cannot be drastically reduced, the process can be made sustainable by effectively using 5 Rs of waste management, namely: refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, and, finally, recycle. (Circle waste)

Yalchin Enis in his article “Risks and Management of Textile Waste” has divided textile waste into three categories: production waste, pre-use waste, and post-consumer waste. Production waste is generated during the manufacturing of a product, pre-use waste includes unsold and damaged goods in the retail sector, and post-consumer waste is defined as “any kind of clothing or household article made from manufactured textiles that the owner no longer wants or needs and decides to discard”.

According to Eve Edelheit, there are numerous environmental benefits to recycling production and pre-use waste in the textile supply chain, including resource conservation, lower processing costs, cheaper raw materials, and reduced waste in landfills.

In terms of post-consumer waste, consumers across the world carry the major potential to reduce it by discouraging impulse buying, repairing, remaking, and upcycling which will keep the product in use for a longer period. A good example can be seen in fast fashion brands like H&M, which are promoting recycled, repaired, restyled, and rental clothes on their platform. However, the major challenge in post-consumer waste lies in the segregation of the waste, which can be solved by introducing radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and blockchain technology, which will help in tracing the lifecycle of the products and circularise the currently linear, clothing and textile value chain.

In India, ‘Recycle, Reduce, and Reuse’ are the concepts that have been ingrained in the structure of the society. As Lucy Norris in her book “Recycling Indian Clothing” states, India perceives clothing carefully and it is rarely discarded without utilising it to its full value. Textile recycling was once a domestic skill in India, but now there are textile clusters and small-scale enterprises that work on second-hand imported apparel to produce a variety of products such as recycled yarns, doormats, prayer rugs, blankets, and bed linen. The unsold garments are cut into square pieces and marketed as industrial wipes for the construction, paint, and chemical industries to customers in India as well as in other countries like Japan and Australia.

It is imperative that change within the fashion industry needs to happen, and the consumer’s lifestyle choices have a critical role in the reduction of waste. Nevertheless, action at all layers, from small businesses to large enterprises and from local to global management, is required to make effective and meaningful progress. However, the individual actions of consumers and businesses have the power to make a big statement and bring about such change.