Battling the Environmental Impacts of Fast Fashion
Battling the Environmental Impacts of Fast Fashion
The fashion industry has a significant impact on our planet that can at times seem defeating to look at the statistics, but there are organizations working to change that. The UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion has set Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to start paving a path to a more sustainable fashion industry. Impact of the fashion industry on the SDGs (UNECE, 2018). SDGs are helping The Alliance to analyze the efforts in making fashion more sustainable by identifying gaps in their actions so they can present these findings to global governments in hopes of better policies around the fashion industry to reduce environmental impacts. Several other international organizations are working to fast a standard for more sustainable fashion, check out more of these and their initiatives below.
- The UN Alliance for sustainable fashion
- UNECE and ECLAC propose measures to reduce environmental and health impacts of global trade of second-hand clothes| UNECE | 15 July 2024
- UNECE calls on fashion industry to fully embrace sustainability | UNECE | 27 October 2023
- Sustainability and Circularity in the Textile Value Chain: A Global Roadmap | UNEP | 30 May 2023
- UNECE launches ‘The Sustainability Pledge’ for measurable and verifiable sustainability in the garment and footwear sector | UNECE | 20 May 2021
- Call to Action for Traceability, Transparency, Sustainability and Circularity of Value Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector | UNECE | 11 March 2021
- Enhancing Traceability and Transparency of Sustainable Value Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector | UNECE | 8 February 2021
- Sustainability and Circularity in the Textile Value Chain | UNEP | October 2020
- UNECE traceability initiative can accelerate fashion industry’s shift to more sustainable and circular model | UNECE | 21 February 2020
- UN launches drive to highlight environmental cost of staying fashionable | UN News | 25 March 2019
- Forests for Fashion initiative sets new trends | UNECE | 15 March 2019
- UN Alliance For Sustainable Fashion addresses damage of ‘fast fashion’ | UNEP | 14 March 2019
- The future of work in textiles, clothing, leather and footwear | ILO | 2019
- A new textiles economy : redesigning fashion’s future | Ellen MacArthur Foundation | 2017
- UNCTAD establishes three partnerships to boost fashion industry´s support of biodiversity | UNCTAD | 1 June 2011
- Subscribe to UNEP’s textiles newsletter
What does this mean for the future?
With more organizations fighting for policies to be made to protect our environment and reduce the massive impact the fashion industry can have on our planet there is hope. At the end of the day the most powerful thing you can do to support change is to be mindful of your shopping. Who are you supporting when you purchase this? What are their sustainability practices? Do you really need it?