Fashioning a Sustainable Future

By Elizabeth Allen and Cara Lanyon

Main photo by Anna Sullivan on Unsplash

It’s no secret: the fashion industry has a huge environmental impact. In the last 20 years, with the advent of fast fashion and online marketplaces, the textiles industry has exploded, showing a 400% increase in consumption.

Fashion is in a unique spot thanks to the utility and versatility of clothing; it’s a necessity in our lives, but it represents so much more. From the personal, to the cultural and professional, fashion connects all of us. How has this connection transformed over time? 

The global fashion footprint

According to UniformMarket, the global fashion industry contributes 10% of the world’s carbon footprint and 35% of all microplastics found in our oceans. That’s from synthetic fibres, packaging, accessories; it all adds up. Polyester, a popular pick, can take over a century to degrade. An estimate from UN Climate Change News projects fashion industry emissions to increase 60% by 2030.

Photo by Francois Le Nguyen on Unsplash

Sometimes it’s hard to even know the true scope of the impact; transparency isn’t a strong suit in the industry. The Fashion Transparency index reports that 88% of fashion companies don’t disclose how many clothes they make! That’s a lot of missing socks. What we do know is that 92 million tonnes of those textiles end up in landfill each year.

Sustainable fashion uses natural fibres such as wool, cotton and hemp; these are essential to reducing microplastics, but these carry their own environmental cost. The WWF estimates that to produce a single 1kg of cotton, about what you need for jeans and a t-shirt, the water cost can be between 7,000 and 29,000 litres. 

Imagine, five friends in casual wear can represent 100,000 litres of water! 

Photo by Moonstarious Project on Unsplash

Australia’s impact

So, how do we stack up? According to CleanUp Australia, we purchase an average of 56 pieces of clothing per year, and per-capita, we’re the world’s second-highest consumers of textiles. 

It might feel like it’s all doom and gloom. A huge pile of clothes that just keeps getting bigger, but there’s good news, too. Plenty of people have looked at the stats and said, we can change that!

Australians are generous, and we’re thrifty. Those 56 pieces a year? Many get a new lease on life! Australians donate, on average, 12kg of clothes a year to op shops and charitable causes. According to CharitableRecycling.org, Australian op shops are renowned for our sorting practises for both domestic sales and high-quality secondhand exports. We save tons of CO2 emissions (literally) and megalitres of water per year thanks to clothing donations and hardworking volunteers. 

From a peak in 2018 to 2023, Australians have reduced our clothing consumption by 12%, according to clothing stewardship scheme Seamless. Even better, out of our clothing purchases, an average of 9 pieces are preloved, with trends showing an uptick in sold, swapped and shared clothes. In the the last 5 years, there was an increase of secondhand clothing sales of 18%.

Photo by Rianne Gerrits on Unsplash

Supporting sustainable fashion

The current state of the fashion industry is a mixed bag (and the bag is probably made of polyester.) There’s people, organisations and initiatives working to reduce the environmental impact of fashion, and we’re seeing progress. 

We can take responsibility where it’s possible. Being realistic: it isn’t possible for everyone to have an entire wardrobe of ethically-made, sustainably-sourced clothes. Heck, it can be hard enough to find clothes we like, in inclusive sizes, that fit with our wardrobes. Most of the time, you can’t tick all the boxes, and that’s okay!

Photo by Pat Whelen on Unsplash

Supporting labels and retailers that prioritise sustainability is a huge step to slowing down the fast fashion machine and reducing your personal footprint. Sustainable brands can only continue to do what they do if consumers choose to support them and reward them for doing the right thing. Think of it as an investment in our future, as well as in your wardrobe!

Sustainability in our wardrobes encourages us to have a closer relationship with fashion, consider what we really like to wear and invest in high-quality pieces that will last wash after wash. Independent brands, like Australian label Frank and Dollys, have created their process from the ground up, embracing the circular fashion model from raw resources to encouraging secondhand swaps post-sale. Adelaide brand Curvature uses a made-to-order model to reduce fabric waste, Melbourne brand ELK publishes yearly transparency reports and NZ-based Kowtow traces their organic cotton from seed-to-garment. The options are out there for new, sustainable clothes!

One of our favourites from Frank and Dollys, the Flora Blouse in Navy

Shopping second-hand is another great way to reduce your impact while mixing up your wardrobe on a budget. There are a growing number of fantastic pre-loved boutiques across Australia, such as Reunion in Sydney and Hunter Markets in Melbourne, and markets like Round She Goes (National), A Plus Market (VIC), Love Me Again Market (QLD), and Double (SA).

Did you know Oh Ramona also sells vintage and pre-loved? Check out our curated preloved fashion range in our Hawthorn store for thrifty and sustainable deals, and follow Oh Ramona on Instagram for size-inclusive preloved fashion drops.

We’re in this together

While it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the size of the problem, remember, it’s not just on you to solve it. It’s on all of us. Government and the corporate sector play a role, and we as individuals have a part to play too. Each sustainable choice you make combines with other consumers’ choices to create a bigger movement. And the more frequently each of us makes those choices – to reduce our reliance on fast fashion, to put our dollars behind green businesses, to consume responsibly – the more the movement has the potential to snowball into real, lasting impact.

You don’t have to be perfect – no-one is! But the more baby steps we take, the closer we move to a better future, together.

Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash

Enjoyed this article & want more?

💖 Check out our blog

💖 Join the conversation on our socials - Instagram | Facebook | TikTok

💖 Shop ethical & sustainable fashion at ohramona.com.au