What is "Sustainability"?

The fashion industry is one of the most successful industries in the world, yet it is also a leading contributor harming the environment. How can we prevent further destruction?

Above photo from Eireenz of Getty Images.

When we think of sustainability and the industries it relates to, it’s mostly associated with the ways in which we can help protect the Earth. Environmental sustainability is often thought about as keeping the planet clean and “reuse, reduce, and recycle”.

But what does “sustainable” actually mean? According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, the word “sustainable” is an adjective with three basic meanings.

"1. able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed; 2. involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources; 3. able to last or continue for a long time.”

Now that we defined what makes something sustainable, let’s talk a bit about the fashion industry and its environmental impact.

The fashion industry is also known as the textile industry as fibers are spun into materials put together to create pieces of cloth that are designed and dyed in order to make clothing pieces. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) monitors and measures the textile industry’s waste production and other damage caused to the environment. This includes Greenhouse Gas emissions found at each step of the process of creating the clothing, waste in landfill, and water consumption.

In 2018, the EPA calculated that 11,300 tons of textiles ended up in landfills across the country which is nearly seven times the amount of textile waste found in 1960.

The fashion/textile industry is international and just its impact on the US environment is quite large. A way that we can do our part in slowing the damage the industry is causing is by shopping sustainably.

As mentioned before, Merriam-Webster defines something as sustainable if it can be used without completely using or destroying natural resources and can last for a long period of time. Many clothing companies are finding ways to become more sustainable and step out of being a “fast fashion” brand. Brands such as Patagonia, Reformation, and Levi’s are trailblazers as they have been leading the way to lower their Greenhouse Gas emissions and waste production in the world of fashion.

Unfortunately, there is a stigma that shopping eco-friendly for anything can be expensive, and these brands may be no exception, however there are various ways we can do our part to live more sustainable lives and prevent further environmental damage.

*Note: This article was originally published on January 10, 2022 and updated on February 10, 2022. It was republished on October 1, 2022 in order to fix the incorrect website link for this article.

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Works Cited:

RCRA in Focus: Textile Manufacturing, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Solid Waste and Emergency Response, 2002.

“Sustainable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sustainable. Accessed 10 Jan. 2022.

“Textile Manufacturing Sector (NAICS 313).” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, https://www.epa.gov/regulatory-information-sector/textile-manufacturing-sector-naics-313.

“Textiles: Material-Specific Data.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/textiles-material-specific-data#TextilesTableandGraph.