“Take, Make, Waste” - The environment and consumer consequences of the fashion industry.

An in-depth article written for Writing for Journalism in Spring 2022 highlighting the parallels between the fashion industry's environmental impact to findings from COP26. The article includes quotes and insight from interviews with field experts and opinions from laypeople.

---

Natasha Avalos March 15, 2022

During the first two weeks of November 2021, leaders and members of the United Nations gathered in Glasgow, Scotland to discuss climate change, global warming, and the progress of undertakings to lessen the effects of the two at the 26th annual UN Climate Conference, commonly known as COP26.

Photo: UKCOP26

Approximately 120 leaders from across the globe, from countries who are major greenhouse gas emitters and countries who are most vulnerable to the dangerous effects of climate change, gathered to share their concerns with the issue.

However, the conference-goeres did not share good news as they revealed that the planet is on track to be 2.5 degrees celsius warmer by the end of the century instead of the already hazardously predicted increase of 1.1 degrees.

In looking at which sectors were the biggest greenhouse gas emitters causing the drastic increase in temperature, findings revealed that the fashion and textile industry were the biggest culprits.

The biggest problem that makes the fashion industry emit so much greenhouse gasses is the linear business model the majority of the companies, and ultimately consumers, follow which is commonly referred to as “Take, Make, Waste”. Environmentally conscious consumers and investors are now calling on governments and fashion companies to make changes that will help reduce their destruction of the environment by demanding sustainable circular business models.

​Definitions:

Fast Fashion - “a dominant industry business model, consumes vast quantities of natural resources to produce inexpensive clothes made by low-paid workers, which are worn by consumers for a short time, and subsequently disposed”

Sustainable - products, businesses, or events that had the least environmental impact throughout all stages of the supply chain with the ability to last for a very long time (Sigismonti)

Circular Economy - business model that has a balanced relationship between a business’ ecological, environmental, and industrial impacts that focuses on maximizing resource efficiency and minimizing waste

The beginning of a piece of clothing’s life starts at sourcing materials, which is when businesses “take” from the earth, commonly in unfriendly ways.

Natalie Manibo is an Email Marketing Specialist at Everlane, an environmentally conscious and sustainable clothing company. Manibo shared the company’s mission of tracking materials straight from the source and using organic materials, such as organic cotton, recycled plastics for shoes, and easily regenerable materials, such as cacti to replace the use of leather.

“These materials consume less natural resources than other companies who use new and virgin materials, such as fast fashion brands who do not use recycled or organic materials,” Manibo said.

Everlane is infamous for their transparency about how and where their products are made and have not been found to Greenwash for quick success.

Photo: facebook.com/everlane

"All of the transparency makes the company worth buying," -Manibo

Greenwashing is a marketing tactic that many fashion companies use in order to promote bold environmental statements that are often deceiving or unattainable, rather than science-based targets and certifications.

This deceptive strategy has resulted in the tightening of government regulations that require the same standards of certification for businesses to claim themselves to be certified “organic”, “recycled”, and “sustainable”.

Morganne Sigismonti, a Environmental Studies and Management Masters student at UCSB’s Bren School, adds that although claims such as “organic” and “recycled” have firm definitions and standards for certification, the claim to be “sustainable” encompasses many various components that it is nearly impossible for a product to even begin it’s lifetime sustainably.

Sigismonti defines sustainability as something that has the least environmental impact when compared to all other options available.

“Things that are sustainable are already in existence and not created new … so now we have to reuse it as many times as we possibly can,” Sigismonti said.

Brands like Everlane are committed to responsible sourcing and use materials that are already in existence (recycled) or have a lesser impact on the environment when taken from the earth, such as organic cotton.

Manibo shares that the brand’s fibers and materials are all recycled or organic and go through a clean performance check. “[This is] so that we can say, ‘Yes, we are sustainable and are reducing our carbon footprint and overall impact on the planet’,” she said.

According to the World Resource Institute, it was estimated that in 2019, the apparel sector emitted over one billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere just from sourcing to the end of production.

The “take”/sourcing portion emitted over 241 million tons of CO2 and the “make”/production portion of the industry emitted over 783 million tons of CO2.

Photo: World Resources Institute

This was all before the garments even got to the consumer.

The “make” stages of the linear business model entails the production of the clothing up to the purchase and use by the consumer.

These stages are in need of more government regulation that will hold businesses accountable for the environmental missions they commit to meeting. Implementing change throughout the supply chain is needed in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and waste at the end of the life of the product.

In an article published by the Worlds Resource Institute regarding the steps companies need to take to reduce environmental damage, the authors called on fashion businesses to invest in renewable energy during production so that less greenhouse gasses are emitted from factories with a goal to reach net-zero emissions from the fashion industry.

Addressing the problem of fast fashion companies overproducing clothing, which leads to overconsumption, will urge these companies to generally produce less clothing but also use recycled materials when producing new clothing rather than cheap and low-quality materials.

“Companies need to think about how we can create more value, for less production of a product,” -Sigismonti

It’s not just environmentalists and leaders of countries who are pleading for a cleaner industry, but there is a rise of young environmentally-conscious consumers who want change.

In Southern California, Katie Klein, a 20-year-old student at Chapman University explains her views on the waste portion of the fashion industry and her concerns with how people dispose of their clothing.

“I know people who literally just put bags of clothes into the garbage,” Klein said.

She continued explaining how she encourages everyone to donate to local organizations or sell their clothes. Klein also enjoys sharing her passion for secondhand shopping in order to keep potential waste out of landfills.

She prefers to shop at the Goodwill Outlet Bins and local thrift shops that support good causes, such as shops supporting hospice care and the SPCA.

Not only does shopping at these stores allow Klein to support local businesses and organizations, she is also able to find unique pieces of clothing at discounted prices.

Although Klein loves and prefers to shop at thrift stores and flea markets, she finds that it can sometimes be difficult to find clean and simple pieces that are able to be worn everyday. With not always getting lucky with second-hand shopping finds, Klein has turned to online retailers to fulfill what her closet is missing and needs.

Klein turns to online retailers only after she has exhausted all second-hand options such as thrift stores and online curated sellers, like Facebook Marketplace and Mercari.

If more people follow this shopping pattern, we can see more clothes staying out of landfills and less new clothes being produced that ultimately would lead to more waste and greenhouse gas emissions from the production process.

"Even if you aren't buying from thrift stores, there's still ways to support and do your part to keep some sort of circle going," -Klein

In this business model, “waste” is known as the end of life of the item and the disposal process of it. Due to the rapid production of clothes by fast fashion companies, the waste portion of the model is only growing bigger and much faster than before.

Cheaply made clothing does not last long, and neither do trends, which goes hand-in-hand with the findings of a Swedish case study that claims “As the production of clothing has increased, the number of times an item of clothing is worn has decreased” in the 2021 Journal of Cleaner Production.

This study looked further into the waste practices of Sweden-based clothing companies with the hopes of finding a solution to move the fashion industry from a linear business model to “closing the loop” to make it a circular economy. Their findings indicated that there are some brands who are developing programs to extend the clothes’ lifespan as well as encouraging and teaching consumers how to properly care for their clothes and ensure they will last for a longer period of time.

The study also encouraged businesses to participate in textile recycling programs that will support circularity and reduce landfill use.

“Companies need to think about what happens to the product once it’s in the consumer’s hands,” Sigismonti said, “Maintaining the product and especially the end of life of the product.”

Although the fashion industry currently has a bad reputation for their environmental impact, they may still have a chance of redemption if they take the proper steps to help the health of the planet.

“Since 2019, the number of apparel companies that have joined the Science Based Targets initiatives has increased from roughly a dozen to over 140,” the World Resources Institute reports.

The Science Based Targets Initiative is a collaboration between the United Nations and other environmental organizations that sets ambitious targets for private sectors to meet, using scientifically proven evidence, that will help reduce the sectors’ impact on climate change and also still keep a successful business.

Brands such as Patagonia, Reformation, and Chloé are committed to following proper government regulations and certifications to ensure quality products for their consumers that will have less of an impact on the environment.

Ultimately, one good thing that did happen at the COP26 meeting was the support businesses gave to a policy request for incentivizing businesses that use environmentally preferred materials and practices, as well as the possibility of punishing those who do not.

This active change and support of environmentally friendly practices throughout the supply chain and bridging the gap between the “waste” and “take” of clothing allows the industry to reduce its impact on global warming before it’s too late.

While big businesses are to blame for the actual issues, consumers can raise their voice to spread awareness for this problem by learning more about the issue and supporting companies who want to solve this problem.

Word Count: 1740

---

Works Cited

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Brydges, Taylor. “Closing the Loop on Take, Make, Waste: Investigating Circular Economy Practices in the Swedish Fashion Industry.” Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 293, 4 Feb. 2021, pp. 1–8., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126245.

HYPER-LINKED WEBSITES

“Around 120 Leaders Gather at COP26 in Glasgow for 'Last, Best Chance' to Keep 1.5 Alive.” UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) at the SEC – Glasgow 2021, 2 Nov. 2021, https://ukcop26.org/around-120-leaders-gather-at-cop26-in-glasgow-for-last-best-chance-to-keep-1-5-alive/.

Benson, Sophie. “Fashion and COP26: Inaction on the Climate Emergency.” Good On You, 27 Oct. 2021, https://goodonyou.eco/fashion-climate-inaction/.

Cummis, Cynthia, and Michael Sadowski. “A Roadmap to Net-Zero Emissions for the Apparel Sector.” World Resources Institute, 21 Jan. 2022, https://www.wri.org/insights/roadmap-net-zero-emissions-apparel-sector.

“Fashion Industry Trade Policy Request: COP26.” Textile Exchange, 8 Nov. 2021, https://textileexchange.org/trade-policy-request-cop26/.

“The Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI).” World Resources Institute, 25 June 2019, https://www.wri.org/initiatives/science-based-targets.

INTERVIEWEES

Experts:

Natalie Manibo - Everlane Email Marketing Specialist

Morganne Sigismonti - Environmental Studies and Management Masters Student at UCSB Bren School; Lewis & Clark College Biology B.A.

Laypeople:

Katie Klein - 20-year-old advocate and consumer of second-hand shopping