Apr 18th 2016
Op-Ed | Remove Toxic Chemicals and Fabrics from Fashion’s Supply Chain
Dr Linda Greer, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, says fashion designers should cut out toxic chemicals and choose their materials carefully.
China’s Luoyang¡¯s Jian River becomes contaminated with dye from discharge of untreated wastewater into storm water pipes | Source: Natural Resources Defense Council/Zhang Xiaoli/ChinaFotoPress
NEW YORK, United States — The curtain has certainly risen on the fashion industry’s enormous environmental footprint. Finally, customers are beginning to scrutinise the way in which their favourite brands conduct business around the world. More than any other industry, apparel has come into particularly sharp focus through the campaigns of human rights and environmental activists like Greenpeace and tragedies like Rana Plaza.
And yet, only a very small handful of fashion companies are truly trying to be more environmentally sustainable. Most of the rest of you are waiting and watching to see what everyone else does first — which is very out of character for an industry known for creativity, innovation and its ability to draw attention to itself.
The clutter of facile and contradictory advice that abounds on the topic of sustainability undermines many good intentions from the start. As an environmental professional with several decades of experience evaluating industrial impact, I must say, I have never seen such a mess. On the up side, all this advice indicates enthusiasm for the topic. But the down side is that the chaos and cacophony is debilitating for beginners.
Ironically, the roadmap to becoming more environmentally sustainable is actually quite straightforward. First, businesses need to focus on what matters the most. You only have so many hours or so much manpower to devote to sustainability, so make your actions count.
Four areas in the textile industry have the biggest potential environmental impact: the types of fabrics you choose, the factories that dye and finish these fabrics, the way the goods are transported and the consumer care directions you give your customers.
With this knowledge in hand, the next step is to incorporate these practices into the business decisions you make on a daily basis.
Add to this a moratorium on air freight and more careful consumer care instructions and — there you have it — an action plan. These steps alone won’t solve the fashion industry’s sustainability problem and making changes to become a more environmentally conscious business is no easy task. But it is, plain and simple, what the fashion industry needs to do.
Linda Greer is the director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's health and environment programme.
The views expressed in Op-Ed pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Business of Fashion.