University Task | Sustainability

Sustainability is very important. It means that our survival and well being depends on the natural environment which we are all responsible for. By being environmental friendly and sustainable in our everyday life we are able to continue and maintain the water, materials and resources to protect our health and environment. 

I think that our society values economic gain over the environment, This is proven by ‘fast fashion.’ The aim of fast fashion comes from the trickle down where idea’s from haute couture and catwalk trickles down to the high street and finally to the very bottom which is considered as ‘disposable fashion.’ The production time from catwalk to seeing it in the high street stores is sometimes as little as 1 week, Stores such as Zara have a turn around of 4-6 week rather than spring/summer autumn/winter as production time is so quick due to production being moved to Europe to able quick production and shipping time. The demand for ‘on trend’ clothes is so high that production time is very quick and cheap meaning workers are working very long hours (in bad conditions) for little money. This is just one reason why I agree that society values economic gain over the environment. 

Modern consumption habits cannot continue, I both agree and disagree with this statement. Modern consumption habits are the base of fashion and retail. Without consumers there would not be any trends or fashion and of course to keep fashion alive consumers need to continue with their habits of buying ‘on trend’ clothes. However I do believe they cannot continue in the same way, A more sustainable and environmentally friendly way of shopping should be introduced to push consumers into the habit of recycling and being more sustainable with fashion. H&M are the first fashion company to launch a garment collecting service where they reuse the garments and they have so far created a new collection using collected garments. Idea’s like this should be placed in all high street stores to give consumers a choice to be sustainable and environmentally friendly. 

In the future our needs for “more stuff” will be met differently, I am hopeful about this statement. I hope in the future our needs for more clothing are met differently, I think paying that extra bit money for clothing from a middle level store rather than wasting money on ‘disposable clothes’ from primark is well worth doing as clothing will last longer and look better. I think a good idea like I said before, Is like what H&M are doing at the moment with the garment collecting, I hope in the future more options are given when shopping in a store, Shopping is about the experience, The lighting, Music, Visual merchandising, Its all done to make you want to shop, buy more things and spend more time in that one store, In this experience I think stores should not only just persuade you to buy clothing, But also to recycle your old clothing rather than chucking it out and it ending on a landfill site.

Is it up to the consumer to seek out sustainable products? I agree with this statement - I think consumers do have to seek out sustainable products, Yes there are care labels in higher end stores that tell you where the materials have come from and how they were grown organically but unless you have a lot of money to spend on amazing garments organically grown and produced then it is a lot harder. People often make the mistake of thinking that natural fibres such as cotton, wool or silk have been produced in a more natural way that synthetic fibres. Natural fibres involve long cycles of production. Toxic pesticides are used on the crops and have led to bad health problems in the farmers that crop them, these include headaches, sickness, breathing problems, loss of consciousness and even death. These ‘natural’ fibres aren’t really very natural or sustainable at all. However organic cotton is grown without pesticides, insecticides or fertilisers, Although is it more expensive, The money is well worth it. Organic cotton doesn’t harm the farmers or workers and it is completely fine on your skin, As cotton grown with pesticides can irritate skin. I think stores should make organic fibre clothing a bigger priority and should also make them more visible in stores.

Is it up to designers to create desirable consumer goods that are sustainable? The trickle down is quite related to this as the high street stores grab bits or inspiration and patterns from what they see on the catwalk and what they think will be on trend, they then produce these garments and hope they sell as they have been seen on the catwalk and hopefully will be on trend, Mark downs and sales can be an outcome of this, As the inspiration they might have taken from the catwalk might not have been such a big trend as they though, This wastes a lot of money and fibres each year! Although I think if more designers promote and visualise organic fibre and sustainable fabrics in their collections then the high street might pick up on this and also promote it.

Natural is always best. I both agree and disagree with this statement, Natural is defiantly best when it come’s to being sustainable and being environmentally friendly, However synthetic fibres were created for a reason and I don’t think it would be the same going back to using just natural fibres as synthetic fibres and finishes can be done for a purpose, Such as protective clothing, comfort etc.