Following Sustainable Fashion is essential to stay in fashion. Check out more about the main trends.
Sustainable Fashion Trends
With clothing production doubling since the year 2000, consumers are buying 60% more clothes compared to 20 years ago. At the same time, clothing utilization – the number of times a garment is worn – has decreased by 36% in the past two decades. Producing new items at extremely low costs has created a massive culture of waste in fast fashion.
However, the slow fashion movement has been creating obstacles for these giant mainstream fashion companies for some time now. And we can’t ignore it any longer. With brands embracing sustainability and making significant changes in how they do business, it is up to us, the consumers, to change our perspective about shopping.
A few Sustainable Fashion Trends
From that denim and those stud earrings you wear daily to the gifts for parents you decide to buy, every choice you make matters. To help you make your transition to green fashion easier, here are some of the most promising developments and sustainable fashion trends worth knowing about.
Recycling
Over 100 billion pieces of clothing are manufactured worldwide yearly, and over 15 million tons of production waste are generated in the United States alone. Not only that but 85% of all textiles end up in a landfill every year. It means that the fashion industry is one of the biggest environmental polluters in the world.
However, more and more consumers and brands are choosing to reject fast fashion daily. People are turning to sustainable alternatives and changing how they do business. For instance, think about shoes made from recycled polyester recovered from factory waste or jewelry crafted out of war remnants. Brands are finding new, innovative ways to use waste in their creations and learn more with this sustainable fashion trend.
Whether we are talking about pearls, a pair of running shoes, or your basic pair of jeans, recycling is probably one of the most promising trends in fashion today. Brands like DL1961 are taking old jeans and plastic bottles and turning them into high-performance denim. They do this by using just 37 liters of water, of which they recicle 98% of it. In comparison, it generally takes over 3,780 liters of water to make and ship a pair of jeans. Another ethical fashion pioneer, Riley Studio, uses entirely recycled nylon and recycled polyester from plastic bottles diverted from landfills. Not only that, their gender-free pieces are dyed using onion skins and rice husks.
Fully Biodegradable Materials
Developed to enable the creation of fully biodegradable fashion items, BioCir is the first flexible and fully compostable thermoplastic material in the world. BioCir is a huge step towards reducing toxic materials used in the fashion industry. It’s from biodegradable materials that meet U.S. and E.U. standards for composting in industrial facilities.
Innovative people who work at Balena created BioCir. This is a material science company that is on a mission to create a circular model for consumer goods. Their first product created using this innovative material are their slides. Designed and manufactured in Italy, the Balena slides are made entirely from BioCir. They are cruelty-free, highly durable, and naturally colored with cinnamon.
Climate Positivity
The fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of annual global carbon emissions. In fact, it’s expected to rise by about a third by the year 2030. With that in mind, climate-positivity movement encourage consumers and brands alike to take a look at how fashion can actually have a positive impact on the environment.
A company based in California, AirCarbon, took a big step in this direction. They created carbon-negative leather. They produce it by taking methane and carbon from the atmosphere, replicating a natural process found in microorganisms in our oceans. Other innovative companies are exploring using living algae – which can photosynthesize – to produce clothes. This means that we could look at a future where our clothes could take carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as we wear them.
Rental and Vintage
With around 56 million tons of clothing being bought each year, the fashion industry is estimated to generate 92 million tons of textile waste annually. Besides that, fast-fashion giants like Shein, Zara and H&M are using highly toxic materials for people and the environment in the production of their clothes. Moreover, the synthetic fibers which are used in 72% of all clothing take up to 200 years to decompose. Therefore, it is reassuring to see the rise in popularity of a trend that counteracts disposable fashion by renting clothes and shopping for pre-owned pieces.
With A-listers like Bella Hadid, Rihanna and Kourtney Kardashian sporting pre-loved pieces, there’s no question that vintage is having a major moment right now. Although buying secondhand clothing may not be a new idea, this sustainable fashion trend has skyrocketing popularity. In other words, the secondhand clothing market is expected to grow 127% by 2026.
Instead of purchasing low-quality clothes with a very short life cycle, more environmentally conscious consumers are choosing to give a second – or third – life to pre-loved pieces or rent their clothes.
For instance, renting a wedding dress could save up to 9000 liters of water from that one dress alone.
Wrapping Up on Sustainable Fashion Trends
The slow-fashion movement is a much-discussed topic in recent years. It is showing us how the consumer experience in fashion will change in the coming decades. Also, how brands and retailers will evolve, becoming more sustainable and environmentally conscious. From climate positivity to innovative biodegradable materials, the fashion industry is promisingly working towards a greener future.
Like this article? Then you must read this one: How to Open a Sustainable Clothing Boutique
* Written by Olivia Mitchell.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by Fashinnovation’s columnists are their own, not those of Fashinnovation.