The Shifting Sands of Sustainability: Part One

Everybody is talking about it in the apparel industry: the massive environmental impact of textile waste. As it stands currently, you’d be hard-pressed to find a shop, manufacturer, or any business in the industry that hasn’t at least had the “sustainability talk” with employees, co-workers, customers, or even peers. At first, it was a small whisper, but what was once just a passing conversation is now a loud, alarming bell.

And if you think your business can ignore it, think again.

• The world produces 92 million tons of textile waste every year.
• Clothing and textiles currently make up at least 7% of the total amount of waste in global landfill space.
• Only 1% of clothes will get recycled into new garments.¹

That data should be enough to convince anyone working within the apparel space, whether in fashion, decorating, manufacturing, retail, or otherwise, that there is a need for change. But if that isn’t enough to compel you to take action, you should know that there’s been a recent wave of legislation and laws being implemented globally that will force change.

This article was originally published on our sister brand's website Apparelist. To continue reading, click here.