Our current economy works against the environment by creating pollution and waste in the name of profits. Fresh materials are often used for products that end up in landfill or being burned. We can’t keep extracting these resources from a finite supply and expect good outcomes for people and planet. There are better ways however, one of which is the idea of a ‘circular economy’ for some or all of our consumption.
The circular economy is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. In this way, the life cycle of products is extended.
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/economy/20151201STO05603/circular-economy-definition-importance-and-benefits
Recent headlines highlight the cost of the business-as-usual model for fashion as the environmental catastrophe caused by discarded clothing is revealed in Ghana. Fast Fashion creates stratospheric amounts of waste, with even new clothes being sent to landfill.
Fashion production makes up 10% of global carbon emissions and is the second-largest consumer of the world’s water supply. Since 2000 the rate of clothing production has doubled; not only a result of people buying more products, but also throwing them away much sooner.
https://sustainabilitymag.com/supply-chain-sustainability/the-end-of-fast-fashion-and-emergence-of-a-circular-economy
So what are some possible solutions?
As a great example of the ‘circular economy’, UK form Rapanui and their print on demand T-shirt platform Teemill are tackling waste by redesigning how things are made.
Every T shirt created by them is designed from the start to be sent back when it’s worn out and remade into new products. There’s a QR code on the label to help us recycle them. So every T-shirt bought from Rapanui or reseller store powered by Teemill tech is part of the solution to waste.
“The economy is not a thing that happens to us, it is us. Any of us can choose the rules, move pieces around, and change the game.”
Mart Drake-Knight, Teemill co-founder
While we definitely need systemic change driven by governments and non-profit organisations, we also have the power to improve the economy. In this late stage Capitalism, the main driver is money. If we stop buying things from companies that are wilfully trashing the planet and tell everyone we know why we’re doing so, this can help force change from consumer behaviour.
Summary
Fast fashion has a devastating effect on the environment, but the circular economy can address this. Could you switch some of your spend from Primark, Amazon and other cheap clothing sellers and support local businesses that are trying to boost the circular economy rather than destroying the planet for shareholder profits?