Unfit, unfair and unfashionable is shorthand for the results of a report by the Hot or Cool Institute on the fashion industry worldwide. The main focus of the report is the excesses of the top 20 countries in the G20 organization: These countries have lifestyles that produce 4.6 tonnes of carbon footprint per person per year – those numbers need to go down to 0.7 tonnes per person per year if we are to meet the goal of retaining global warming to 1.5% above pre-industrial levels, which is what every country signed up to in the COP Paris agreement. That means, according to the report, that consumption needs to be reduced by 60% among the G20’s high-income nations (16 out of 20) and 40% in upper-middle-income nations (the balance). It also notes that the richest 20% cause 20 times more emissions than the poorest.
The third largest polluting industry in the world, in terms of its effect on climate change, is the fashion industry, and their output is currently set to double by 2030.
The Hot or Cool Institute’s report states that the worst offenders are Japan, Australia and the U.K. (I’m not quite sure why the U.S. is not included here since it is undoubtedly a serious contributor to fashion pollution as well). The report further states that, in order to reach the Paris Accord’s goals, the U.K.’s fashion consumption needs to go down by 83% by 2030, Italy’s needs to go down 75% in Italy and France’s by 50%.
You may well ask how such drastic reductions could be achieved.
The report suggests the “Rule of Five”. It suggests that this rule will teach you and your wardrobe about consumerism and the value relationship you hold with your possessions. It will also teach you to be a better shopper and a better saver. How could you resist such an offer?
The Rule of Five means buying only five new things each year, which requires that you buy carefully. To make it easier the report recommends that you break the year down into five seasons: Winter (January 1st to March 7th); Spring (March 8th to May 25th); Summer (May 26th to August 16th); Autumn (August 17th to October 31st; and Christmas (November 1st to December 31st). You should note that gifts count towards your “five” and so do shoes and accessories.
Before you scream, you should know that the recommended, environmentally just, wardrobe for anyone’s life that will meet needs, allow a dignified social presence, and will stay within climate targets is 74 items. Have you ever counted how many you have? How about undertaking a wardrobe audit – you might/will be surprised!
The report goes on to suggest some buying strategies. These include: do not shop the sales (there is a reason all that stuff is on sale – it wasn’t needed in the first place and, in many cases it is produced just for the sales, often at a lower quality); do you really need that new pair of pyjamas just because they are 30% off – no, you don’t; you do not need to “stock up” on items just because the marketeers tell you you should (you already have 74 items for godsakes).
Another interesting factor in the fashion industry is that 10% of industry polluting emissions are caused by disposal – export, incineration, landfill, second-hand. So, stop consuming so much. Just buying fewer items in the first place has the greatest impact – 75% of garments are not used again after six months of wear!!
I offer this blog to drive home the enormous excesses perpetrated on our planet every day by an industry that caters to our egos in a way that we have become accustomed to, but which is counter-productive to our real needs, the demands of addressing climate change effectively, and the balance in our pocket-books. The message is CONSUME LESS, STARTING NOW.
