Understanding the Impact of Sustainable Clothing in the age of fast fashion

Fashion brands are clamouring to wear the sustainability tag. This reflects modern consumers' demand for good-quality clothing with fair labour practices. Being bombarded with news of exploitative sweatshops—made even more ubiquitous with the rise of the internet—has made people extremely conscious about the products they buy. The new generation of fashion designers will have to cater to the increasingly environmentally conscious consumer, necessitating the inclusion of sustainability courses by B.Des colleges.

The demand for sustainable clothing has fundamentally reshaped the fashion industry and even fast-fashion brands. Let's examine how the industry has adapted to this demand even as fast fashion continues to rise.

Fast Fashion and Sustainability: An Uncomfortable Coexistence

Greenwashing

The rising condemnation of fast fashion companies has led them to launch ‘sustainable’ and ‘conscious’ lines to mask the reality of their unsustainable practices. The truth behind this facade reveals the true price we pay for cheap fast fashion- our planet’s health.

Many fast-fashion brands use greenwashing to appear sustainable without making any real effort to change their unsustainable practices. However, even this half-hearted and deceptive effort represents the true power of the sustainability movement. Not even top brands can escape the modern consumer’s scrutiny, forcing them to launch sustainable lines and recycling programs to present a green facade.

Slow Fashion

While we cannot deny the sustained popularity of fast fashion, new brands have proudly worn the tag of ‘slow fashion’. In today's fast-paced world, it may seem unwise to use the word slow as a selling point, but it has been a successful branding tactic for many.

Slow fashion essentially connotes a slower production process and decreased outputs that decrease waste and often enhance quality. It is the antithesis of fast fashion and denotes a new age in the fashion industry.

B.Des colleges are adapting to this changed fashion industry that prioritises sustainability by designing courses that teach students about sustainable sourcing and designing processes. For instance, the B.Des in Fashion Design programme at Manipal University Jaipur includes Sustainable Fashion as a subject to educate students about the different aspects of ensuring sustainability in the designing and production process. The inclusion of sustainability in the curriculum fosters a generation of environmentally conscious fashion designers, promising a brighter and greener future for the fashion industry.

Are Luxury Brands More Sustainable?

It may seem logical to assume that luxury brands are more sustainable due to their lower outputs and higher prices, which are more compatible with fair labour practices. While this is true for many luxury brands that employ well-paid artisans with highly specialised skills, many luxury brands’ products are produced alongside fast fashion products in the same sweatshops and exploitative conditions.

Thus, shopping from luxury brands does not automatically mean that you are supporting sustainability. Being genuinely sustainable requires companies to prioritise eco-friendliness and fair labour practices over profits consistently. This is difficult in the competitive fashion industry. Even many luxury brands have increased their output by launching eight or more collections every year instead of two in an attempt to compete with fast fashion.

Contemporary fashion designers must resist the urge to compete with fast-fashion brands and prioritise sustainability over profit margins. For this, B.Des colleges must train students to build a brand identity based on sustainability—not merely as a tactic but as a genuine practice.

Sustainability or Fast Fashion: Who Will Win?

The sustainability movement is forcing the fast fashion industry to appear more sustainable, and fast fashion brands are diluting sustainability beyond recognition. This constant struggle between the two has led to two contradictory trends in the fashion industry: sustainability becoming the most popular buzzword in advertising campaigns and the overwhelming popularity of fast fashion brands, which are among the most significant contributors to waste.

Earth.Org estimates that of the 100 billion tonnes of clothing produced yearly, 92 billion tonnes end up in our landfills. Fast fashion's micro trends and flimsy clothing trap us in a loop of chasing cheap, disposable styles, leading to overflowing landfills.

The modern consumer is torn between the low prices offered by fast fashion brands (albeit with the hidden cost of environmental damage) and the sustainable options offered by slow fashion brands that charge higher prices (necessary for paying workers fairly and using sustainable materials).

In the end, it is up to the consumers who will win. They have to become more proactive in researching fashion brands and putting their commitment to sustainability to the test.

Consumers have to learn to differentiate between greenwashing and genuine sustainability. This requires reading the labels to check the materials used rather than just relying on a tag that says ‘sustainable materials’ and demanding more than just lip service to this vital cause.

Concurrently, the top universities of India have to take on the challenge of nurturing fashion designers who are not only aware of sustainable practices but also of their significance for a safer and greener future for all of us. The change begins with our education system. The B.Des in Fashion Design curriculums at the top universities of Rajasthan, like Manipal University, Jaipur, are spearheading this change by making sustainability a core part of the programme.

Conclusion

Sustainability has turned into a buzzword in the fast-fashion industry. This is highly detrimental to the movement and requires consumers to look past the facade of greenwashing and support genuinely sustainable brands. Similarly, B.Des in Fashion Design courses must teach an appreciation for sustainability and its importance. Fast fashion is highly tempting due to its low prices and wide variety, but this comes at the cost of our future. We need more forward-thinking consumers and designers who choose sustainable clothing over ‘trendy’ ones. Fashion must be about style and comfort, not micro trends that disappear in the blink of an eye and fill our landfills.