The market is changing and this is supported by the EU Textile Strategy, which aims to completely stop Fast Fashion and reduce the sector's carbon and environmental footprint.
But will this be the case or will other choices dictated by new consumers intervene?
After food, housing and transport, European textile consumption is the fourth largest in terms of environmental and climate impact. Textile waste in particular is a huge global problem, with a truckload of old clothes and textiles ending up in landfill or incinerated every second, and that's nothing new? Returning to our previous article, the impact of fast fashion is felt throughout the supply chain: from the excessive use of water to grow fibers like cotton, to the use of fossil fuels to produce synthetic fibers; from water pollution during the dyeing and finishing processes, to the carbon emissions generated during production and transportation.
At the same time, material innovation has made rapid progress in recent years.
There are new ones materials of plant origin – often called “biomaterials” – which are produced by imitating natural processes and can compete with widely used synthetic materials. There are leather alternatives made from cactus, apple and pineapple that will probably be available by 2030. We need to think about a future that will not be characterized by futuristic materials, but also by full use of natural, sustainable and reliable fabrics that already exist today. One example is fabric made from hemp, a crop grown throughout Europe. But linens are not only natural, lightweight, and durable, as well as fully compostable or recyclable, but they are also better for our health and the environment, as fewer toxic chemicals are used to produce them. Unlike polyester and nylon, for example, which are used today to make many types of clothing, they do not release plastic microfibers into domestic wastewater when washed, which can cause harm to the environment and marine life.
Natural and recycled materials
Once used, natural or recycled materials, if they want to be truly circular, should have a long life before finally re-entering the supply chain. And innovative and technological solutions are already emerging to support this cycle. Even the digitalization of the clothing purchasing process supports circularity, and Online markets for used and rental cars have exploded in recent years. The second-hand market could be twice as big as the fast fashion market because the awareness in favor of “ and second Hand“could have a disconcerting growth of the second-hand market. But it is not only about second-hand items put in markets by private individuals but also pieces that companies find in storage in warehouses, perhaps from a collection from the previous season. And so instead of increasing consumerism with “black friday” why put back on sale a product that is out of season but still new, thus avoiding taking everything to the thousands of landfills scattered around the world? But there are those who have already thought about it by setting up “second-hand” commercial places that are conquering the new generations and not only!
We are thus back to talking about the importance of the DPP (Digital Product Passport) as part of the EU textile strategy
That is, digital product passports containing reliable information on the environmental and social impact of an item. These will tell consumers how and where their clothes were made and from what; how much water was used to produce them; what chemicals they contain; and whether they can be repaired, reused or recycled. This not only makes producers responsible, but also gives consumers the opportunity to make choices in line with their values. A system that is known but not yet taken seriously, also due to an actual delay in real awareness of the value of sustainability, is talked about - even too much - but is not yet applied. Probably when the maximum time for the regulatory application of the DPP expires there will be a rush to adopt it in time, as always happens in Italy. In any case, regardless of the new regulations that will come into force in the next few years, there are steps that we can already take now as consumers to have a more sustainable relationship with fashion.
