What is Circular Fashion & How Can It Save The Environment?
The fashion industry is one of the largest contributors to pollution. That’s why fashionistas are looking for items that are both sustainable and stylish. One way to do this is to participate in the circular fashion economy by selling and purchasing items, rather than allowing them to end up in a landfill.
If you want to start learning about sustainable fashion and the environment, you’ve come to the right place. Keep reading to learn more about the circular fashion economy.
How Fast Fashion Is Affecting Our Planet
According to the UN Environment Programme, the fashion industry is the second-largest consumer of water and is responsible for 8-10% of global carbon emissions. In fact, the fast fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world, following the oil industry. This is because fast fashion quickly and unethically creates trendy items – up to 100 billion garments per year! However, these items are poorly made. Therefore, they do not last very long and will be tossed in the landfills sooner.
ALSO SEE: How Pre-Loved Fashion Is Saving Our Planet
What Is Circular Fashion?
Circular fashion can be defined as a regenerative system in which fashionable items are passed on and reused for as long as possible while maintaining their maximum value. Hence, these products are not made for a single consumer, but for the next few owners as well.
Buying Into The Pre-Owned Market
Purchasing pre-owned luxury items has an important role in minimising the environmental impact. Unlike fast fashion, circular fashion items are often made ethically, with quality materials to make them last longer. Supporting the pre-owned market extends the life of something that’s already been produced. Rather than constantly producing ‘trendy’ items that won’t last a season. Soon after, it will be chucked into the earth’s landfills. In fact, research shows that buying a pre-owned designer bag rather than a new bag saves over 8kg of carbon dioxide emissions and 22ℓ of water. While buying a pair of pre-owned designer shoes instead of a new pair saves 3kg of carbon dioxide emissions – also sparing over 7ℓ of water.
Hence, buying pre-owned items means that you put less pressure on the environment to extract raw materials for a brand-new bag. So, if everyone bought just one used item instead of a brand new one, it would have a positive impact on the planet.
ALSO SEE: 5 Tips To Shop Sustainably and The Benefits of Purchasing Second-Hand Designer Bags
If I’m Buying Pre-Owned, Why Should It Be Luxury?
The quality you get from designer items compared to fast fashion brands is incomparable. Besides, who isn’t going to treat an Hermès handbag like a baby when it’s one of the highest status symbols there is. Designer items are, quite literally, an investment. For instance, the resale value of a medium Chanel flap bag appreciates every year – making it a rather fabulous investment. Designer items are also made from the highest quality materials, allowing them to last a lifetime (if not longer). Whereas other items may be reused, but they will deteriorate at a much faster rate.
Purchasing luxury items no longer means contributing towards global warming, inadequate working conditions, excessive greenhouse gas emissions, or toxic waste. Luxury Maisons such as Gucci, Prada and Stella McCartney (amongst others) are becoming more aware of their impact on landfills and are increasingly producing items with the environment in mind.
Selling Items Instead of Chucking Them
Donate items to charity or sell them to free up some funds (to buy more designer items, of course). You’re supporting a circular fashion economy and sparing the overflowing landfills that are damaging our planet and our o-zone layers. Can you imagine precious designer items ending up in landfills? When, in fact, another person could benefit from it. After all, one fashionista’s old is another fashionista’s gold!
How To Contribute To Circular Fashion
In the spirit of the blooming season, spring clean and sell your unwanted luxury items at Luxity. You can also breathe new life into a designer handbag, shoes or watch by opting for pre-owned items – rather than brand new items that put pressure on our planet to extract even more raw materials. And if you need any more convincing, remember that shopping at trusted pre-owned luxury resellers (like Luxity) is good for the economy and the environment!
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