How Fashion is leading to Biodiversity Loss

The clothing industry is increasingly aware of its environmental impact, but it's important to broaden the focus beyond just climate change. Sustainable fashion is a term that encompasses all products, processes, activities, and actors working towards a carbon-neutral fashion industry that prioritizes equality, social justice, animal welfare, and ecological integrity. Biodiversity is essential to the fashion industry, particularly in the production and processing of materials used to make clothing, as well as for packaging.

Let us decode what biodiversity is. And Why is it important?

Biodiversity refers to the living skin of the planet, including animals, plants, habitats, and ecosystems, and how they interact with each other. The fashion industry relies on nature for aesthetic inspiration and raw materials, including plants, animals, insects, oils, minerals, and metals. Therefore, a biodiverse ecosystem provides an incredible palette for manufacturers to work with.

What is the relationship between fashion and biodiversity?

To combat biodiversity loss, the fashion industry should develop a biodiversity strategy alongside climate decision-making. Companies should assess baseline conditions, understand biodiversity impacts and dependencies, prioritize and select actions, set science-based targets, and implement them. Various fashion practices can promote biodiversity, such as restoring the health of working agricultural lands, providing farmers with economic incentives for good practices, institutionalizing carbon emission reductions, mainstreaming traceability and blockchain, and promoting certifications and holistic management.

What role does the fashion industry play in biodiversity loss? or what is its function?

Consumers can also play a vital role by reducing their fashion footprint by buying better, extending the life of their existing clothing, investigating how clothing companies source and process raw materials, shopping secondhand, supporting community programs, using cold water when doing laundry, having clothing items altered or repaired, donating them to people in need, and recycling responsibly. Redirecting personal spending toward responsible fashion will contribute significantly to realizing the vision of living in harmony with nature.

In conclusion, the fashion industry plays a significant role in biodiversity loss, primarily during the manufacturing process and during wear, care, and disposal. However, by promoting sustainable fashion and holding apparel brands accountable, ensuring proper waste disposal, ethical material and awareness we can ensure that the growing interest in sustainability is more than just a passing fad.

As an individual, we can buy better while spending less. Reduce your fashion footprint by extending the life of your existing clothing. Choose items that you adore and will be happy to keep in your closet for a long time. Investigate how clothing companies source and process raw materials as an investigative shopper. Shop secondhand and support important community programmes. When doing laundry, use cold water to reduce the number of microfibres released during the process. Finally, before throwing away clothing items, consider having them altered or repaired, donating them to people in need, and looking for responsible ways to recycle items that are no longer in use.

As a result, redirecting personal spending toward responsible fashion will contribute significantly to consumption patterns that will in turn make brands change their systems to cater to the demands and to realise the vision of living in harmony with nature. We can ensure that the growing interest in sustainable fashion is more than a passing fad by encouraging more fashion giants to think seriously about sustainability and holding them accountable.