A guide to sustainability campaigns by international corporations
According to Battered Women’s Support Services, fast fashion is defined as ‘a business model that uses cheap material and labour to churn out clothing collections at a rapid pace’.
You might think that it is a boon to people like you and me, given that it is affordable, convenient and trendy. However, what does it cost to produce a single cotton T-shirt? According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), 2,700 litres of water is needed just for one T-shirt. That’s enough water to keep a person hydrated for about 900 days!
Uniqlo has been a common choice among many when choosing to upgrade their wardrobes.
For example, Cindy, a mother of three, states that having affordable, good-quality clothing is what makes Uniqlo her go-to clothing store.
Despite being well-known as a fast fashion brand, Uniqlo has been making conscious efforts in reducing its water usage when manufacturing their products. In 2016, they opened their Jeans Innovation Centre (JIC) in Los Angeles in order to develop jeans that were more sustainable for the environment. They claim that the jeans produced there now reduces their water usage by 99%! The washing process involves the use of nanobubbles and ozone gas-cleaning, which results in a process that requires almost no water.
Zara is another fast fashion company that has been slammed by many of those who choose to live sustainably.
When asked why he’s a fan of Zara’s clothing, Glenn Tan, a polytechnic student, mentions,
With new styles being released in huge batches every few weeks to keep up with the latest runway trends, Zara is considered one of the “thirstiest” fast fashion chains out there. However, it seems that Zara is trying its best to do some good too! Zara has collaborated with water.org to launch it’s ‘Care for Water’ capsule. It features clothes made of organic cotton, which uses less water. They have also turned to partnering with ‘Zero-Liquid Discharge’ factories that recycle water after processing their clothing.
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As a popular choice for many youngsters, H&M is another company that aims to provide styles that are at the top of the trend to stay relevant among its many competitors.
Liew Jing Sheng, a student, shared that H&M has clothes made of
In order to explore ways to mitigate the impacts of their water usage, H&M partnered with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to explore ways to ensure their water was used efficiently and responsibly. The partnership was meant to not only explore ways for H&M to convert to much greener manufacturing processes, but also to eventually get communities, governments, non-government organisations (NGOs) and companies together to share the finite amount of water the world has.
Although it is heartening to see fast fashion companies like these making conscious efforts to reduce their water footprint and save the environment, there is still a long way to go for the fashion industry as a whole. Given that the demand for water is widely shared by many, we have to be mindful of where our water goes. If you are in need of new clothes, either patch up your old clothing, choose to patronise thrift stores or buy second-hand clothes from resellers!
Here is another article where we introduce such stores in Singapore that are a much more sustainable alternative to fast fashion chains!
