The problem with fashion... and how we can *actually* fix it (not just fast fashion)

Summary

In this video, Cyia addresses the significant environmental impact of the fashion industry, responsible for 8-10% of global emissions. She proposes solutions for a sustainable future, including the 'Impact Receipt' to show the true cost of garments, the 'Fashion Act' for industry accountability, rehumanizing clothing by connecting consumers with garment workers, banning new synthetic fibers, and end-of-life responsibility for garments. Cyia encourages viewers to support petitions and acts to drive change in the industry.

Takeaways

• 🌍 The fashion industry is a major contributor to global emissions, accounting for 8-10%, making it the fourth largest climate polluter if it were a country.
• 🔒 Consumers have the power to influence brands to produce less by demanding more sustainable practices and supporting regulations.
• 📈 The 'Impact Receipt' concept suggests that brands should disclose the environmental costs of their products, including carbon emissions, water, and energy usage.
• 📊 Science-based targets are crucial for the fashion industry to align with the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global warming to 2°C.
• 🏭 Transparency in supply chains is key, with brands needing to know who made each garment and the conditions under which it was produced.
• 👕 Rehumanizing clothing involves acknowledging the people behind garment production, potentially through tags that show the worker's photo and story.
• 🚫 A call to action to eliminate new synthetic fibers within 5 years to reduce the fashion industry's reliance on oil and decrease pollution.
• 🔄 End-of-life responsibility for garments suggests that brands should take back and either mend, resell, recycle, or face fines for garments they produce.
• 🌿 The 'Fashion Act' is a proposed legislation aiming to hold fashion brands accountable for meeting science-based targets in their supply chains.
• 💡 Real-world examples exist of brands implementing sustainable practices, indicating that change is possible and should be the industry standard.

Q & A

What percentage of global emissions is the fashion industry responsible for?

The fashion industry is responsible for 8 to 10% of global emissions.

If the fashion industry were a country, where would it rank in terms of climate pollution?

If the fashion industry were a country, it would be the fourth largest climate polluter.

What is the impact receipt mentioned in the script and how does it help consumers?

The impact receipt is a proposed system that shows the cost, carbon emissions, water use, and energy use of a garment. It helps consumers understand the true cost of a garment and holds brands accountable for their sustainability claims.

What is the Fashion Act and why is it important?

The Fashion Act is a proposed legislation in New York that would hold major fashion brands accountable to science-based targets in their supply chains. It's important because it could set a precedent for holding brands responsible for their environmental impact.

What is the projected percentage of the carbon budget the fashion industry will use by 2050 if left unchecked?

If left unchecked, the fashion industry is projected to use more than 26% of the carbon budget associated with a 2°C pathway by 2050.

Why is it important for brands to have sustainability and impact reports?

It's important for brands to have sustainability and impact reports to show their efforts to align with the 2°C pathway and reduce global warming, which is crucial for the future of our society.

What is the concept of rehumanizing clothing and how does it relate to garment workers?

Rehumanizing clothing involves showing the faces and stories of the garment workers who made the clothes. This practice helps consumers connect with the people behind their clothing and supports the movement for fair wages and healthy working conditions.

Why is the use of synthetic fibers in the fashion industry a concern?

The use of synthetic fibers is a concern because they are derived from oil, contribute to pollution, and take a long time to break down, shedding microfibers into waterways and causing environmental harm.

What is the filthy fashion campaign and what does it aim to achieve?

The filthy fashion campaign, run by Standard, aims to remove the use of synthetic fibers from the fashion industry's supply chains within the next 5 years, promoting a shift towards more sustainable materials.

What does end of life responsibility mean in the context of the fashion industry?

End of life responsibility means that brands should take full responsibility for the entire life cycle of their garments, including mending and reselling quality items, recycling fabric, and being held accountable for textile waste.

Why is it significant if brands were required to take back and deal with the garments they produce?

If brands were required to take back and deal with the garments they produce, it would deter overproduction and promote more sustainable practices, as it would make them financially responsible for the waste they create.

Outlines

00:00

🌍 The Fashion Industry's Environmental Impact

The script addresses the significant environmental footprint of the fashion industry, which contributes to 8-10% of global emissions. It emphasizes that if the industry were a country, it would rank as the fourth-largest climate polluter. The speaker, Cyia, challenges the notion that consumers should simply buy less and instead argues that brands should be held accountable for their production volumes. She suggests that regulations and fines are necessary to incentivize brands to reduce their output. The video aims to discuss solutions for a more sustainable and ethical fashion industry, proposing actions that consumers can take without excessive time or financial investment. The concept of an 'impact receipt' is introduced, which would display the true cost of a garment, including carbon emissions, water usage, and energy consumption, thereby promoting transparency and accountability in the fashion supply chain.

05:01

🔗 Solutions for a Sustainable Fashion Industry

The second paragraph delves into potential solutions for the fashion industry's sustainability issues. It discusses the Fashion Act, a piece of legislation proposed in New York aimed at holding major fashion brands accountable to science-based targets in their supply chains. The 'impact receipt' is again highlighted as a tool for consumer awareness and brand accountability. The paragraph also introduces the idea of rehumanizing clothing by providing information about the garment workers, emphasizing the need for brands to track and measure their supply chain data effectively. The speaker advocates for the end of synthetic fibers within five years, citing the 'filthy fashion campaign' and the significant oil consumption associated with their production. Lastly, the concept of 'end of life responsibility' is presented, where brands would be responsible for the full life cycle of their garments, including mending, reselling, recycling, or facing fines for creating wasteful, short-lived products.

10:02

💡 Encouraging Sustainable Practices in Fashion

In the final paragraph, the speaker calls for a discussion on the proposed solutions and invites viewers to share their thoughts and additional ideas in the comments. She encourages viewers to sign petitions and supports acts related to fashion sustainability, providing a link for further action. The speaker also shares her optimism for change and her focus on positive actions, inviting viewers to follow her on Instagram for more content. The video concludes with a call to action for viewers to like and subscribe to support the creation of similar content, emphasizing the enjoyment and importance the speaker places on discussing and promoting sustainable fashion practices.

Keywords

💡Fashion industry emissions

The fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of global carbon emissions, a major contributor to climate change. In the video, it's mentioned that if the fashion industry were a country, it would be the fourth-largest climate polluter. This highlights the industry's significant environmental impact and the need for regulation and consumer awareness.

💡Impact receipt

An 'impact receipt' is a proposed idea where each clothing purchase would show the environmental cost, such as carbon emissions, water use, and energy consumption, alongside the monetary price. This concept is meant to hold brands accountable and provide consumers with transparency about the true cost of their clothing, making sustainability more visible.

💡Greenwashing

Greenwashing refers to brands misleadingly promoting themselves as environmentally friendly without taking meaningful action. In the video, the speaker criticizes how brands engage in greenwashing by claiming sustainability while continuing harmful practices, urging consumers to demand more accountability from fashion companies.

💡Science-based targets

Science-based targets are climate goals set by industries, including fashion, to align with global efforts to limit global warming to 2°C, as outlined in the Paris Agreement. The video emphasizes the need for fashion brands to adhere to these targets in their supply chains to reduce their environmental footprint.

💡Fashion Act

The Fashion Act is a proposed piece of legislation in New York aimed at holding major fashion brands accountable to sustainability goals. The bill would require brands to adopt science-based targets for reducing emissions, making it a crucial step in regulating the fashion industry’s impact on the environment, as mentioned in the video.

💡Rehumanizing clothing

Rehumanizing clothing is the concept of reconnecting consumers with the people who make their clothes. The video suggests showing the garment worker's photo and backstory on clothing tags to remind consumers that real people are involved in the process, emphasizing fair wages and safe working conditions.

💡No new synthetic fibers

The video advocates for a ban on producing new synthetic fibers, like polyester, within the next five years. Synthetic fibers are derived from fossil fuels and contribute to environmental degradation by shedding microfibers and increasing plastic pollution. The speaker suggests that natural or recycled fibers should replace these harmful materials.

💡Textile waste crisis

The textile waste crisis refers to the massive amounts of clothing that end up in landfills every year, contributing to environmental degradation. The video notes that 92 million tons of textiles are discarded annually, and brands continue to produce more than 100 billion garments each year, exacerbating the issue.

💡End of life responsibility

End of life responsibility refers to the idea that fashion brands should be accountable for the entire lifecycle of their products. This includes taking back garments for repair, resale, or recycling rather than allowing them to end up in landfills. The video emphasizes that brands should be fined for planned obsolescence if they create disposable fashion.

💡Fossil fashion

'Fossil fashion' is a term from a report by the Changing Markets Foundation, which highlights how the fashion industry is heavily dependent on fossil fuels, particularly for producing synthetic fibers like polyester. The video points out the connection between fashion and the oil industry, advocating for the separation of fashion from fossil fuel reliance.

Highlights

The fashion industry is responsible for 8 to 10% of global emissions.

If the fashion industry were a country, it would be the fourth largest climate polluter.

Consumers are urged to demand brands produce less rather than buying less.

Brands need fines or regulations to reduce production.

The impact receipt concept is introduced to show the true cost of garments.

Impact receipts hold brands accountable for their supply chain's environmental impact.

The Fashion Act is a proposed legislation aiming to regulate the fashion industry's environmental impact.

The Fashion Act requires brands to adhere to science-based targets.

The fashion industry is projected to use more than 26% of the carbon budget by 2050.

Sustainability reports and impact reports by brands are important but should be more transparent.

Rehumanizing clothing by showing the person who made the garment.

Brands should know the exact person who made each item of clothing.

The idea of showing the full supply chain of garment production, including farmers and fabric producers.

The campaign to remove synthetic fibers from fashion within the next 5 years.

The connection between fashion and big oil, with the fashion industry using 100 million tons of oil annually.

End of life responsibility for garments, with brands taking back and recycling or reselling their products.

The need for regulation to prevent planned obsolescence in fashion.

The fashion industry produces 100 billion garments annually, with 92 million tons ending up in landfill.

Calls for discussion and brainstorming for more sustainable solutions in the comments.

Transcripts

can we agree that the fashion industry

is still up the fashion industry

is responsible for 8 to 10% of global

emissions if it were a country the

fashion industry would be the fourth

largest climate polluter corporations

and Brands and companies continue to get

away with so much it's on us as

consumers to just buy less like no it's

on the brands to produce less and

they're not going to produce less unless

they get fined or there's more

regulations and rules what do they have

to lose nothing right now all they want

is money so let's get into it hey

everyone it's me cyia welcome back to

the channel today we're going to be

talking about solution to the fashion

system this ever soed up fashion

industry where Brands continue to get

away with so much whether it's

the greenwashing the mass consumption

throwing clothes away into landfills

around the world it is so unchecked and

that's why I wanted to make this video

today so let's talk about some solutions

to the fashion system for a more

sustainable and ethical future with any

action items or things that we can do

that are free and easy like petitions to

sign and acts to support I will link

them at Fashion sustainability. c/t

takeaction so please go check that out

I'm trying to make it super easy for us

to make a difference and support fashion

system change without spending too much

time or money on it because you cannot

buy your way into sustainability say it

louder for the people in the back I

think that it's important to think about

the ways that we can actually enact

change in a way that will make a

difference the first being the impact

receipt imagine that the next time that

you buy a piece of clothing it shows you

the cost like the actual cost so you'll

see the dollar value that you pay for

the Garment you'll also see the amount

of carbon emissions that were created

the amount of water used and the amount

of energy used and I think that's a

pretty good holistic view of the true

cost of a garment and the thing about

this receipt and what I love about it is

that it is proof to us that the brand is

doing their job and being responsible

for tracing everything that's happening

behind the scenes for them to actually

run their business be able to trace all

those three things on this impact

receipt they actually need to know all

of the components that go into making

that item of clothing from all the

energy used along the way all the water

used along the way and then all the

emissions along the way so it really is

this receipt for us as consumers to see

okay this brand really is measuring

everything across their entire supply

chain I think that is a great example of

how we can keep these Brands accountable

to them saying that they care about

sustainability the fashion industry

continues to be responsible for 8 to 10%

of global emissions if it were a country

it would be the fourth Lar largest

polluter like that is insane to me if

left unchecked the fashion industry is

projected to use more than 26% of the

carbon budget associated with a 2°

pathway by 2050 in the Paris agreement

we talked about these science-based

targets that we need to adhere to as a

globe not just in the fashion industry

but across the world for us to reduce

warming to 2° so that we can sustain a

future for us as a society so that's why

it's really important for us to continue

to watch how compan compies operate so

that we continue to have a planet to

live on you know what I mean we all want

these Brands to now have their

sustainability reports their impact

reports where they're showing us what

they're doing to align to this 2°

pathway but what does that actually mean

at the end of the day if they're

measuring these things and releasing a

report every single quarter I want that

to then trickle down so that we see it

as the end consumer of a piece of

clothing so I think that's why this

impact receipt is brilliant and you

might wondering okay well we have this

idea of this impact receipt but how do I

actually get a brand to adopt that

there's something called the fashion act

right now it is a piece of legislation a

bill that is proposed in New York if

you're New York based on May 7th please

show up I'll leave details linked down

below I'm unfortunately in Toronto

Canada it is so important to advocate

for this act as Canadians or people that

aren't American we cannot sign our name

there but you can sign your name and

Pledge on the fashion acts website

itself so I think those are really

important things to do because this act

is basically how New York is going to

hold all the major fashion brands that

sell clothing in New York which is

almost every single brand to

science-based Targets in their supply

chains like this act is literally being

passed to hold these Brands accountable

and I think that's why it's really

important and how that relates back to

this impact receipt is because in my

mind this bill is the first step but

then what is the government actually

going to do to make sure that these

targets are being met I feel like this

impact receipt would be such a good

example but we need to make sure as

Citizens that the bill gets passed first

please take 5 Seconds to add your name

to it it's literally free this is such a

good example of how we can literally

make a difference in fashion by

supporting something that is not buying

something the second thing is how we can

rehumanize our clothing I feel like

we've become so devoid of the people

that are actually behind making our

clothes we kind of just see it as it's

there I don't have to think about how

this Keys actually came into existence

having a tag like what a woman is doing

where you see a photo of the Garment

worker that made your clothes and their

backstory right there when you're in a

store will show you okay like this was

actually made by someone real and what

I'm paying for is for them to have a

fair wage and work in healthy conditions

and this also ties back to how a brand

like what would they need to do to be

able to implement that they need to know

the exact person that made that item of

clothing to track that at a mass scale

means that you need to be measuring and

tracking all of your data and having

that organized and I think that's truly

what needs to happen to see a tag on the

final piece of clothing hanging in a

store you see the fabric content you see

where it's made you see the washing

instructions and you see the person that

made your clothing like I think that

that is incredible this amazing atellier

named Sith Le woman is already doing it

we have an example that is the most

amazing thing about all of these

different solutions is we have real

examples of them being used right now

like they are fully implemented by these

Brands around the world so it's not like

it's not doable it's just that these

brands don't really have a reason of

doing them right now if that became the

standard across the industry if you were

to walk into a fast fashion brand where

they didn't show that you would have

question marks you'd be like well why

don't you show the person that made it

how do you treat your workers if you

don't even care to know who made it you

know what I mean and I feel like that'll

help us in this fight for getting all

these garment workers paid a living wage

take that a step further I want to see

the people that were behind making the

fabric like who put that fabric together

who farmed the cotton that became this

shirt like show me all of those people

that would be incredible to me of the 74

million textile workers worldwide and

the number could be more now 80% are

women of color so we're not just talking

about women's rights and feminism we're

also talking about racial Justice and as

a woman of color myself like this is why

I care about where our clothes are being

made the next solution is no new

synthetic fibers honestly I don't know

why this isn't being done already but I

think that all companies need to remove

the use of synthetic fibers in their

supply chains in the next like 5 years

and that is a campaign that's being run

right now by standard it's called their

filthy fashion campaign and if you

really read about how integrated fashion

is with big oil it's going to blow your

mind I've been reading this report

called fossil fashion by the changing

markets Foundation I'll leave it linked

below it's pretty lengthy but it

basically dives into how much oil is

being used in the fashion industry it's

a really good read if you're interested

in stuff like this but a lot of the

stats I pulled out from that report I

feel like that is such a good step in

the right direction and if we could

Implement that at scale I feel like 5

years is really doable too because why

are we continuing to produce these

Fabrics that are so damaging to us they

take so long to break down they shed

microfibers into our waterways every

time you do your laundry like hello that

is so bad for us as consumers there is

just literally no benefit to it except

for the fact that it is cheap to make

like polyester isn't even that high

quality of a fabric if we can ban the

production of new synthetic fibers I

feel like that would be a win for all of

us but big oil does not want that to

happen and we know how much they pay to

lobby for them to continue doing what

they're doing and getting away with it

so we want to separate fashion from fals

fuels every year the fashion industry

uses 100 million tons of oil just for

synthetic fibers like not even for

transportation or for manufacturing or

anything like that and the production of

synthetic fibers like polyester for the

textile industry currently accounts for

1.35% of global oil consumption that is

more than the annual oil consumption of

Spain there is no way that we need to be

consuming more oil for the clothes on

our bodies especially when there's so

much clothing already on this planet

than a whole country the last solution

is end of life responsibility so I want

to see all brands all companies taking

full life cycle responsibility of all

the garments that they make and this

doesn't just mean a recycling program

where you can go and put your clothes in

a bin and get $5 off your next order and

then they ship it away to be landfilled

or incinerated across the world what

this truly means is that you can take a

piece of clothing back if it's it's in

good condition the company should mend

it and resell it because if they're

producing quality Goods someone else is

going to want to buy it if it is not in

great condition then the fabric should

be high quality enough where they can

break it down and recycle it and reuse

it in the creation of their new garments

and then let's say that they can't and

they have this textile waste left over

after you've given them this piece of

clothing they should be fined for

basically planned obsolescence like

literally manufactured obs lessons in

their clothing so creating all of these

trendy pieces that they know that

consumers are just going to throw away

and it's cheap enough that they don't

really need to think about it we all

have so much clothing already that

exists we have a textile waste crisis we

have a problem with how much clothing

waste and garbage that we have yet we

continue to produce so much it's like

these companies aren't even listening

the industry literally makes 100 billion

garments every year it's probably more

than that now and of that 92 million

tons end up in landfill imagine the

fashion industry where every brand had

to do that where they took full

responsibility and you could just give

them your garment back you would get a

credit for it to shop at their store

again and they really did have to deal

with this piece of clothing I think that

would really deter brands from producing

at the scale that they currently do and

I want to see how that could be

implemented and I want to see more

Brands doing it for the brands that are

truly the ones responsible for all of

these emissions operating at such Mass

scales they're the ones that that's

going to hurt the most all of these

things are going to be the most costly

for these big Brands to implement and

they have the money to do so so like why

can't we just regulate all of that those

are my solutions to fixing fashion for a

more sustainable and ethical fashion

future I'm super curious what your

thoughts are on these things please

let's have a discussion in the comments

below if you have other Solutions please

leave in the comments too I would love

to hear them it's always such a fun

thing to brainstorm together sign all

these petitions and acts I'm going to

leave them in my description box it's @

fashion sustainability. c/t takea and

then if you want to follow me on

Instagram I am posting more on there

again it's at inspiro I have all of

these stats and really nice little posts

for you if you want to repost and share

with your community I'm excited to see

all the good and I'm focusing on all the

good and I want to be hopeful that we

can change that's it for today's video I

really hope you guys enjoy please leave

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watching to the end I'll see you in my

next video bye everyone

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