Planet
The planet. The planet is our only source of life, destroying it would mean eradicating everything. It’s highly appropriate that the first pillar of the fashion business school is The Planet given that the world produces 92 million tons of textile waste every year (Ruiz, A, 2023). It’s time for accountability to take precedence over sustainability; those who are most responsible for polluting the planet hold it’s future in their hands.
So how do companies continue to operate whilst being environmentally conscious? Through a circular economy, a system to reduce waste produced and what waste is produced should be able to be regenerated back into the environment or reused (Ellen Macarthur foundation, 2021).
The trend of sustainability has made its way into the cosmetics industry with claims of having an 100% recyclable range and lowering their use of virgin plastics by 41% (The Inkey List, 2022). Not only is the increase in sustainability in cosmetics beneficial for the environment but also appeases consumers and clears them of any guilt they may feel through unethical transactions. A satisfied customer base leads to increased sales and brand reputation (Bom. S, Jorge. J, Ribeiro. H.M, Marto. J, 2019).
There are quite a few UN SDG’s that impact the cosmetics industry and in turn impact the planet. One being SDG 5 Gender Equality. Gender equality and views on gender are found throughout the cosmetics industry from face washes that practically have identical formulations yet are separated by labels of “For Woman” and “For Men” or moisturizers separated by pink/”girly” packaging or dark/”cool” packaging. These subtle cues on how gender is perceived impact everyone and everything. As a society gender inequality is still a very big issue from Roe v Wade being overturned(BBC, 2022) or much recently anti trans comments made from the Priminister Rishi Sunak (Billson. C, 2023). The fuel added to the misogyny and transphobia slows down the process of a more sustainable future. If humans cant look beyond their differences how will they be able to protect the future of the planet when they have to protect themselves from each other first.
Reference list:
(Ruiz, A, 2023) 17 Most Worrying Textile Waste Statistics & Facts – https://theroundup.org/textile-waste-statistics/#:~:text=Global%20Fashion%20Industry%20Waste,clothing%20material%20is%20actually%20plastic.
(Ellen Macarthur foundation, 2020) Circular economy introduction – https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/circular-economy-introduction/overview
(The Inkey List, 2022) Knowledge Powers Change – https://uk.theinkeylist.com/pages/knowledge-powers-change
(Bom. S, Jorge. J, Ribeiro. H.M, Marto. J, 2019) A step forward on sustainability in the cosmetics industry: A review – https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652619309655?via%3Dihub
(BBC, 2022) Roe v Wade: What is US Supreme Court ruling on abortion? – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-54513499
(Billson. C, 2023) Rishi Sunak doubles down on anti-trans comments made at Conservative Party Conference – https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/10/06/rishi-sunak-transphobic-comments-conservative-conference/