Sustainability has become somewhat of a buzzword in fashion. Brands and companies have realised that they need to be committed to reducing their environmental impact in order to survive today’s business landscape. With Gen Z spearheading this movement, calling for increased transparency and sustainable practice within fashion as well as prioritising thrifting and resale markets, it seems that brands are eager to create initiatives (and advertise them) that highlight the work they are doing to be more ‘sustainable’. But is this actually just an oxymoron, and can fashion ever be truly sustainable?

Well, in short – no. Despite the fashion industry being one of the most vocal about sustainability, it actually has a massive waste problem. Production has doubled in the last 15 years, but the time between buying a piece and chucking it has decreased by 40%. What’s more, once thrown away, over 73% of the waste is burnt in landfills, and staggeringly – only 1% of all waste fabric is reused to make new clothing.

For the most part, this can be put down to overproduction, which is caused by a number of factors. Primarily, demand has increased: fast fashion companies have set the precedent of supplying a huge variety of readily available garments, leading, in turn, to an explosion of microtrends that consumers can buy into at any given time. Take the resin ring trend, or the infamous green House of Sunny dress: from the height of their popularity (pictured on Kendall Jenner) to their relegated status as ‘uncool’ (see any ‘trends I wish would die’ TikTok) took a little over 3 months. In those 3 months, fast-fashion copies sprung up everywhere, no doubt catalysing their demise due to how oversaturated the market quickly became with them.