Article: Make it fashion, but be mindful of its cautions.
Make it fashion, but be mindful of its cautions.
#FlowslowwithOG&co
In the last years, society have witnessed positive and somewhat radical changes in the design and manufacture of fashion products, a result of the search for unique products, a growing environmental awareness, and a stricter legislation on social and environmentally sustainable conducts. These changes are having a decisive role in establishing new models of consumption and lifestyle trends focused on sustainable practices and an overall mindset transformation to approach life, as search of a healthier lifestyle and finding the right balance between work and leisure. The current work discusses changes in lifestyle, the return to origins, the natural and organic products preferences, along with the growing of the fashion segment of "activewear". The tendency of activewear in everyday life has progressed into what has been described as a new trend called "Athleisure"; fabrics with natural fibres as wool can end to be, or even are already being used, as an option to meet the sustainable consumer ideologies and daily use expectations. Conclusions go in line with previous studies and industry reports or trends analysis agencies, indicating a sustainable future for hybrid activewear, the "athleisure", where the preference for natural and organic fibres prevail. Although, this preference prevails not per se, because it is taking advantage of technological improvements in natural resources management and clean production processes, or in the incorporation at fibre composition (wool and blends) and finishes with multilayer lamination of fabrics and addition of functional membranes.
McKinsey has estimated that the fashion industry is responsible for 4 percent of the world's greenhouse-gas emissions. According to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, emissions from textile manufacturing alone are projected to skyrocket by 60% by 2030.
Sustainable activewear is all about high quality and caring more about the environment.
Recycled materials such as polyester and polyamide retain all the technical attributes of the original materials and perform just as well. In fact, as more companies and people realize the need to become sustainable, it is quite likely that sustainable activewear and the processes to manufacture it and collect waste will improve even more due to new designs and studies.
Fashion is responsible for 10 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions and 20 percent of global wastewater, and uses more energy than the aviation and shipping sectors combined.
Impacts on water
Global fashion also consumes 93 billion metric tons of clean water each year, about half of what Americans drink annually.
Microplastic pollution
Many people have lived solely in athleisure wear during the pandemic, but the problem with this is that the stretch and breathability in most athleisure comes from the use of synthetic plastic fibers like polyester, nylon, acrylic, spandex and others, which are made of plastic.
When clothes made from synthetics are washed, microplastics from their fibers are shed into the wastewater.
Some of it is filtered out at waste water treatment plants along with human waste and the resulting sludge is used as fertilizer for agriculture.
Microplastics then enter the soil and become part of the food chain.
The microplastics that elude the treatment plant end up in rivers and oceans, and in the atmosphere when seawater droplets carry them into the air. It's estimated that 35 percent of the microplastics in the ocean come from the fashion industry.
While some brands use "recycled polyester" from PET bottles, which emits 50 to 25 percent fewer emissions than virgin polyester, effective polyester recycling is limited, so after use, these garments still usually end up in the landfill where they can shed microfibers.
Microplastics harm marine life, as well as birds and turtles. They have already been found in our food, water and air's one study found that Americans eat 74,000 microplastic particles each year. And while there is growing concern about this, the risks to human health are still not well understood.
On the other hand, pseudo-green companies are entering the market to gain a competitive advantage through greenwashing practices without real concern and efforts for environmental protection. Companies that engage in greenwashing attempt to convince consumers that the company or its products are environmentally friendly, when in fact they have a poor environmental performance, while at the same time communicating their good environmental performance. Such behaviour harm the consumer and investor trust in companies with products that actively care for the environment, leads to consumer confusion and has a negative impact on green purchases, green brand image and loyalty even among environmentally conscious consumers. Moreover, greenwashing is widespread in the fashion and textile industry. These industries are also questionable in terms of sustainability and corporate social
responsibility (CSR) as such and have been criticised for exploiting human and natural resources, environmental degradation, pollution and waste .
We @ OG&co, are trying our best to create a brand that is transparent about the process and be honest to what we are promising to be.
In the last years, society have witnessed positive and somewhat radical changes in the design and manufacture of fashion products, a result of the search for unique products, a growing environmental awareness, and a stricter legislation on social and environmentally sustainable conducts. These changes are having a decisive role in establishing new models of consumption and lifestyle trends focused on sustainable practices and an overall mindset transformation to approach life, as search of a healthier lifestyle and finding the right balance between work and leisure. The current work discusses changes in lifestyle, the return to origins, the natural and organic products preferences, along with the growing of the fashion segment of "activewear". The tendency of activewear in everyday life has progressed into what has been described as a new trend called "Athleisure"; fabrics with natural fibres as wool can end to be, or even are already being used, as an option to meet the sustainable consumer ideologies and daily use expectations. Conclusions go in line with previous studies and industry reports or trends analysis agencies, indicating a sustainable future for hybrid activewear, the "athleisure", where the preference for natural and organic fibres prevail. Although, this preference prevails not per se, because it is taking advantage of technological improvements in natural resources management and clean production processes, or in the incorporation at fibre composition (wool and blends) and finishes with multilayer lamination of fabrics and addition of functional membranes.
McKinsey has estimated that the fashion industry is responsible for 4 percent of the world's greenhouse-gas emissions. According to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, emissions from textile manufacturing alone are projected to skyrocket by 60% by 2030.
Sustainable activewear is all about high quality and caring more about the environment.
Recycled materials such as polyester and polyamide retain all the technical attributes of the original materials and perform just as well. In fact, as more companies and people realize the need to become sustainable, it is quite likely that sustainable activewear and the processes to manufacture it and collect waste will improve even more due to new designs and studies.
Fashion is responsible for 10 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions and 20 percent of global wastewater, and uses more energy than the aviation and shipping sectors combined.
Impacts on water
Global fashion also consumes 93 billion metric tons of clean water each year, about half of what Americans drink annually.
Microplastic pollution
Many people have lived solely in athleisure wear during the pandemic, but the problem with this is that the stretch and breathability in most athleisure comes from the use of synthetic plastic fibers like polyester, nylon, acrylic, spandex and others, which are made of plastic.
When clothes made from synthetics are washed, microplastics from their fibers are shed into the wastewater.
Some of it is filtered out at waste water treatment plants along with human waste and the resulting sludge is used as fertilizer for agriculture.
Microplastics then enter the soil and become part of the food chain.
The microplastics that elude the treatment plant end up in rivers and oceans, and in the atmosphere when seawater droplets carry them into the air. It's estimated that 35 percent of the microplastics in the ocean come from the fashion industry.
While some brands use "recycled polyester" from PET bottles, which emits 50 to 25 percent fewer emissions than virgin polyester, effective polyester recycling is limited, so after use, these garments still usually end up in the landfill where they can shed microfibers.
Microplastics harm marine life, as well as birds and turtles. They have already been found in our food, water and air's one study found that Americans eat 74,000 microplastic particles each year. And while there is growing concern about this, the risks to human health are still not well understood.
On the other hand, pseudo-green companies are entering the market to gain a competitive advantage through greenwashing practices without real concern and efforts for environmental protection. Companies that engage in greenwashing attempt to convince consumers that the company or its products are environmentally friendly, when in fact they have a poor environmental performance, while at the same time communicating their good environmental performance. Such behaviour harm the consumer and investor trust in companies with products that actively care for the environment, leads to consumer confusion and has a negative impact on green purchases, green brand image and loyalty even among environmentally conscious consumers. Moreover, greenwashing is widespread in the fashion and textile industry. These industries are also questionable in terms of sustainability and corporate social
responsibility (CSR) as such and have been criticised for exploiting human and natural resources, environmental degradation, pollution and waste .
We @ OG&co, are trying our best to create a brand that is transparent about the process and be honest to what we are promising to be.
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