By Yaime Delgado, PhD
Global warning: Our Planet is in Danger!
The Fast Fashion Business as an Example of Environmental Damage
The scientific community has demonstrated that annually, worldwide temperature increases lead to global warming, melting ice caps and sea level rise even with the risk of some coastal areas disappearing (Hamlington et al., 2020). Space agencies such as the European, Canadian, and American ones collect important information on the parameters that influence climate change. For example, NASA data shows how since the pre-industrial era, temperatures tend to rise by 1.1 ºC annually, and the sea level continues increasing every year (see Figures 1 and 2).
Figure 1. Global land-ocean temperature index
Figure 2. Change in sea level, as observed by satellites.
The temperature surface rise causes hurricanes to get worse every season, with warmer water, and stronger storms. Impressive data from the last two decades about the intensity and damages triggered by storms and hurricanes are counted by Mattison (2018) relying on various charts. Unfortunately, there are further harms that endanger the Earth’s existence. The indiscriminate use of fossil sources also produced air pollution, soil degradation, deforestation, and biodiversity loss, among other problems, as Robinson (2023) described. Fast fashion and textile waste are growing, and this market will be estimated to rise to $122.98bn in 2023 (Cawood, 2023). Within a year of production, 60% of all clothing ends up in landfills or incinerators (Bartlett, 2023).
One of the spookiest examples is situated in Atacama, Chile. This place, now known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, was considered “an environmental and social emergency” due to the amount of clothes discarded that were put there and are visible even from the space. People must become aware of the damage that the indiscriminate use of natural resources has caused. Nevertheless, three questions involve sustainability and a consumer society: Does the community have an idea that each one can and must contribute to protecting the environment? Is sustainability a topic that must concern the consumers? How to think about sustainability without giving up the comfort of modern life?
Sustainability for the Survival of the Planet
According to Ipsos surveys in 2022, half of the world’s population is concerned about climate change regularly, although this is not observed to the same extent between different countries. For instance, in Canada, the climate change concerns are below the global mean (34% versus 48% respectively). Nevertheless, the growing alarms about climate change provoked mainly due to anthropogenic actions, must make humanity think about sustainability. Further, taking measures to prevent or delay environmental deterioration is crucial, and it is necessary to act immediately.
I wonder: Does everyone know what sustainability means? The sustainability concept proposed by the United Nations talks about meeting present needs while preserving future generations. Likewise, the so-called sustainable development is the use of natural resources at a rate equal to or less than that produced in nature. At the current pace, the fashion industry is unsustainable (Hoeg, 2023). If the consumers would change their habits of unnecessary or excessive buying of clothes, while many times they use them only once or they don’t even use them, the existing situation could be ameliorated. On the other hand, the good news is that the industry is changing its strategy adding new terms in the design of new products, eco-innovation, and eco-design, although there is less than 1% of productors using these parameters. Nowadays, 90% of CEOs say that to achieve success, implementing actions that contribute to sustainability is required, market transformation is a fact, as published by Stanford Social Innovation (Hoffman, 2018).
Nevertheless, another term is frequent, but not positive: greenwashing! Some companies say that they implement sustainability actions to obtain benefits, or to avoid penalties. This is a crucial topic which deserves to be debated in another article.
Reasons to actively combat climate change. Start acting now!
David Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data, asked why we should fight climate change in a 2021 survey of the Canadian population, and his findings were varied. A third of those polled believed that we must ensure a safe and healthy planet for future generations. Similarly, approximately 29% believe that efficient energy use to combat climate change will lead to profits for Canadians. The fifth part of the participants believes that countries that transition to renewable energy will have the strongest economies in the future. As well, 1 in 5 Canadians believe we must do more to try to avoid financial disasters caused by extreme weather events according to their research.
Answering the initial questions, every person must contribute to protecting the environment, whether from the home, workplace, or wherever we go. This critical issue involves all of us, as consumers, employees, businessmen, and big companies. From my point of view, it is possible to have a comfortable lifestyle without harming the environment too much. Everyone can contribute to protecting our surroundings. Taking up the fashion example, before buying, analyze if you really need what you are going to pay for. You can also visit thrift stores like Value Village. In addition, companies are currently promoting the measures they carry out to be sustainable, see how A&F CO does their advertisement. Find out what the brand you will buy does in this regard.
Furthermore, simple actions like reusing, recycling, and reducing allow us to diminish waste. And even more, the correct disposal of garbage avoids the contamination of water bodies. Additionally, if you plant trees everywhere you can, they produce a positive impact because they capture CO2, one of the greenhouse gasses. Small behaviour changes can contribute to reducing the negative impact that humanity has caused on the environment. Regardless of our place of origin, and whether we are aware of it or not, we only have one place in common to live: Mother Earth! Taking care of her is our duty. We all want a better world for our children, but let’s take actions that contribute to creating environmental awareness and raising better children for our planet.
Final Takeaways
After reading this article and the examples I have shared, I hope you can perceive better how, for several reasons, climate consciousness, or awareness of environmental issues and their impact on the planet, is critical for individuals, businesses, and society. Protecting the environment is not just about saving the planet, it’s also about creating economic stability and promoting a healthier and more equitable world for present and future generations.
Keep following my articles on Generation1.ca, where we will offer you simple tips you can implement in your daily life to protect our planet and our survival. Also, you can learn about the effort and the contributions of industries, and scientific and academic organizations to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Interesting topics will be illustrated, such as carbon footprint reduction, life cycle analysis, circular economy, and other issues related to the protection of our planet and species.
References
Bartlett, J. (2023). Fast fashion goes to die in the world’s largest fog desert. The scale is breathtaking. National Geographic Partners, LLC. Retrieved, 5, 2023.
Cawood, C. (2023, June 20). Shocking images show mountain of unworn fast fashion visible from space. Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/fast-fashion-chile-desert-space-b2361069.html
Coletto, D. (2021). What do Canadians think about climate change and climate action? Abacus Data. https://abacusdata.ca/climate-change-cop26-canada/
Eco-design explained. (n.d.). Retrieved October 20, 2023, from https://makersite.io/insights/eco-design/
Freedman, B. (2018). Chapter 12~ Resources and Sustainable Development. Environ Sci Can Perspect, 1-37.
Gibbens, S. (2022). Is your favorite ‘green’product as eco-friendly as it claims to be? national geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/what-is-greenwashing-how-to-spot
Hamlington, B. D., Gardner, A. S., Ivins, E., Lenaerts, J. T., Reager, J. T., Trossman, D. S., … & Willis, M. J. (2020). Understanding of contemporary regional sea‐level change and the implications for the future. Reviews of Geophysics, 58(3), e2019RG000672.
Hoeg, N. A. (2023). Shop Less, Shop Better: ethical and sustainability concerns throughout the fast fashion supply chain. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3127&context=purcc
Hoffman, A. J. (2018). The next phase of business sustainability. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 16(2), 34-39. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019RG000672
Ipsos (April 2022) Public opinion on climate change. A closer look at Canada. Ipsos Global Advisor. https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2022-04/Earth%20Day_Apr%202022_Canada.pdf
Mattison, R. (2018, September 12). Are Hurricanes Getting Worse? A Story Told in 7 Charts. ThoughtSpot Blog. https://www.thoughtspot.com/thoughtspot-blog/are-hurricanes-getting-worse-story-told-7-hurricane-strength-charts-thoughtspot
MJV (2020, October 29). Eco-innovation: Creating an innovation and sustainability strategy. https://www.mjvinnovation.com/blog/eco-innovation/
NASA (2023, October 27). Global Climate Change. https://climate.nasa.gov/
Nations, U. (2022). Sustainability. United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/academic-impact/sustainability#:~:text=In%201987%2C%20the%20United%20Nations,to%20meet%20their%20own%20needs.%E2%80%9D
Nations, U. (2023). Take Action for the Sustainable Development Goals. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/
Robinson, D. (2023, Sep 16th). 15 Biggest Environmental Problems of 2023. Earth.org. https://earth.org/the-biggest-environmental-problems-of-our-lifetime/
Yaime Delgado is a Chemical Engineer (Cuba), with a master’s degree in Renewable Energy (Spain), and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering (Brazil). She has over ten years of experience in environmental protection, and sustainability as a professor and researcher. Yaime has published findings in high-impact journals and participated as a speaker in international events. Currently, she is studying in the Research Analyst program at Humber College.
