Challenges and Opportunities for Realizing a Society Endorsing Sustainable Fashion

Abstract

While fashion is seen as essential to the well-being of all people, a large variety of products in this market are mass-produced in excessive quantities, most of which are soon discarded. There have been many initiatives proposed to develop sustainable fashion, however most have never actually been implemented in society. As a result, many problems have been identified within the product life cycle, from raw materials to disposal and recycling. Based on the results of stakeholder workshops and surveys regarding recycling technologies and social systems, social implementation issues emerged with regard to sustainability, especially for resource recycling. Among these, “building a social framework for recovery” and “changing consumer perceptions and behaviors,” are seen as the most urgent in relation to a larger vision for sustainable fashion. Another major challenge lies within the fact that there is a lack of sufficient positioning in the legal system. However, the fashion industry has now begun to work in cooperation with consumers, governments, and researchers in order to take action to establish a social system where all forms of textiles and clothing products eventually get recycled. It will be important to continue to build upon these relationships.