The Awakening of an Environmental-Conscious Fashion Era

Abstract

The fashion industry is the world’s third most polluting industry. The environmental ramifications of the industry have expanded in the previous decade as a result of consumer waste and raw material depletion from producers. Furthermore, there is a major influence on all three sustainability pillars, including environmental (emissions, energy, water usage, etc.), social (poverty, work ethics, etc.), and economic (buying, manufacturing costs, raw material depletion, etc.). The incorporation of circular economy into the fashion sector gives a quick and secure path to sustainability in compliance with European legislations such as the European Green Deal, the Circular Economy Strategy, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. To complete the shift from linear to circular, appropriate strategies and plans must be developed within the framework of business models. Although the research community has studied many business models relating distinct phases of the fashion production line (from raw materials acquisition to disposal), a holistic business model spanning all stages of manufacturing development is still required. Insights and understanding on implications of fashion industry, legislation, circularity of the supply chain, circular business models, as well as the role of society and consumers in the transition of the industry toward circularity must be deeply explored to provide the foreground for substantial and noteworthy shift toward a truly sustainable industry.