Unpacking fashion’s complicated impact on the planet

06/16/22 • 58 min

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For the first topic of our first episode, we are asking a simple question: what is fashion’s actual impact on the environment?

We know the environmental impact of fashion is vast. But has it been properly quantified? It turns out, no. And that’s a problem for figuring out how to fix it.

Then, we turn to the most visible problem in the fashion industry: textile waste.

Rachel and Shilla are both involved in an effort to bring more transparency and regulatory scrutiny to the textiles industry. We’ll dig into some possible solutions for textile waste.

We’ll finish with one of the hottest stories in fashion: Shein.

In April, the Wall Street Journal revealed the Chinese mega-retailer had raised over $1 billion at a $100 billion valuation. Shein is now one of the most valuable private companies in the world — built off an ultra-fast fashion model that pumps out thousands of new styles per week.

What does Shein’s rise tell us about the tension between consumer desires for sustainable products and actual buying habits? And can Shein clean up its operations in a meaningful way?

Additional reading:

New York Times: how fashion giants recast plastic as good for the planet
Vox: fashion has a misinformation problem
New York Times: the biggest fake news in fashion
WWD: New working group to tackle textile waste
Business of Fashion: the sustainability regulations that could reshape fashion.
Sourcing Journal: Critics say Shein’s textile waste solution isn’t good enough
WSJ: Shein valued at $100 billion funding round
Daily Beast: Has Shein killed the dream of sustainability in fashion?

Hot Buttons is a production of Post Script Media. The show is hosted by Christina Binkley, Rachel Kibbe, and Shilla Kim-Parker. Follow the show on Twitter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the first topic of our first episode, we are asking a simple question: what is fashion’s actual impact on the environment?

We know the environmental impact of fashion is vast. But has it been properly quantified? It turns out, no. And that’s a problem for figuring out how to fix it.

Then, we turn to the most visible problem in the fashion industry: textile waste.

Rachel and Shilla are both involved in an effort to bring more transparency and regulatory scrutiny to the textiles industry. We’ll dig into some possible solutions for textile waste.

We’ll finish with one of the hottest stories in fashion: Shein.

What does Shein’s rise tell us about the tension between consumer desires for sustainable products and actual buying habits? And can Shein clean up its operations in a meaningful way?

Additional reading:

New York Times: how fashion giants recast plastic as good for the planet
Vox: fashion has a misinformation problem
New York Times: the biggest fake news in fashion
WWD: New working group to tackle textile waste
Business of Fashion: the sustainability regulations that could reshape fashion.
Sourcing Journal: Critics say Shein’s textile waste solution isn’t good enough
WSJ: Shein valued at $100 billion funding round
Daily Beast: Has Shein killed the dream of sustainability in fashion?

Hot Buttons is a production of Post Script Media. The show is hosted by Christina Binkley, Rachel Kibbe, and Shilla Kim-Parker. Follow the show on Twitter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Previous Episode

Trailer: Is fashion fit for the future? We need to talk about it.

There’s no turning away from today’s reality: the demand for sustainability has come for the fashion industry.

Christina Binkley, Rachel Kibbe, and Shilla Kim-Parker are here to talk about it.

Hot Buttons features weekly observations and lively debate about the future of the fashion industry as it reckons with its impact on the climate, natural resources, and worker rights. The show is not just about reducing emissions in the supply chain – it’s about the culture of fashion, the high-stakes decisions inside the industry, and how we rethink the very idea of growth.

Subscribe to Hot Buttons everywhere you get podcasts. Episodes drop every Thursday starting June 16.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Next Episode

The trillion-dollar climate gap in fashion

Last fall, the Apparel Impact Institute and Fashion for Good mapped out what it would take to cut fashion’s carbon emissions by half by 2030, and hit net-zero by 2050. Those are goals identified by the UN fashion charter in 2018.

Their conclusion: we’ll need $1 trillion to get there. This week, we’ll ask: where will that money come from?

Then, as shoppers are heading back to stores, high-end brands are adding circular services to try to draw them in. Is this an indication of a bigger movement for in-person retail?

Finally, we end with European raids of top design brands’ headquarters. Did a movement to rewire fashion more sustainably somehow turn anticompetitive?

Stories discussed in this episode:

Sourcing Journal: H&M and Lululemon back $250M climate fund
Euronews: The trillion dollar question over how to fix the fashion industry
Aii/Fashion for Good report on decarbonizing fashion
Vogue Business: sustainability comes to physical retail
Vogue: Rewiring fashion groups reflect on a year of change
Business of Fashion: EU raids target brands proposing sales periods, restrictive practices
Vogue: What happened to the fashion industry reset?