Building a Case for Sustainable Consumerism in the Fashion Industry

The fashion industry is ever-changing, and heavily is a purchaser-based trade. This paper specifically deals with fast fashion segment i.e. speedy production of clothes and accessories with less regard for quality of products and its impact on environment. This segment has grown mainly due to rising consumerism, as well as their demand for newer, fresher trends and designs. It has created a culture of disposable fashion, where clothing and accessories are viewed as mere short-term purchases only to be discarded sooner. It escalates huge textile wastage causing tremendous adverse impact on the environment, particularly increased water consumption, chemical pollution, and carbon emissions. Sustainable fashion and ethical fashion practices can aid in tackling these challenges. Sustainable fashion, as an alternative to fast fashion, not only prioritises environmental responsibility of designers, but also promotes creativity, social justice, and innovation. Similarly, sustainable practices such as using natural dyes, promoting a circular production model, upcycling etc. can significantly reduce the environmental burden if adopted globally on a mission mode. Further, Intellectual Property also has a direct linkage with sustainable fashion as a robust strategy for protecting novel, non-obvious, and innovative manufacturing processes and sustainable materials. It can also promote competition and increase profitability and establish sustainability as a core value in the fashion industry. To conclude, this paper highlights the impact of consumerism qua fast fashion industry on labour market and environment and the need for practicing sustainability by fashion industry as a constructive step towards better planet.