We have become the nation of over consumption. As a whole, Britain buys more clothes than any other country in Europe, eats 223.5 grams of meat per person per day, and wastes around 9.5 million tonnes of food per year.

With a shift towards becoming more climate conscious many reports have suggested that a plant-based diet as well as buying clothes second hand can help tackle climate change.

The fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of global emissions, more than aviation and shipping combined. The majority of environmental impact from the fashion industry stems from raw materials, with cotton using up 2.5% of the worlds farmland, synthetic materials requiring around 342 million barrels of oil every year, and 43 million tonnes of chemicals used for processes such a dying per year. For a singular T-shirt 2700 litres of water and 10,000 for a singular pair of jeans. The meat industry uses 83% of farmland and produces 60% of agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions, and 14.5% of human-induced greenhouse gas emission. Approximately 1057.1 million meat, fish and poultry are slaughtered per year in the UK alone.

Another rising environmental threat is the increase in vaping, holding three forms of waste in one: plastic, hazardous and electronic waste. Since 2021 vaping has become a trend, and with the introduction of elf bars the increased consumption is becoming an environmental threat. Vapes alone equate to 10 tonnes of lithium per year, a finite material which rechargeable devices rely on.

Most scientists are not recommending that people switch to a plant-based diet, but just reduce the amount of meat they buy and consume, maintaining a more ‘flexitarian’ diet. The same point applies to clothing consumption, with research from Leeds University and Arup stating that buying a maximum of 8 new items of clothing per year could reduce fashion’s emissions by 37%. With the rise of online platforms such as Vinted and Depop, as well as eBay, it is even easier to buy second hand clothing, and cut your carbon footprint.

The rise of TikTok over the COVID lockdown also created a push for people to make their own clothing, teaching people how to sew, knit and crochet, which not only repurposes old clothing and fabric, but makes people more aware of the work that goes into creating garments. This idea can also be adapted for food creation. Growing fruit and vegetables is one of the most sustainable changes you could take. This can also be buying locally sourced, seasonal produce.

Although there is a level of personal responsibility in terms of cutting climate emissions, businesses need to be more responsible in what they are producing, advertising and selling. Science.org found that just 90 companies are to blame, causing two thirds of climate emissions across the globe. Consumerism is a product of capitalism, and a fault of economic systems and business, CEOs need to be held responsible for what damage they are creating, and governments need to sanction these businesses, establish climate change policy and legislation to aid the public to live more sustainable lifestyles.

The fashion industry contributed £32.3 billion to the UK GDP in 2018, with 890,000 jobs supported across the industry making it an important contributor to the British economy, but to what extent can we protect the economy instead of the environment?

Eleanor Brown – Brentwood and Ongar CLP Youth Officer

Eleanor is currently on a work experience placement in the office of Jon Cruddas MP and helps campaign in Dagenham & Rainham