These Brands Are Working to Transform Textile Production

It’s hard to point to just one statistic that demonstrates the impact the fashion industry has on the climate. It generates roughly 8% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and 20% of global water pollution. Its emissions are expected to double by 2030 if the industry doesn’t adopt some serious changes.

But it’s more than just emissions. Roughly 85% of all textile waste goes directly into landfills, according to the EPA, and less than 1% gets made into new clothing. Some of it gets downcycled into things like insulation or stuffing, but a lot of the clothes that get marked as recycled are simply shipped off to other parts of the world, creating waste dumps in places like Chile and Ghana.

And then there’s the human cost: The fast-fashion industry employs roughly 75 million workers—of which only an estimated 2% make a living wage. As fast fashion gets faster and more disposable, workers pay a price.

Problems this big require myriad solutions, from labor advocacy to recycling infrastructure to consumer education. For this video, Adweek caught up with entrepreneurs and experts working within the fashion industry to transform it from the inside.

This story is part of Adweek’s The State of Sustainability digital package, which spotlights climate-focused marketing solutions across the beauty, experiential and media spaces, and examines how an industry that was built to drive consumption is adapting to reduce its impact.