Sustainability in Textiles and Fashion: How Far Have We Come Since 2000?

Sustainability and its associated jargon (eco-friendly, ethical, green, and so on) has been a central focus in textiles and fashion for more than 20 years. Despite the attention, but not surprisingly, the world of fashion has continued on an unsustainable path. Business succeeds by “selling more stuff.” At all levels, a fundamental misapprehension is revealed when a company claims a “100% sustainable T-shirt,” or a customer asks, “was this made in a sustainable way?” The question, as this article seeks to establish, is not what? Or how? But how much?