Human activity has always been responsible for enormous pollution. Tons of carbon dioxide are produced by various industries. Mountains of waste accumulate without any recycling solution and billions of microplastics penetrate the soil and water of the whole planet. Against all odds, the fashion industry is one of the biggest sources of pollution on the planet. This phenomenon is getting worse and worse with the advent of a trend that has become extremely popular in the fashion industry based on the rapid innovation of collections: Fast fashion!
During its life cycle, a garment can pollute at every stage from the production of raw materials to the manufacturing and finally to the use itself. In fact, at least 60% of each garment we wear contains microplastics. To help you better visualize the prominent presence of plastic in the textile industry I have some statistics. According to the newspaper The guardian 69% of textiles produced each year are made with synthetic fibres, thus contain microplastics. This percentage is expected to increase by 7.39% CAGR till 2025.
The negative impact of plastic on the environment and on our oceans is proven, but still 4.8 to 12.7 million tons of plastic are dumped into the ocean each year and only 9% of this plastic waste is recovered for recycling. It remains thus 91% of waste in nature and of 35% coming from the fashion industry. We are all responsible at our scale to the presence of these plastics that infiltrate our oceans and negatively affect the climate, the aquatic life and by extension affects us since we are feeding on this aquatic life. How are you responsible for this pollution? you may ask.
Unfortunately, the simple fact of taking care of your clothes turns out to be polluting. A single washing of a plastic-based clothes releases an average of 700,000 microplastics into the environment. I am aware that the main argument of, synthetic fabrics like acrylic, polyester, elastane etc. is its affordability, and unfortunately, we all do not have the means to consume in an ecological way, but with a little creativity and willingness we can reduce the negative impact of our clothes on the planet.
It is within this context that the Afro Sustainable fashion initiative was launched to draw attention to the role that the fashion industry plays in environmental pollution. This initiative aims to gather concerned individuals and communities to work together to find solutions to reduce the use of plastic-based fabrics in the local fashion industry through the promotion of sustainable fashion. Initial funding for the project was provided by the Afri-Plastics Challenge Strand 3.
Afro SFI rallies fashion enthusiasts (designers, models, fashion trainers, fabric dealers, consumers, etc.) to use their love of fashion as a tool to fight against plastic pollution in the environment including our oceans. Creators such as Crystal Creations, Blizz Fusion, Delly’s Fashion, and TRose joined the Afro SFI network in multi-sectoral collaboration to begin to address the microplastic problem in fashion across sub-Saharan Africa. The time to act is now! Join us for more guidance on how we could contribute to promote sustainable fashion in Africa.