A guilty conscience is the mother of invention….

 As fashion plays an important social role in today’s society, it also plays a negative environmental impact.  The apparel industry has a significant effect on the earth’s environment because of the life cycle it takes to produce clothing and the after care.  Not only is the apparel industry production harmful to the earth’s environment, it is also harmful to humans.  There are a many hazardous condition that the apparel industry as acquired over time that many people are unaware of, unless they work in the apparel industry.  The issues that are seen throughout the apparel industry production are the harmful pesticides chemicals, the over use of water, electricity, and diesel fuel. While these are some of the aspects that are harmful to the environment there are also hazardous aspects such as producing non-biodegradable fibers and unhealthy working conditions that the apparel industry provides.

I believe that the apparel industry is guilty for the changes we have seen in the ecosystems for the past fifty years.  The reasoning for my assumption is because if the apparel industry were not guilty, there would not be a move to make it sustainable.  It is stated in the Fashion Sustainability article that “10 tones of water are used to grow enough cotton to make one pair of jeans”.  The over use of water to produce clothing is outrageous and is increasingly affecting our environment. “1.1 billion people still lack access to improved water supply and more than 2.6 billion lack access to improved sanitation.  Since 1960, the ratio of water use to accessible supply has grown by 20% per decade”(ESMA). Not only do can we see that we are harming the environment by the production of clothing but we are also harming humans that are in need of water that is being over used for the apparel industry. When reading the study of Walsh and Brown, suggestions are implemented that the apparel industry should move towards organic farming rather than conventional farming because the outcome of organic farming verse conventional farming when producing cotton is less harmful to the environment and to workers of the apparel industry.  Not only is organic farming better for our environment, it’s cost is almost half has much as conventional farming. Other implementation are made from the Fashion Sustainability article where more companies are moving towards sustainable options such as; fair trade products, producing renewable materials and using other natural materials that require less pesticide. If the apparel industry would move towards making the industry more sustainable, there would not be so many issues regarding the over use of the environments natural resource to produce clothing and it would not be as harmful to employees that work for the apparel industry.

The connection between the Ecosystem Assessment and Fashion Sustainability are that they both focus on how human’s over use of the earth’s resources and are slowly affecting the ecosystems. Since humans are consistently polluting the environment more and more ecosystems are being affected.  If the apparel industry would take action to become more sustainable, I believe that they would need to start in the growing phase of natural fibers in order to become sustainable.  The suggestions that are made from both Fashion Sustainability and Walsh and Brown’s article are reasonable to carry out for the apparel industry but it all comes back to the how humans should take their part in making the apparel industry more sustainable by the after care of their clothing.  One should take into consideration whether it is worth harming both the environment and humans in order to stay in style.