Fashion has a dirty little secret – fossil fuels make up the bulk of fibers used in clothing, but there is a path to change
Photo: Getty
I have been writing on this platform for three-and-a-half years now and my activism against fast fashion and slave labor in the fashion industry comes as no surprise. What may cause a different reaction is my recent obsession with the second “power engine” of this industry and what may be, quite literally, the burning issue of today: fossil fuels. We are all wearing oil. Every single day.
Or at least, most of us are. And we are not even aware of it, which is why I loved working with young Iranian-American leader and disruptor Sophia Kianni on a shoot for the December 2023 issue. Kianni got drenched in oil for the latest Fossil Fuel Fashion campaign, imploring people to rewear their clothes instead of buying new. While we may have swerved unnecessary plastic packaging and swapped our petrol cars for electric ones, the clothes in our closets are inextricably linked to oil. Why is this still hidden?
Cheap, fossil fuel-based materials such as acrylics, elastane, and polyester make up 69% of fibers produced today. These synthetics are extremely cheap, allowing brands to massively overproduce, thereby also contributing to fashion’s waste crisis that we see particularly in the Global South. The system is grotesque: A supply chain powered by fossil fuels, operated by underpaid workers, and using cheap materials made from oil, make the perfect marriage for fast fashion brands to keep doing business as usual.
The most recent statistics reveal that synthetic fiber production uses more oil per year than the entire country of Spain, and polyester production alone yields the equivalent emissions of 180 coal-fired power stations annually. Synthetic fibers and plastics are emerging as the fossil fuel industry’s cash cow, accounting for up to 95% of future growth in demand for oil. In a recent interview, Dr Sultan Al Jaber – CEO of the UAE’s national oil company, Adnoc, and the man who is presiding over Cop28 in Dubai this month – gestured to the carpet, the curtains, and his clothes, saying, “This is made from oil, that is made from oil – everything around us is made from this finite resource. We have to accept that.”
But what if we could work to change it? Few countries better understand how to radically transform its economy than the UAE, after all. Razan Al Mubarak, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion from the COP28 Presidency, President of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and Managing Director of the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, was born in the UAE. In a recent podcast, she described how, for hundreds of years, the country’s economy was based on the pearling industry. Then, in 1966, oil was unexpectedly discovered and communities that had been steeped in traditional pearling, fishing, and camel herding were transformed overnight. To me, there seems to be a huge opportunity for the UAE to change the narrative once again. It can lead the world towards a fair and fast curtailment of fossil fuels and transition to clean and renewable energy. This shift can start with fashion.
What would that look like? Let’s start with opportunity number one: Currently, the UAE serves as a key waypoint in the trade of secondhand clothing. Vast volumes of donated items make their way from Europe to the UAE to be sorted before going to other countries, often to be dumped and burned because it is low quality, inappropriate, or damaged. What if, instead, the UAE became a textile-to-textile recycling leader? Textile waste is the greatest untapped resource in the modern fashion system, and for fashion to cut its outsized environmental footprint, fiber-to-fiber recycling innovation and infrastructure need to blossom. The opportunities for investment and leadership are huge – see companies like Renewcell and Infinited Fiber, for example. Solutions to fossil fuel fashion fibers are cropping up everywhere and need our attention and investment.
Meanwhile, material innovators NFW, Bolt Threads, HeiQ, and Bloom Labs are creating novel cellulosic fibers using plants, fungi, minerals, natural rubber, natural waste byproducts, and other pioneering ingredients. These offer the versatility and performance of synthetics but are oil and gas free. There are also initiatives such as the newly launched Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Accelerator, a one-year program powered by NGO Lonely Whale, to accelerate the market adoption of seaweed-based alternatives developed by the winners of the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize: Sway, Zerocircle, and Notpla. Major brands are also leading the charge by committing to cutting out synthetics, such as Reformation and Hugo Boss, while smaller brands like Mover are making high-performance technical wear 100% plastic free.
For any change to be lasting, we also need legislation, and I am happy to report this is coming fast. From the EU Textiles Strategy to the New York Fashion Act, things are looking brighter. The countries that are gathering at COP28 have a historic opportunity to call for a just and equitable fossil fuel phase-out. We must transition our energy system from dirty to clean, while leaving no one behind. The fashion industry could be a powerful catalyst – if it can give up its addiction to fossil fuels.
Powering tomorrow: Meet the brands getting it right
Salim Azzam
Lebanese designer Salim Azzam creates handcrafted and embroidered items with a strong commitment to natural, local materials. His pieces are made by a small community of Lebanese women artisans keeping alive the craft he was so inspired by growing up.
Reformation
Reformation has committed to phasing out virgin synthetics by 2030 and reducing all synthetics (virgin and recycled) to less than 1% of total sourcing by 2025.
Hugo Boss
Through its partnership with Swiss alternative fiber producers HeiQ, Hugo Boss has committed to cutting its use of polyester and nylon to zero by 2030. HeiQ’s AeoniQ fiber is a high-performance cellulosic fibre that is also recyclable and competes with synthetics on tensile strength.
NFW
The materials innovator creates plastic-free fibers and materials that can replace harmful synthetic products. Its materials like Mirum, Pliant, and Clarus provide low-impact, plant-based, circular alternatives to leather, rubber, and polyester.
Mover
The Swiss sportswear brand creates stylish high-performance technical wear that is 100% plastic-free. Using natural fibers, its clothing is breathable, water-resistant, thermoregulating, and biodegradable.
Veja
Veja helped revive a traditional rubber supply chain in the Amazon so it could source rubber for sneaker soles sustainably in Brazil, the only place it grows in the wild rather than plantations. Veja pays its premiums only if rubber producers do not advance deforestation, while also incentivizing wild rubber production as an attractive source of income for local communities.
Stella McCartney
This evergreen sustainability pioneer and designer is committed to sustainability, both from a social perspective as well as in materials and circularity. Stella McCartney also partners with NFW to source Mirum, a natural alternative to animal leather.
Originally published in the December 2023 issue of Vogue Arabia
