Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Sustainable Fashion

Fashion is a competitive and growing industry. Big brands have lowered production costs making clothing more affordable, and release up to 24 collections per year. Not only are people buying more clothes, but also, bought garments are being replaced at a faster pace.1 This trend in fast fashion carries a hefty price tag on the environment. Up to 85% of clothing produced each year ends up in landfills.2 Moreover, it is estimated that the fashion industry produces 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions annually and uses up to 1.5 trillion liters of water.3 Also, new research shows that micro-plastics from clothing make its way out to seas and oceans.

Thanks to digital media, information on the harmful effects of fast fashion is readily available worldwide, and consequently, a growing population of environmentally conscious shoppers are turning to sustainable fashion. Sustainable fashion is a movement that emphasizes quality over quantity, and promotes making conscious buying choices driven by information on how each piece of clothing is made. This movement gave rise to a number of MSMEs  cater to this fashion niche and promise to produce clothes that are made from sustainable materials and processes, and have a smaller carbon footprint.