Last

The closing chapter focuses on the end of life of fashion garments. When a consumer determines that a garment is no longer desirable for the purpose it was acquired for, it becomes textile waste. While the price of clothing has decreased, consumer spending on clothing has increased, resulting in significant increases in textile waste streams in the West (Allwood et al, 2006). As clothes become cheaper, it may be easier for a consumer to discard a garment and replace it with little consideration. A sustainable fashion industry of the future must identify ways of producing fashion that foster deeper engagements between wearer and garment, from point of acquisition through an appropriate, low-impact use phase to the eventual end of life of the garment. This will require new, closer relationships between the industry and fashion consumers. Alongside social innovation, technological advances will continue to bring about improvements in materials reclamation and recycling, leading to waste reduction.