Clothing is mass-produced, too much of it is produced too quickly, according to a joint press conference by AK Vienna and the environmental protection organization on Wednesday in Vienna. The fashion industry is one of the biggest polluters of the environment, and the social downside of the “fast fashion” trend is “immense”.
In a recent survey, AK and Greenpeace investigated how much and where Austrians buy clothing, how much of it they own, how long they use it and which criteria, such as ecological and social standards, influence the purchasing decision. The basis was a survey by the opinion research institute Integral among around 1,500 people. The results were presented in Vienna on Wednesday.
Contradiction between problem awareness and action
Rough conclusion of the survey: Austrians are aware of the ecological and social problems, but for the most part they are not decisive for the purchase decision. “The results of the survey reveal a considerable contradiction between people’s great awareness of the problem and their actions,” says a fact sheet for the press conference entitled “Survey on fashion consumption. How does Austria shop?” The majority buys online or from large chains, but the length of use has fallen in recent years. And: Around 185 million items of clothing hang in the closets practically unworn.
“Self-assessment” and facts
In the survey, 92 percent agreed that this is too much or that too many clothes are being bought. “The problems are well known,” said Lisa Panhuber, consumer expert at Greenpeace Austria. Nevertheless, environmental and social standards are only decisive for 44 and 40 percent of the purchase decision. Much more important are functionality (92 percent), quality (85 percent) and price (78 percent). Nevertheless, environmental standards have become more important in the last three years.
According to the survey, there are on average 94 items of clothing per person in the box, a “self-assessment”, as Panhuber said. Sales statistics show that more is actually being bought. On average, everyone spends 792 euros per year on clothing. A quarter of the individual fundus is hardly worn (defined as four times a year) or not at all (twelve percent).
Residual waste bin as the wrong terminus
According to the survey, the useful life of clothing and shoes has decreased in recent years. In a survey in 2019, around eleven percent said they would dispose of shoes after one year, the current figure is 14 percent. At an average of 2.9 years, shoes are used the shortest, and jackets are used the longest at 4.8 years. Twelve percent throw away trousers (average use three years) after one year.
Keyword throwing away: Greenpeace and AK also looked into the question of what happens to items of clothing when they are sorted out. Result: 52 percent stated in the survey that they would take them to collection containers, 33 stated that they would throw them in the residual waste. That means the pieces end up in incineration.
Young people consume differently
Nina Tröger, consumer researcher at AK Vienna, went into detail about the consumer behavior of young people in terms of fashion. According to the survey, this shows its own relatively interesting pattern. Young people (16 to 29 years old) consume differently, for them clothing is an expression of their personality, and fashion trends are more important to them than older consumers.
When it came to sustainability, they showed “ambivalent behavior”: young people bought significantly more second-hand items of clothing than older people (60 to 65 years of age). They generally buy more (27 versus the overall average of 18) but spend less per item of clothing ($26 versus $44). They buy more online, the return rate is higher because they usually order several pieces to try on. Young people use clothes for less time than older people.
“Interesting Differences”
In any case, it is also interesting: “Young people share more,” said Tröger, they went to exchange parties and borrowed clothes. There is also a social aspect here. In general, 40 percent said that they were currently buying less and cheaper because of the high inflation, with young people and women feeling the price increase more and consequently limiting themselves more, according to the AK expert.
After all, there are also “interesting differences” between the federal states. Most are spent in Tyrol, most are bought in Lower Austria, and in Vienna the proportion of clothes that are not worn is highest.
Appeal to consumers and manufacturers
If you want to put the intention of paying attention to sustainability into practice, you can do it relatively easily: Use clothing items for as long as possible, maybe repair them, pass them on, and even buy second-hand, advised the AK expert. Returns should be avoided, they mean additional transport costs, sometimes retail chains simply throw them away. Above all, however, the companies must also make a contribution, “the ‘fast fashion’ system must change”. Clear legal requirements are needed.
The awareness of the ecological and social problems in the textile industry is there, stressed Greenpeace consumer expert Panhuber, but this awareness alone will not lead to change in the fashion industry. The consumer can hardly check standards individually. Transparent supply chains are needed, the motto must be “away from ‘fast fashion'” towards a slower circular economy.
Concrete demands against “fashion for the garbage”
In order to reduce the climate-damaging and social excesses of “fast fashion”, Greenpeace and the AK Vienna demand in a broadcast on Wednesday that the announced law for a ban on the destruction of new goods be implemented quickly.
An EU supply chain law must ensure that companies disclose the stages of their supply chain transparently and are liable for human rights violations, damage to health or environmental damage in production.
“We really need a new approach to clothing,” said Panhuber, pointing to extreme examples of companies that flooded the market with “ultra fast fashion” at bargain prices and primarily have the young target group in mind. A third of the garments produced worldwide are never sold at all and end up in landfills. “This absurdity must be ended,” it cannot be “that fashion is produced for the garbage”.
