Future graduates of fashion courses will have an important role to play in the drive towards making fashion sustainable. In the ever-changing world of fashion, can sexiness, luxury, corporate responsibility and sustainability work in harmony? Introduction “In the past, fashion was a celebration; at the dawn of the twenty-first century, it has become big bussiness. “(Francois Baudot, 1999, P.

321). The fashion industry stands out from other industries in its universal and media appeal. There are millions followers of sexiness and luxury in the world of fashion.Meanwhile, fashion industry has an enormous impact on the environment, the energy costs of textiles and clothing are higher than before. It is important for fashion businesses to take effective steps to reduce their environmental footprint. Therefore, sustainable fashion appears not to be a short-term trend but one could last for a long time.

Besides, the value of corporate responsibility by citizens requires more and more business fashion companies to deal with the relationship of people, planet and profit.In the ever-changing world of fashion, sexiness, luxury, corporate responsibility and sustainability are facing cruel competition every single day, the public suspects if they can work harmoniously. This essay will divided into three sections. fristly, I discussed the problems from fashion and apparel industry.

Secondly, I talked about the solutions which had been implemented. Lastly, I summarized and gave my own position about weather these four areas can work in harmony or not and talked about the prospect of fashion industry.Problems Nowadays, basic clothes which can be seen everywhere could not satisfy our modern customers any more, a growing number of people have a strong desire to be distinguished from others and to win the favor of the opposite sex. These customers are real luxury followers and need expensive fur and jewelry to demonstrate they are special, wealthy and sucessful. Therefore, exaggerated fabic waste has been a result. It is evident that some apparel companies have recklessly used our global resources, setting a model of overabundance.For example, a statistic shows that it takes 2700 litres of water to produce just one luxury cotton T-shirt from ‘crop to shop’, while 5000 children die each day due to a lack of clean water.

It is estimated that more than 1 million tonnes of textiles are thrown away every year in the UK alone. At least 50% of the textiles we throw away are recycled, however, the proportion of textile wastes reused or recycled annually in the UK is only around 25%. Pollutions from manufacturing are posing a threat to local ground water supplies.For instance, every time it rians, water drains through all the rubbish and picks up chemical and hazardous materials. This includes chemicals used in luxury clothing and textiles such as dyes and bleaches.

faced with the exciting prospect of new clothes, sall arguments such as growing landfills, child labour, carbon footprint and water waste will move slightly to the side. For instance, a big textile company in China which has endured production scandal of using contamination in clothes and fabric products. The company has paid too much attention to benefit and ignored the rights of consumers.

These problems cause a result which many people believe that sexiness, luxury, corporate responsibility and sustainability can not work in harmony in the future. “We badly need a sustainable fashion revolution; one where buyers, designers, retailers and consumers fill our closets with clothes that are more durable and less impactful and face up to their true environmental and social cost. ”(Kate Fletcher,March 2008). Solutions However, a considerable number of people hold the opposite opinion. They claim that now the global fashion industry is embracing sustainability as a ey to long-term survival. Therefore, the case has strengthened for better corporate practices in fashion industry that would spur efficiencies and lower resource consumption. “We have to get to a point where we are still meeting the customers’ needs, but doing it sustainably. ”(Richard Gilles, 2009).

For instance, Marks & Spencer started its sustainability program, called Plan A, three years ago. To keep its clothes out of polluting landfills, the retailer encourage that used Marks & Spencer garments be donated to the relief organization Oxfam.In exchange, customers receive a coupon worth five pounds. It has showed a positive attitude of buying luxuries and dealing with them. People who believe that they can work in harmony also claim that the corporate responsibility requires people who with ties to the fashion industry: designers, markters, product developers, retailers, teachers, and consumers to become involved with balancing the fashion desires of the individual with the need to be steward of our environment. Tackling issues of sustainability is fundamental to the survival of the fashion industry and the careers of all fashion graduates.

”(Frances Corner, June 2009). For examples, Stella McCartney put the elements of sexiness and luxury into their designs but used some environmentally-friendly materials and methods in clothing production. She has started to change the way of designing apparel. Luxury brand Armani have been incorporating eco fabrics and design since the middle 90’s. Their first eco project started in 1995 with the development of a process to recycle denim.This was revolutionary for the time and jeans were displayed at the Science and Technology Museum of Milan. Later that year, Armani Jeans developed new materials using 60% recycled wool and recycled cross dyed cotton and introduced hemp eco washes into the collection. The most important thing is, unlike sustainability in other industries, sustainable fashion has received frequent coverage in recent years on television, mainstream media and almost every fashion glossy in the UK.

This appeal in itself has created an opportunity for fashion to become a medium for awareness raising amongst consumers. Especially luxury brands and sexiness which can catch most people’s eyes. It also makes it easier to raise awareness in the industry overall and encourage collaboration towards sustainability. Conclusion To sum up, make fashion sustainable is essential to our physical, social, and economic well-being.In my opinion, I agree with that in the ever-changing world of fashion, sexiness, luxury, corporate responsibility and sustainability can work in harmony. Proof by facts show that they have started to build a network from each other. Future graduates of fashion courses will have an important role to play in the drive towards this trend. However, it needs more efforts in reducing carbon emissions and promoting ethical and responsible lifestyles.

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