Fast Fashion's Environmental Impact: Strategies for Sustainable Change
Sourcing, Innovation, and Sustainability from the Ground Up
Organizers
Description
The fast fashion industry, characterized by rapid production cycles and high consumer demand, has led to significant environmental challenges. This event aims to explore the ecological ramifications of fast fashion, including water consumption, carbon emissions, and textile waste. Discussions will focus on innovative strategies and solutions to mitigate these impacts and promote sustainability within the apparel sector.
Background
The fashion industry significantly impacts the environment, contributing to pollution, excessive water usage, and carbon emissions. Fast fashion, characterized by rapid production and low-cost garments, exacerbates these issues. For instance, producing a single cotton shirt requires approximately 700 gallons of water, and textile dyeing ranks among the top polluters of clean water globally. Moreov…
Date: 2025-06-06
Time (ET): 3:00 PM EDT, Jun 6, 2025
Time (Local): 7:00 PM UTC, Jun 6, 2025
Location: online
Speakers
Rachel Kibbe
Founder and CEO , Circular Services Group (CSG) and American Circular Textiles (ACT)
Mallorie Dunn
Founder and Designer, SmartGlamour, Visiting assistant professor, Pratt’s Fashion Design Department
Karla Magruder
Founder & President, Accelerating Circularity
Shruti Singh
India Director at Canopy , Director at Fashion Revolution
Guided Questions
Karla Magruder
How can collaborative, cross-sector initiatives like Accelerating Circularity’s 'Building Circular Systems' effectively scale textile-to-textile recycling, and what are the key challenges and opportunities in transforming fashion's linear model into a circular economy?
Rachel Kibbe
As the CEO of Circular Services Group and founder of American Circular Textiles, what strategies are essential to scale domestic textile reuse and recycling, ensuring sustainable manufacturing and environmental impact reduction?
Mallorie Dunn
How do you balance sustainability and size inclusion in your work, especially within a slow fashion model that emphasizes ethical labor, reduced overproduction, and long-lasting, high-quality garments?
Shruti Singh
Given your work at the intersection of sustainable fashion, climate policy, and the craft economy, what do you see as the key enablers for scaling next-generation materials in India’s fashion and packaging sectors while ensuring equitable growth for artisan communities?