Sustainable Fashion: Why It Matters and the Impact Seny Wants to Make

Fashion uses vast amounts of water, creates waste and makes clothes that people wear for less time. Sustainable fashion answers each of those problems. This guide covers what the term means, the numbers behind it, what you can do and where Seny fits.

What sustainable fashion means

• Made to last Built for years of wear, not one season
• Eco-friendly materials and processes Lower impact in how pieces are made
• Fair to the makers Supports the well-being of the people who make them

The problem in numbers

Clothing production doubled in 15 years, while the average number of times a garment is worn fell by 36%. Less than 1% of the material used to make clothing is recycled into new clothing.

• 93 billion
  cubic metres of water
  used by fashion every year
• 20%
  of global wastewater
  comes from fashion
• 8%
  of global greenhouse gas emissions
  from clothing and footwear production
• Every second
  a truckload of clothes
  goes to landfill or incineration

Sources: UN News; Ellen MacArthur Foundation, via Renewable Matter; Aspen Institute, Alliance for Artisan Enterprise

Why wearing things longer matters

UNEP says that doubling the time we use each item of clothing could halve the industry's greenhouse gas emissions. Durable pieces and good care are the simplest way to cut impact.

What you can do

• Buy better quality, long-lasting pieces and look after them
• Ask what you really need before you buy
• Repair or alter what you own, rent for special occasions, buy second-hand or swap with friends
• Check a brand's claims: does it use sustainable fabrics or recycled fibres, and does it carry certified labels?

The people behind the product

The fashion sector employs over 300 million people worldwide. Artisan enterprise is the second largest employer in the developing world, after agriculture. Sustainability covers the people who make things, as well as the materials they use.

How Seny makes its baskets

• Handwoven Artisans in Senegal weave every basket by hand
• Natural materials Sustainably sourced
• Small batches Made slowly, never mass produced

The impact Seny wants to make next

Seny will keep making baskets by hand, in small batches, from natural materials, with skilled artisans in Senegal, and keep supporting those artisans and their communities.