Sustainable Fashion: Intellectual Property and Ethical Compliance

Author: Khushi Badgujar, Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar Law University, Jaipur

Introduction

As the fashion business grows, more people are becoming aware of the wide spectrum of detrimental effects it has on the environment. The fashion sector accounts for 2–8% of the world's carbon emissions and is the second largest user of water. Additionally, 85% of all textiles end up in landfills annually (UNECE, 2018), and washing some kinds of clothing releases a substantial amount of micro plastics into the ocean. We must reconsider fast fashion and emphasize the need for more sustainable business models and practices due to the fashion industry's adverse impacts on society and the environment. The resources listed below offer more details on how fashion affects the environment and possible solutions.

Core Concept

In the recent era, fashion has become the key ingredient of our life, whether it is in office, parties, normal days, outgoing and many more. The importance of dressing sense has become essential to some extent, like if a person is going to office, it is not appreciated to wear traditional dresses in general except on certain days like festivals and other functions. As the general principle of the Market, increase in demand will lead to increase in supply. The rapid increase in the demand of the new fashion and designs, reflected the increase in supply of the same. It leads to more consumption of resources and the resources are limited. Therefore, it should be our main concern.

Sustainable Fashion is a perfect cure for now. The term "sustainable fashion" describes production techniques for apparel that result in equitable working conditions and minimum harm to the environment. Sustainability initiatives include carefully integrating eco-friendly products and drastically cutting waste in supply chains to ensure fair compensation. The main goal of clothing manufacturing is to create clothing in a way that benefits both people and the environment. However, adopting sustainability for Indian fashion firms involves more than just going green; there are legal requirements.

Apart from this, another concern is Intellectual Property rights and other laws implemented by the Government of India for the same. These issues include non-compliance of the government rules, copying the other brands, generally the famous ones and representing them as eco-friendly or sustainable without any concrete proof. The Government of India made some compulsory guidelines and required standards that represent the ethical compliance in regard to the fashion market. The ethical compliance mandatorily followed by the producers, manufactures or any other of the same kind, ensures the minimum harm to the environment as well as the fair labour. The Intellectual rights protect the innovations and the branding shows the authentication of the product.

Dissection of the Idea

There are many reasons for the problem faced due to excessive use of resources in textiles. It is essential to address these issues. Let’s understand more about the need for sustainable fashion, intellectual property rights and ethical compliance. Additionally, understanding the fixes for the issues is crucial.

Rapid change in fashion: It is the major problem faced in the textile industry. This market is too volatile. The rapid change in fashion led to obsolescence of the previous ones. Because of these, the resources are being wasted and due to the limited resources, it is mandatory to focus on sustainable fashion that has minimal effect.

Repetition of cloth: In the modern period everyone wants to be different and this psychology brings them to focus on their look & outfit. Further, most of the people wanted a new look for every event. This leads to minimum repetition of cloth and increases the purchase of new cloth. Therefore, focusing on minimally impactful sustainable fashion is essential.

Protection for innovation: The Government of India implemented various laws for the protection of innovation. It also encourages more innovation. Intellectual Property Rights can help in boosting a brand’s reputation and growth as strong and well-known brands are identified by their strategic assets and effective marketing. A brand's reputation is important to attracting an increasing number of clients and fostering business expansion.

Environment safety: The core reason for the increased focus on sustainable fashion is environmental safety. This is because of excessive use of resources in the making process and its harmful or dangerous effects on the environment. The sustainable fashion emphasis on the production with minimal harm to the environment. Environmental protection is the main moto of the increase in the trend of sustainable fashion.

Recycle: Recycling is the best option to reuse the old material. It is the fundamental and crucial tool that helps in sustainable fashion concepts. There are five R of waste management, the recycle is one of them. It helps in reducing the waste and using the limited resources in a more effective way.

Conclusion

Sustainable fashion means using the techniques of production that have minimal effect on the environment. The main reason for the need for sustainable fashion is to protect the environment. The resources are limited on the earth, due to this issue it becomes necessary to use these resources in an effective manner as well as manage the wastage of resources. Recycling is one of the vital tools that reduce the wastage of resources. Further, Intellectual Property Rights are important to protect and encourage innovation in the market. The Branding is significant for the identification of authentication. In addition, the Government of India made various rules, guidelines and laws for the fashion industry focusing on ethical compliance. Conclusively, sustainable fashion with intellectual property rights is crucial in the modern era.