At its simplest, sustainable fashion is a way of designing, producing and selling clothing that reduces harm to the planet and the people who make it. It looks at the full life of a garment, from the fibers it starts with to how it's manufactured, shipped, worn and thrown away. The goal is to keep the creativity and joy of fashion while cutting the waste, pollution and labor problems that come with it.
The reason it's urgent comes down to scale. The fashion industry is estimated to account for up to 10% of global carbon emissions, more than international air travel and shipping combined, according to Business Insider. It's also the second-largest consumer of water and produces roughly 20% of the world's industrial wastewater.
Then there's what happens when clothes are done being worn. The world generates about 92 million tons of textile waste every year, the equivalent of a garbage truck full of clothes sent to a landfill every second. In the United States, about 66% of unwanted clothing and textiles end up in landfills and less than 15% is recycled, per Environmental Protection Agency data.
Fast fashion drives much of this. Cheap, trend-driven clothing gets made quickly and discarded just as fast, and clothing production has approximately doubled since 2000.
Some brands have responded with green marketing rather than real change. This practice, called greenwashing, uses vague labels like “eco-friendly” or “conscious” that carry no legal definition and require no proof. An analysis by the UN Environment Programme found that nearly 60% of sustainability claims made by European fashion brands were unsubstantiated or deceptive. That gap between marketing and reality is exactly why the industry needs people who understand the technology, the supply chain and the business well enough to make change that's real.
How the industry is working toward change
The good news is that real solutions are taking hold, pushed forward by both consumer demand and smarter design.
Slow fashion is one of them. Instead of chasing weekly trends, slow fashion favors well-made, durable clothing and timeless designs meant to be worn for years. It asks people to buy less and choose better.
Circular fashion goes a step further. Built on circular economy principles defined by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, it rests on three ideas: design out waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use and restore nature. In practice, that means garments designed to be repaired, resold or recycled into new products rather than discarded.
You can see these ideas showing up everywhere. Clothing resale and rental platforms are booming, brands are testing take-back and repair programs, and designers are experimenting with recycled fibers and lower-impact materials. Researchers are even growing new materials in labs, from bacterial cellulose to alternatives for leather and synthetic fabrics. Governments are adding pressure too, with new regulations aimed at textile waste and clearer sustainability claims.
None of this happens on its own. Each solution needs people who can design differently, source responsibly and prove that a sustainable choice is also a smart business choice.
How you can become part of the solution
Buying less and choosing better matters, but there's far more you can do than change your habits as a shopper. The industry needs professionals who can build sustainability into how clothing is designed, produced and sold from the very start.
That's where an education makes the difference. Earning a fashion degree that treats sustainability as core knowledge, not an afterthought, prepares you to lead that change. ASU's online fashion programs, offered through ASU FIDM in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, are built around exactly this idea. Faculty research focuses on areas like circular textiles, sustainability and textile testing, and those priorities carry into the coursework.
In the online Bachelor of Arts in fashion at ASU FIDM, you can choose a sustainable systems track and study fashion history, global supply chains and the technologies reshaping the industry. Sustainability threads through the concentrations, too.
In apparel product development, you learn material selection and textile science that shape a garment's footprint before it's ever made. With apparel technical design, you work with 3D digital prototypes that match physical garments 1:1, which trims the sample waste that traditional design creates. As a merchandising student, you learn the sourcing, planning and buying decisions that determine what gets produced and sold in the first place.
Careers in sustainable fashion
Sustainability has become one of the fastest-growing areas of the fashion industry, and it needs people across creative, technical and business roles. A degree grounded in these skills can open doors to work that's both creative and purposeful.
Sustainable fashion designers and materials researchers develop lower-impact fabrics and rethink how garments are created. Fashion designers overall earn a median annual salary of $80,690, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Other roles, such as technical designers, use digital tools to reduce waste in fit and production. Sustainability managers coordinate responsible practices across sourcing, product development and supply chains. Sourcing and supply chain specialists identify responsible suppliers and materials, while merchandisers and buyers use their influence to bring more sustainable products to market.
On the business and strategy side, roles call for fluency in sustainability reporting, ethical sourcing and clear communication. In other words, the field rewards people who can connect creativity, data and business, which is exactly what these programs are designed to build.
Shape the future of fashion online at ASU
Sustainable fashion is one of the biggest challenges the industry faces, and it's also one of its biggest opportunities. Change won't come from shoppers alone. It will come from designers, developers, merchandisers and leaders who understand how to make fashion better and can prove it works.
You can prepare to be one of them online at ASU FIDM, with the same faculty as on campus and the flexibility to study from anywhere. Explore the program that fits your goals:
- The online Bachelor of Arts in fashion offers a broad foundation with the option to specialize in sustainable systems.
- The online Bachelor of Arts in fashion – apparel product development centers on turning ideas into market-ready products with sustainable materials and processes in mind.
- The online Bachelor of Arts in fashion – apparel technical design builds the digital and technical skills that reduce waste in how garments are made.
- The online Bachelor of Arts in fashion – merchandising prepares you to determine which products reach shoppers and how they're sold.
Ready to turn your passion for fashion into a force for change? Request information using the form below to take the first step toward your degree online at ASU.