In celebration of Earth Day: A rundown of some major eco-fashion milestones

Earth Day has officially landed and, among the complexities of the current economic and environmental climate, it seems the event has never been more important. This year’s theme, ‘Our Power, Our Planet’, emphasises that while further putting a core focus on renewable energy. Organisers of the event are thus calling for global renewable energy generation to be tripled by 2030 as they also continue to encourage global consumers, industries and organisations to back the cause.

In its 55 years of life, Earth Day’s intertwined relationship with the fashion industry has been complex yet often productive, helping to move forward certain legislations and initiatives that typically intend to mitigate the impact of the notoriously pollutive industry. Here is a brief overview of that history and some of the major milestones that have come along the way.

1970: Earth Day is born

April 22, 1970, marked the first Earth Day. With an origin in bipartisan and grassroots, its inception was rung in by rallies across the US, in which people–from farmers to students to labour unions–protested against pollution, pesticides and oil spills, among other environmental issues.

Awareness had already begun rising over these concerns throughout the 1960s. However, the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill in California is often cited to be the tipping point of the cause. Earth Day came to fruition under the guidance of senator Gaylord Nelson, who had witnessed the oil spill, and ultimately teamed up with Stanford activist Denis Hayes to organise the project.

Its formation is often credited with influencing the creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in December 1970, with landmark environmental laws to then follow the years later, including the Clean Water Act in 1972 and the Endangered Species Act in 1973.

1980s: Industrialisation and manufacturing

While “sustainability” and “eco-friendly” hadn’t yet made it into the wider vernacular for many, awareness surrounding these topics did already begin to grow into the 1980s. This particularly became evident when cheap offshore production became the standard for Western fashion brands as part of a broader globalisation trend.

By 1989, however, labour groups and journalists started reporting on working conditions in overseas factories, making it a mainstream media topic by the 90s. Towards the end of the decade, certain organisations associated with this movement began forming, such as the Netherlands-based Clean Clothes Campaign and the advocacy group Global Exchange.

1990s: Industry leaders pioneer early eco-fashion movements

Some brands were already fairly ahead of the curb when it came to carrying out eco-centric movements. Esprit, for example, launched its first ‘Ecocollection’ in 1992, utilising recycled and organic materials. Patagonia, meanwhile, began its first experiments with recycled polyester and, by the early 90s, had begun formulating commitments to environmental causes. The label had also begun producing fleece made from recycled PET plastic bottles, a revolutionary achievement at the time.

Such advancements contrasted the prevalence of some major sweatshop scandals at global brands. In the early 1990s, Nike, for example, was accused of child labour and physical abuse at its factories in Vietnam and China, leading to boycoots and protests of the sportswear label. Such issues resulted in the wider recognition of Fair Trade and sweatshop-free NGO campaigns.

2000s: ‘Slow fashion’ begins its reign

These NGOs continued to hold major influence into the 2000s, prompting further explorations in labour transparencies and experimentation with organic fabrics. One individual who led the way during this time was Stella McCartney who, following a stint at Chloe, launched her eponymous label on the basis of “cruelty-free fashion”, with sustainability at its crux.

By 2007, the term “slow fashion” had finally been coined. Kate Fletcher, a professor at the University of the Arts London, was said to have introduced the concept in her article in The Ecologist, borrowing from the idea of the Slow Food Movement, which was initially founded in 1986.

Further initiatives associated with the now rapidly growing sustainability movement also began to roll out. In 2009, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC)–now known as Cascale–was formed, bringing together industry leaders on the back of a mission to mitigate fashion’s harm on the environment.

2010s: Disasters advance awareness

By the 2010s, sustainable fashion had become mainstream. It was also by this decade that a sense of urgency towards ethical and environmental issues began heightening. This was largely following the 2013 Rana Plaza Collapse in Bangladesh, which killed over 1,100 garment workers and has since been deemed a turning point in fashion’s approach to ethics.

It was during this decade that many eco-focused fashion organisations began to form. The Ellen McArthur Foundation was among those, as was Fashion Revolution, a movement that intended to promote transparency in the industry, urging consumers to ask the question “Who Made My Clothes”. The organisation then established Fashion Revolution Day a year later on April 24 to honour the victims of the Rana Plaza tragedy. By 2016, the United Nations had also launched the Sustainable Development Goals with a mission of pushing fashion brands to align to set global sustainability targets.

Some brands further championed sustainability–from Patagonia’s 2011 ‘Don’t Buy This Jacket’ campaign to Vivienne Westwood’s ‘Climate Revolution’ at the London Paralympics closing ceremony to Stella McCartney’s landfill-based photoshoot. Others, meanwhile, began facing increased scrutiny over their practices, particularly as the idea of ‘greenwashing’ started to take hold. Towards the end of the decade, Burberry was battling allegations that it was burning unsold clothing, while H&M had garnered criticism for its stockpiles.

In 2019, another important milestone came to fruition; the creation of the Fashion Pact. With connections to One Planet Summit, the initiative was introduced to Heads of State at the G7 Summit in Biarritz by French president Emmanuel Macron as a global coalition of companies across the fashion and textile industries who have each committed to key environmental goals. The initiative has since grown to over 75 members. The UN doubled down on this with the introduction of the Alliance for Sustainable Fashion at the 2019 Environment Assembly. The organisation said it hoped the project would help in halting environmentally destructive practices.

2020s: Regulation, legislation, pacts and resale

The 2020s rang in Earth Day’s 50th anniversary, for which numerous fashion brands launched sustainability initiatives to celebrate. The following year, Earthday.org launched its ‘Fashion for the Earth’ campaign, addressing the industry’s environmental impact through educational projects such as the fashion footprint calculator. The event has since begun to increase its ties to fashion through various campaigns, projects and initiatives.

It was during the early 20s that more regulation and legislation began moving into focus. In the US, more and more States began initiating bans on harmful products like PFAS, while some have also introduced bills that prioritise transparency and workers rights, like California’s Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, passed in 2023. In the EU, meanwhile, companies are preparing to face a new wave of regulation, namely in the form of the Digital Product Passport, which will require companies to disclose certain background information about the production of their products.