Battling the damaging effects of 'fast fashion'.

The numbers are astronomical: to make one pair of jeans, it takes close to 8,000 litres of water-the amount a person drinks over seven years. Even a simple cotton shirt requires close to 3,000 litres of water.

Within 10 uses, these jeans and shirts will be discarded for newer, trendier items, contributing to the 21 billion tons of textiles sent to landfills per year, according to the UN Economic Commission for Europe.

The fashion industry is the second-most-polluting industry-coming in right behind big oil-according to the UN. The fashion industry not only produces 10% of global carbon emissions, but also contributes 20% of waste water production.

'The industry consumes more energy than the aviation and shipping industries combined,' calculates the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. If production practices do not improve, the greenhouse gas emissions from the fashion industry are expected to rise by 50% by 2030. It is no wonder, then, that environmentalists are calling for a cleaner and more sustainable fashion industry.

Today's 'fast fashion' is largely to blame for the unsustainable state of the industry, say environmental activists. Fast fashion is inexpensive yet stylish, cheaply produced and soon discarded, replaced by newer styles.

Roberta Annan, a Ghanaian entrepreneur and founder of the African Fashion Fund, which supports Africans and those in the diaspora to advance in global fashion, is also a UN Environment Programme Supporter for Creative Economy.

She advises African countries not to embrace fast fashion and sees investment opportunities in the creative industries.

'We don't have to go towards fast fashion,' says Ms. Annan. 'My focus has been to bring proper sustainable manufacturing and production processes to the continent because I feel Africa can position itself as the next hub when it comes to creative economy. We are in the position to do things differently; we can set a new pace. We can do things in a way that is more sustainable.'

African designers are making gains in this direction. Senegalese fashion house Tongoro sources materials from Africa and offers eco-conscious pieces to its client base, including those made from silk and linen. Tongoro has caught on with celebrities, including global music sensation Beyonce, who has shared photos of herself wearing the label with her millions of social media followers. The brand has also been featured in various large-scale global publications, including Vogue, Elle...

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