At the start of every season, fashion magazines are full of glossy spreads encouraging consumers to splash out on brand new clothes. But at what cost?

The United Nations calls the $2.75 trillion fashion industry “an environmental and social emergency”. The industry produces nearly 20% of the world’s waste water and around 10% of global carbon emissions. It takes 20,000 litres of water to make just one T-shirt and one pair of jeans.

The scale of consumption has led to climate activist group Extinction Rebellion calling on people to boycott fashion for a full year, while in the UK, Oxfam is asking customers not to buy any new clothes during Second Hand September.
Here are 4 more things you can do to shop sustainably...

1) Always read the label.
Some leading brands already produce sustainable lines, but a label certifying clothing as organic or sustainable is a good sign that it has an ecologically friendly background.
Only textile products that contain a minimum of 70% organic fibres across the supply chain - from harvesting through manufacturing - are eligible for certification by the Global Organic Textile Standard.
Labels from the Better Cotton Initiative show that clothes are made with cotton using less water and harmful chemicals.
2) Look for low-impact materials
Many of the materials used to make clothes are bad for the environment. Polyester, nylon and acrylic are made from petrochemicals and can release microfibres into the water during the washing process. The chromium used for tanning leather is also highly toxic.
Recent innovations in the materials industry have led to the use of natural proteins to create fibres and fabrics. Mylo is produced from fungal threads and can be made into a durable (and biodegradable) leather-like fabric. Because it can be manufactured so quickly, there is less environmental impact than with traditional materials.
Mylo and Microsilk, which is made from yeast and mimics spider silk, have already been used by clothing designers.
3) Transform and upcycle
According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, customers around the world miss out on $460 billion of clothing value per wear each year by throwing away usable clothing. Some garments are thought to be discarded after just seven to 10 wears.
4) Don’t trade up, trade in