The industry that clothes us is big business - it is estimated to generate $1,7 trillion in profit worldwide every year.
But it is also a major polluter.
Fashion is responsible for up to eight percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, according to the UN, a figure that has soared with the rise of cheap, disposable, fast fashion.
Every stage of the clothing life cycle leaves a mark on the environment - from the pesticides sprayed on crops to the oil used to make polyester, from dyeing the fabric, to the energy used to run factories, to the emissions from the tons of clothing thrown into landfills.
Experts warn that current patterns of fashion production and consumption are unsustainable.
"You buy a seven-dollar T-shirt, but that's not how much it actually costs the Earth," Professor Mark Miodovnik, a materials scientist at University College London, tells BBC Radio 4.
"We fool ourselves that bad things aren't happening in the atmosphere and oceans because of our consumption," he adds.
"And if clothes were priced right, which in the case of a T-shirt is $54 when it's no longer harming the planet, then you'd probably buy less."
Along with the growth of used clothing sales, fashion designers are exploring innovative materials and production processes to reduce fashion's environmental impact.
Although they are currently only produced in small quantities, experts believe that one day they could change the future of fashion.
These are three such materials.
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1. 3D-printed materials
What if you could 3D print custom clothing in the comfort of your own home?
It may sound far-fetched, but it could really become a reality.
Professor Miodovnik works with technology that can scan an individual, create a digital design, and then print a synthetic or bioplastic material composed of small links in a chain-link pattern, layer by layer.
“It truly pushes the boundaries of how we experience fabric and what we consider fashion,” he says.
Brands such as Nike, New Balance, Adidas and Balenciaga are already experimenting with 3D printing.
The advantage of 3D printing in fashion is that items can be made to measure, without waste or overproduction.
Bioplastics are made from plants such as cornstarch or sugar cane, and can be industrially composted at the end of their use.
But there are other possible good sides to it.
Professor Miodovnik is working on embedding sensors and motion devices into 3D-printed materials to help people with mobility issues move their limbs more easily.
"If you can't easily get out of a chair, we can make you a fabric that will tighten around your muscles and provide you with support at that moment. And then it will relax and allow you to continue walking normally," he explains.
"We're talking to people with different spinal injuries and back problems where this would really benefit."
2. Kombucha skin
Kombucha, a drink made from fermented tea and sugar and known for its gut-friendly bacteria, has a byproduct that designers are currently experimenting with.
If boiled for about three weeks, bacteria form a layer on the surface of the liquid.
"You can harvest that scrap, wash it with just water and then dry it and you have something that looks very much like leather," says Dr. Jane Wood, an expert in textile technology at the University of Manchester in the UK.
In addition to being much more environmentally conscious than raising cows, kombucha leather is also “extremely abrasion-resistant,” even more so than motorcycle leather, Wood adds.
"It's highly biodegradable," he explains.
"So if you throw it in the compost bin, there's nothing left of it after two weeks."
Kombucha leather is not naturally waterproof, so it's not the best choice for rainy weather, but it can be treated with natural oils or beeswax to fix this.
Scientists are also investigating how microbes such as fungi or bacteria can develop dyes for textiles, which could be a more environmentally conscious dyeing process.
3. Seaweed fabric
Several brands have begun experimenting with another new textile made from organic matter.
Seaweed can be dried, ground, and processed to extract fibers from the plant, which are then spun or woven into fabric.
Stella McCartney and H&M recently launched clothing made from kelsun, a biopolymer fiber that can be found in seaweed.
Meanwhile, Charlotte McCurdy, a researcher and designer at Stanford University in the US, has created a transparent raincoat from a biopolymer derived from algae.
The same material was used to create sequins on a shimmering dress made in collaboration with designer Filippa Lim.
A big advantage of algae is that they are biodegradable, unlike plastic-based fabrics such as polyester, which release microplastics harmful to the oceans and human health.
They also absorb carbon dioxide as they grow underwater, require no pesticides, and the manufacturing process used to convert them into textiles is much less polluting than traditional synthetic fibers.
"A large part of the tech sector is looking for ways to be more environmentally responsible, to not produce waste and to produce things that we can easily get rid of," says Dr. Wood.
"If you think about what fast fashion is made of, it's mostly polyester. Why would you make something you only want to wear a few times out of something that lasts forever?"
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