Fashion industry in the context of "Show business"

Clothing industry, or garment industry, refers to the range of trade and industry sectors involved in the production and value chain of clothing and garments. This includes the textile industry (producers of cotton, wool, fur, and synthetic fibre), embellishment using embroidery, the fashion industry, apparel retailers, and trade in second-hand clothes and textile recycling. Textile factories are also called "mills". Textiles factories or "mills" turn the natural or synthetic materials into Yarn which will be sent for weaving and knitting (process of turning yarn into a textile cloth). Then apparel textile mills make wearable pieces from those textile cloths. The producing sectors build upon a wealth of clothing technology some of which, like the loom, the cotton gin, and the sewing machine heralded industrialization not only of the previous textile manufacturing practices. Clothing industries are also known as allied industries, fashion industries, garment industries, or soft goods industries.

The fashion industry, particularly the manufacturing and use of apparel and footwear, is a significant driver of greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, water use, and textile waste. During the 19th century, industrialization meant a move towards the manufacture of textiles on a large-scale, which only accelerated the environmental degradation. The rapid growth of fast fashion has led to around 80 billion items of clothing being consumed annually, with about 85% of clothes consumed in United States being sent to landfill.Recent research suggests that despite constituting a small fraction of total apparel volume, methane emissions from animal-based fibres (such as wool and leather) comprise a disproportionately large share of the fashion industry’s greenhouse gas footprint. Indeed, one study estimates that, although wool and leather account for just 3–5% of global fashion production, they could be responsible for 70–80% of its methane emissions over 20 years.

Less than one percent of clothing is recycled to make new clothes. In the late 2010s it emitted 2% of world total greenhouse gases, and contributed to climate change through energy-intensive production. The production and distribution of the crops, fibers, and garments used in fashion all contribute to differing forms of environmental pollution, including water, air, and soil degradation. The textile industry is the second greatest polluter of local freshwater in the world, and is culpable for roughly one-fifth of all industrial water pollution. Some of the main factors that contribute to this industrial caused pollution are the vast overproduction of fashion items, the use of synthetic fibers, the agriculture pollution of fashion crops, and the proliferation of microfibers across global water sources.

Sustainable fashion is a term describing efforts within the fashion industry to reduce its environmental impacts, protect workers producing garments and uphold animal welfare. Sustainability in fashion encompasses a wide range of factors, including cutting CO₂ emissions, addressing overproduction, reducing pollution and waste, supporting biodiversity and ensuring that garment workers are paid a fair wage and have safe working conditions.

In 2020, it was found that voluntary, self-directed reform of textile manufacturing supply chains by large companies to reduce the environmental impacts was largely unsuccessful. Measures to reform fashion production beyond greenwashing require policies for the creation and enforcement of standardized certificates, along with related import controls, subsidies, and interventions such as eco-tariffs.

Ready-to-wear (RTW) – also called prêt-à-porter, or off-the-rack or off-the-peg in casual use – is the term for garments sold in finished condition in standardized sizes, as distinct from made-to-measure or bespoke clothing tailored to a particular person's frame. In other words, it is a piece of clothing that was mass produced in different sizes and sold that way instead of it being designed and sewn for one person. The term off-the-peg is sometimes used for items other than clothing, such as handbags. It is the opposite of haute couture.

Ready-to-wear has a rather different place in the spheres of fashion and classic clothing. In the fashion industry, designers produce ready-to-wear clothing, intended to be worn without significant alteration because clothing made to standard sizes fits most people. They use standard patterns, factory equipment, and faster construction techniques to keep costs low, compared to a custom-sewn version of the same item. Some fashion houses and fashion designers make mass-produced and industrially manufactured ready-to-wear lines, while others offer garments that are not unique but are produced in limited numbers.