What is sustainability in the first place? To be sustainable in something means to be capable of being maintained at a steady level without exhausting natural resources or causing ecological damage or damage to human health. In the context of the fashion industry, it is important to recognize that most textile industries and practices are unfair. The extensive waste, unethical practices and harmful methods of the fast fashion industry are a concern for the earth’s measures of sustainability continuing into the future. Additionally, women who work in clothing production in the fast fashion industry face low wages, abuse (physical and sexual), and poor working conditions. Additionally, human behavior in first-world countries towards fashion and textile consumption is concerning, considering that most articles of clothing are only kept for a total of two years on average, with some never being worn. According to Alex Assoune, a slow fashion advocate and holder of two Master of Science degrees s in engineering from Panaprium Blogs, "The fashion industry has a catastrophic impact on climate change. It's responsible for more than 8% of all carbon emissions globally. It's almost as much as the total for the whole of Europe... 16.9 million tons of used textile wastes are created each year in the United States. That amount has doubled over the last 20 years. The average American throws away 70 pounds of clothing every year." Thus, it's better to consider investing in high quality, ethically-produced, designed-for-long-life clothing.