Many fashion brands have been sharing their sustainability ambitions and
activities far and wide in recent years, using large marketing campaigns to
demonstrate their ‘positive’ contribution. However, with six out of every ten
fashion brands being found to be
greenwashing
and many still feeding overproduction, it is clear why campaign groups and
lobbyists would get so worked up. But is this part of a broader story? Is there
anything worthy to be said about brands’ sustainability efforts, even when they
smack of greenwashing?
This may seem, at first sight, to be contradictory. With the tough target of
meeting the UN Sustainable Development
Goals by 2030, we need
companies to be genuinely pulling together, not hiding behind flimsy claims.
Many would also argue that the fashion industry is not being judged harshly
enough and gets away with a lot. But there are steps in the right direction and
nuances within sustainability ‘misses’ which, if built on, will generate
positive momentum.
Heading up fashion purpose accounts at Given (we
work with brands that have a genuine ambition to be purpose-driven), I see
firsthand how businesses including John Lewis & Partners, IKEA,
Zalando and Tommy Hilfiger are tackling the challenge. Many within the
industry are working to identify new ways forward — enforcing strict standards
within their supply chains to govern materials, production, processes, and
sourcing, as well as employee safety and protection. While there should be no
compromise on the latter, making fashion truly environmentally and socially
sustainable requires long-term thinking and a massive culture shift.
Yet, many fashion brands today have been created to operate at speed — focusing
on trends not quality; and fueling the desire to buy, buy, buy. As these brands
run highly compartmentalised sustainability projects that can be delivered
rapidly, the main goal is often to drive greater sales and reassure the young
and fashionable that a collection is better for the planet (read: less harmful),
rather than to actually create positive impacts. These small changes may be in
the right direction; but they barely scratch the surface of the damage fashion
is causing to the planet and are not sufficient to move the sustainability dial.
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So, are such claims of progress to be simply disregarded as misleading
greenwash?
I am a firm believer in taking a long-term view and being careful not to throw
out the baby with the bath water in the short run. Unfortunately, fashion at
present is an industry whose use of labour arbitrage in low-cost nations,
dubious working practices and heavy carbon footprint mean it still does more
harm than good. In such a context, even the slightest improvements should be
heralded. Like sport, music and movies, fashion has a disproportionate influence
over the behaviours of its followers — therefore, bringing the sustainability
conversation to the public is a valuable first step that can be built on to
create further gains. The effect on consumers should not be underestimated.
But regardless of the value of engaging consumers in sustainability, we can’t
ignore the contradictions being perpetuated by the same brands — with
overconsumption now being the biggest elephant in the room when it comes to
sustainable fashion. In sustainable fashion marketing, the overconsumption piece
often does not seem to matter — as seen by the fact that Primark, H&M and Nike were
all voted in the top 5 most sustainable brands by the public in 2022. Currently,
sustainable fashion initiatives targeted towards customers are often focused on
what garments are made from, not about how many pieces they buy or who made
them.
The marketing skills fashion brands have employed to capture the imaginations of
consumers should be turned to tackle
overconsumption
— and they could start with the language they use and the stories they tell. I
believe there is a need for new language and words to explain what sustainable
fashion actually is. The word ‘fashion’ itself implies clothing that is cyclic
and transient, that needs to be changed with the seasons and with fading trends.
The reality is, we can wear anything we like, whenever we like — and this
timeless positioning will help promote a more sustainable approach to apparel
and move away from overconsumption. We should also look at ‘the stories’ clothes
tell.
Truly sustainable fashion brands tend to be small and people-focused, tapping
into the demand of their customers to reclaim stories about the clothes they
wear. While fast fashion moves wearers away from communities and becomes about
isolation and globalisation, ethical brands are about communities and being in
tune with how people feel. There are also other ways to imbibe sustainable
fashion with stories: Companies such as Depop and
eBay
add stories by allowing the wearer to layer a historical, ‘second time around’
narrative onto the clothes they wear. It is through these stories and language
that sustainable fashion can be better understood and bought-into. That in turn
will drive the industry’s true progress.
20 years ago, we never thought we'd see fast fashion brands talk about
sustainability. So, when it comes to fashion’s sustainability story, let’s not
be so focused on looking for evidence of greenwashing — what’s important is that
the seed of progress is there. But now, in this pressing decade for change,
let's push for and embrace a new narrative that gives us the confidence to break
the shackles of cyclical fashion trends. And then, we'll really see if fast
fashion brands can keep up by slowing down.
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Senior Sustainability Strategist
Given
Published Jun 13, 2022 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST