Marci Zaroff believes that Millennials are behind
the “rapidly growing movement for sustainable and ethical fashion.” As an
entrepreneur and author who originally coined the term ‘eco-fashion’ back in the
mid-1990s, and with almost 30 years in the fashion and beauty industry, she
should know.
We caught up with her as she prepares to take the stage at Sustainable Brands
’21 in San
Diego to find out why sustainable fashion has taken so long to have its
‘moment’ and how regenerative agriculture is the key to turning the tide on the
damaging textiles industry.
You’ve been active in the world of ethical fashion and sustainable supply chains for the last 30 years. Where did this interest begin and what have you been up to in that time?
Marci Zaroff: I actually started my career in food. I co-founded what’s
known today as the Institute for Integrative
Nutrition. It’s the world’s largest
holistic nutrition school, which has certified over 150,000 people as health
coaches. So, I got my feet wet in the organic and natural food movement of the
1990s — and then segued into clean beauty with the founder of Aveda, who
became my mentor of 25 years.
Where did this coining of the term ‘eco-fashion’ come from?
MZ: I coined and trademarked the term in 1995, and people thought I was
crazy. The sentiment was that these are two dichotomous worlds — people into
fashion were not into the environment, sustainability and social justice; and
people into being more conscious were not into fashion.
And I was like, ‘Well, I’m that person. I’m both.’ So, how do I roll my sleeves
up and style the world of change, while changing the world of style — to bridge
the treehugger and the fashionista?
So, what did you do first?
MZ: I’ve spent the past 26+ years pioneering the sustainable fashion
movement. I started the first sustainable fashion and home brand called Under
the Canopy, with the premise that we all live
‘under the canopy’ of the planet’s ecosystem together. We sold to a lot of major
retailers in the US.
I then produced a documentary film series called Driving Fashion
Forward
with Amber Valletta.
And today, I’m the founder and CEO of ecofashion
CORP — a ‘greenhouse’ of brands. We leverage
our core team and operational efficiencies to drive different lifestyle brands
across a variety of distribution channels — from mass to class. We have an
office in India, and a team there on the ground. The engine of our company
is MetaWear — often called the “Li & Fung of sustainability.” We offer
design and product development, sourcing, production, inspections, quality
control, sustainability and certification oversight, and marketing and
communication strategy. Our turnkey, customized private-label manufacturing
platform makes sustainability “easy” for our countless brand and retail partners
— from basics like T-shirts to full contemporary fashion collections.
We also have three of our own house brands — two of which (Seed to Style and
Farm to Home) we launched exclusively with QVC. I
go on-air regularly to educate and engage mainstream consumers about sustainable
apparel and home textiles.
You are one busy lady. What else are you doing?
MZ: Our newest baby is our direct-to-consumer brand called
YesAnd, which really sums up my life work: Yes,
it’s about style, quality, fit, color, comfort, price — everything you want.
And, oh by the way, ethically made, socially responsible, fair trade,
certified organic, regenerative, circular, recycled, biodegradable, low-impact
dyed — all the yummy stuff.
Why has it taken the fashion industry so long to wake up to the need to tackle its environmental and social impact in the world?
MZ: Sustainable fashion is still at its infancy compared to food, clean
beauty and other industries. It’s taken a long time because of a few
factors.
Historically, the consumer was talked at through fashion and beauty magazines
and fashion shows that didn’t really know how to pull the curtain back, and
didn't understand the human and environmental impacts of fashion. But the
internet changed the game. The younger generations readily access information,
asking questions like, ‘Who made my
clothes,
what’s in them, and how are they being made?’ — propelled by the fashion
revolution
movement
that started in the UK as a result of the Bangladesh Rana Plaza
tragedy.
I was on the team that brought Fashion Revolution to the US, and this
consumer-driven movement is now in over 100 countries around the world.
The second big reason: Innovation was necessary in order to really reboot old,
broken systems and to propel material change in preferred fibers and fabrics. We
needed coopertition and collaboration, as historically, the industry was very
competitive.
When I would go to an organic food or natural product trade show, with shared
vision and core values, the tone was typically, ‘I’ve got your back.’ On the
contrary, in fashion, it was ‘Watch your back.’ Things have come a long way now
and it’s all hands on deck. Everybody’s drinking the proverbial sustainability
“Kool-Aid” in the fashion industry — so, it’s no longer about staying ahead, but
instead about not being left behind. As a result, there’s a lot more money
coming into the space — with investments in supply chain transparency,
circularity and blockchain
technology,
fiber and material
innovation,
and any and all ways our industry can minimize energy, waste, water
use,
chemical
use,
and our carbon footprint — while addressing social justice and fair
wages.
So, for you, it’s about giving consumers much more information than they've been able to access before? Is that part of what ecofashion CORP is doing?
MZ: The YesAnd philosophy sums it up. It’s all about no compromise — not
sacrifice and deprivation, but value-add. Yes, we must lead with great design
and be sustainable, and/or regenerative.
My first book, published by Simon & Schuster, is called
ECOrenaissance,
and the tagline is "Co-Creating a Stylish, Sexy and Sustainable World." The
premise is that, through the lens of design, we can change the world. If we
appeal to people at a visceral and aesthetic level — through style, color, fit,
high quality, value and everything consumers want — and then layer in the how,
what and where, the question shifts from, ‘Why would I buy sustainable
fashion?’ to “Why wouldn’t I?”
You promote regenerative and organic agriculture — tell us why you believe this is the future for more responsible sourcing?
MZ: I'm very passionate about regenerative
agriculture
and am a soil junkie and organic advocate. A third of the world’s textiles are
made from cotton; it’s one of the most important crops in agriculture, and 60
percent of the crop actually goes back into the food stream — as feed for dairy
or cottonseed oil in mainstream breads, snacks and other products. From
agriculture to popular culture, food and fiber are inextricably interconnected.
Cotton is one of the most heavily sprayed industries in the world, using GMO
seeds and toxic chemical cocktails. Conventional cotton agriculture has
destroyed and depleted soil all over the world. It’s also compromised farmer
livelihoods, because the system has gotten to a point where farmers have to
leverage their farms in order to afford all the heavy and expensive inputs at
extraordinarily high interest rates. We call it ‘the pesticide treadmill.’ The
cotton agriculture system is broken socially and environmentally. And, of
course, the more we destroy the soil, the less resilient the crops are to
climate change.
The idea of regenerative agriculture is that it’s no longer about sustaining —
it’s about rebuilding. We have to rebuild soil
health
and ecosystems in order for soil to serve in its role as the ‘skin of the
earth.’ When soil is healthy and vibrant and filled with biodiversity, it
actually absorbs carbon out of the
atmosphere
in an expansive way. Regenerating our planet’s soil can be our greatest single
solution to climate change.
How are you specifically promoting sustainable agricultural practices through your brands?
MZ: We have our own farm project in India called
RESET (Regenerate the
Environment, Society and Economy through Textiles) and we work with farmers to
train them; and provide them with GMO-free seeds and non-synthetic, non-chemical
inputs. We teach them how to make natural fertilizers using cow dung, urine and
turmeric. And they get to (re)create thriving ecosystems — learning what their
ancestors probably already knew, such as building soil biodiversity by rotating
crops and cover cropping. The basis for organic and regenerative agriculture is
to build nutrients in the soil, and as the Rodale Institute has taught the
world: ‘Healthy soil makes healthy plants which makes healthy people.’ From
source to story, we support a win-win-win business model, leveraging the power
of textiles to effect positive change in the world. It’s no longer about doing
less harm; we all need to do more good. Driving demand for transitional, organic
and regenerative agriculture is the DNA of ecofashion CORP.
But the market’s still not big enough, is it?
MZ: It’s growing every day, fueled by the younger generations who are
demanding traceability and accountability. We’re at our infancy, but I do
believe that ecofashion is the future of fashion.
What’s next for you?
MZ: Meeting the masses where they are, we have two affordable, sustainable,
size-inclusive brands on QVC, whereby the engines are revving for major
expansion in the coming years. We have a new brand called Farm to Flight for
airlines. And for our YesAnd brand, this week, we are unveiling our new website
with a fabulous new fashion collection — from double-knit “LOVE” sweaters to
certified organic velour. We are also debuting our blockchain technology
platform — digitizing our supply chain from farm to finished fashion, to a
consumer-friendly QR code on the label of our products. The time is now. Let’s
vote with our dollars and wear the change we all wish to see.
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Content creator extraordinaire.
Tom is founder of storytelling strategy firm Narrative Matters — which helps organizations develop content that truly engages audiences around issues of global social, environmental and economic importance. He also provides strategic editorial insight and support to help organisations – from large corporates, to NGOs – build content strategies that focus on editorial that is accessible, shareable, intelligent and conversation-driving.
Published Oct 18, 2021 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST