Let’s rephrase that: sustainable
fashion is the future. It has to be - the UNEP having found the fashion industry to be the second largest
consumer of water and responsible for up to 10% of global carbon emissions.
Ignoring these figures is impossible. Maintaining - or worse, increasing them -
would be untenable.
The very fact that sustainability
now forms part of our everyday vocabulary is itself evidence of sustainable
fashion’s secured spot in the future. You simply cannot avoid the conversations
of environmental consciousness that have become the centre of every fashion
publication, school syllabus and clothing brand alike.
What is sustainable fashion?
It is important, therefore, to be
aware of what sustainable fashion actually entails. Whilst there exists
no agreed definition, sustainability in fashion looks to manufacturing
processes which are mindful of the environment. This includes ‘green solutions’
like carbon offsetting, sustainably sourced materials, and disincentivizing
mass production.
The possibility of sustainable fast
fashion
This is certainly achievable for
luxury and boutique brands - for the fast fashion industry, however,
mass production remains the epicentre of its revenue stream. This begs the
question: can sustainable fashion really be the future, if fast fashion
is to remain? Or, are we looking at a future bereft of today’s most popular
fashion retailers, like Zara and H&M?
As to the latter question: it seems
unlikely. The fast fashion industry not only enables a rapid turnover of vast
quantities of clothing, but markets them at incomparably low costs -
making fashion and trends accessible for all. Forbes forecasts that the likes of Uniqlo, H&M and Inditex
will still remain industry front runners in seven years time (as of 2019).
Thankfully, fast fashion industries
have been as quick to jump on the sustainability band wagon as they have been
to produce their low cost garments. H&M, for example, has proven a strong
commitment to the sustainability movement - its 2019
Sustainability Performance Report
details various climate-based goals, including their ambition to become ‘climate
positive’ by 2040. This is made clear in the brand’s current initiatives: a ‘conscious’
concept range featuring products with 50% (at least) sustainably sourced
materials; a ‘take care’ program providing the know-how behind garment
after-care (prolonging their shelf-life and removing some of the need for mass
consumption) as well as allowing customers to recycle their old clothes at
collection points. Most recently, a new
denim collaboration with
the American brand Lee boasts their first 100% recycled cotton jeans
collection.
The above can be taken as strong
evidence that sustainable fashion forms not only part of our future, but that
of our present too. This is has been disputed, however, with some industry
professionals calling out companies like H&M for ‘greenwashing’.
This essentially constitutes the practice of pummelling money into marketing
measures that advocate sustainability but take little action to actually
achieve this.
Problematic indeed - however H&M’s
current CEO Helena
Helmersson has been quick to respond to such backlash. Helmersson stands by the brand’s many sustainability
initiatives, and addresses the mass production problem with a promise of circularity.
Using natural resources and encouraging customers to engage in product
after-care and recycling, she hopes, will tackle the overconsumption habits
from which this industry currently feeds.
