For this issue, WeAr asked experts across the industry from fiber manufacturers to academics, authors to retailers, how the fashion industry can use the Covid-19 crisis to establish more sustainable practices and attitudes. The responses touch upon a vast range of important topics. Some of the key themes that have emerged are new consumer mindsets; the idea of ‘less is more’; slowing down; rethinking the fashion calendar; reinventing raw materials; recalibrating the supply chain; and, of course, a circular paradigm both in production and consumption.
Stephanie Joy Benedetto, CEO & Co-Founder, Queen of Raw
Fast fashion has driven a drastic increase in textile production. Global per capita textile production has increased from 5.9 kg to 13 kg per year over the period 1975 – 2018 and is projected to continue growing. Up to 15% of that fabric is wasted.
This waste is occurring now more than ever and it is polluting our drinking water. One tee shirt takes 700 gallons of water to produce. If we continue at the current pace of textile production, by 2025, two-thirds of the entire world’s population will face shortages of freshwater and be exposed to hazardous chemicals from textile production alone. So we are not talking about 100 years from now, or even 50 years from now. We are talking about today and on our shores.
We are in a period of massive disruption, requiring us to digitally innovate our way out of crisis. For supply chains to be resilient and agile, this means cutting costs while sustainably securing the materials needed across supply lines in real time. Unused textiles can still fill orders on demand and away from areas impacted by disruption, while supporting commitments to sustainability.
We have already saved over 1 billion gallons of water. That’s enough clean water for 1.43 million people to drink around the world for three years.
Stefaan Vandist, Author of We, Myself & A.I. and Pretopia
A sustainable fashion revolution awaits … thanks to biotechnology
When we look at fashion from a materials angles, clothing always has a petrochemical, vegetable or animal origin. All of them have their own sustainability issues. However, nature’s bacteria, algae and fungi can bring a sustainable revolution.
Covid-19 caused upheaval in the fashion economy – companies already struggling might disappear. But why invest to keep a sputtering economy alive, when you can also invest in a new system?
Biotech start-ups bring climate-positive, biological, non-toxic and regenerative processes to produce textiles, plastic and artificial leather faster, cheaper, safer and more sustainable.
Covid-19 made it clear that our society can react extremely fast and change course. And innovative and agile companies will benefit from changing fashion production processes. This sustainable change is coming … from biotechnology. Changing one of the most polluting industry into a (more) sustainable one.
Luxury and sports brands are taking the lead. Eco-pioneer Algix (Mississippi, USA) grows algae with polluted water and CO₂ as main raw materials. Together with brands such as Vivabarefoot, H&M, Billabong and Clarks, they will have the capacity to produce 500 million pairs of shoes per year from their climate-positive material ‘bloom foam’. Other promising gamechangers are Ginkgo Bioworks, Algiknit, Ecovative, Colorifix and Modern Meadow.
Paul Marciano, Chief Creative Officer, GUESS?, Inc.
While the Covid-19 crisis has turned the world upside down, it is also helping us to see what is most important in life. While luxury is nice, what is most important right now is family and essential needs.
We are all becoming more mindful, including about what we wear. Customers want the brands they love to align with their values. At GUESS, already prior to the pandemic, we were focused on making high quality products that are versatile, durable and sustainable. We use organic, recycled and responsibly sourced materials that are better for the environment, and are working with our factories to increase awareness and take action on environmental issues. This effort is all about transparency. We are asking our factories to share with us what they are doing, which we take into consideration when selecting vendors, and we are working our way to then be more transparent with the customer on where and how our products are made. Transparency, quality and sustainability are the way forward for our industry.
Dana Thomas, author of Fashionopolis and Deluxe
The Covid-19 period, with lockdown throughout the world, has allowed the fashion industry to step back and reassess everything from supply chain to retail, and many brands have done so. We’ve seen the shifting of delivery schedules to be more in sync with seasons, the reduction of the number of collections produced each year, and the transformation of fashion weeks into digital platforms, which is less polluting than the physical editions. But we also saw some horrors: mainly, that brands didn’t pay for or collect finished orders in sourcing countries like Bangladesh, with clothes sitting in containers on docks, and workers unable to pay their bills, even starving. This is an industry-wide embarrassment that must be rectified. Brands insist that they source in these poor countries because they want to lift their citizens out of poverty. That has been proven to be wholly untrue. It is time for brands to pay their workers a living wage, and not one dime less. Until then, fashion will be seen as ugly.
Franc’ Pairon, Founder of La Cambre Mode and IFM MA Design Paris
Fashion is ill. This phenomenon is not new: frantic pace of creative production, pirating of ideas, surplus production, shifting of seasons, anachronistic sales …
The entire system needed to be reviewed. Several voices were raised to denounce these dysfunctions, but the cogs were too well oiled to be stopped! It took a planetary health crisis, Covid-19, to impose a period of reflection … mandatory and perhaps beneficial.
The rhythm of always new collections had something inhuman about it. This mandate to create collection after collection put the studios in constant turmoil. Journalists barely had time to decipher the novelties, and retailers were lost in the multitude of offers. At all levels, the unease was noticeable.
Can we believe in more sustainable practices? There will now be a dark period in our fashion landscape: layoffs, restructurings, bankruptcies. Will it be bad for good? Consumers have been living in confinement and were confronted with their living space … with often overflowing wardrobes!
Covid-19 will inevitably change the buying behavior. A new fashion effervescence has yet to be found.
Sonja Noël, Owner, Stijl Brussels
Covid-19 has fuelled people’s awareness to “buy locally”: local production (e.g. in Europe) means less transport, less pollution in the production chain and better working conditions.
Covid-19 also inspired consumers to “buy less”. Less but better: beautiful pieces that become a part of oneself and which one can enjoy for years.
This may cost the consumer (slightly) more, but “paying a higher price is an added value”: it will help to keep the entire industry alive and counter the impossible-to-follow (from a retailer point of view) discounting. This “race to the bottom”, to be the first to sell at a discount prices, eventually caused the current overproduction.
This “fashion with added value” – local creation and manufacturing, no production (and discount) rat-race. Fashion with value is made manually and has an artisanal production process. Made in small quantities, it becomes the new exclusivity.
Dana Davis, Vice President of Sustainability, Product and Business Strategy, Mara Hoffman
Sustainability has been inherent to us since we transitioned into a more aware, responsible and accountable business model back in 2015. Covid-19 hasn’t changed that for us. Before we faced the pandemic, we were thinking about the next evolution of our brand and this moment in time has forced us to make these changes abruptly, which affected our structure and production times.
To us, the future means breaking away from the traditional fashion calendar, producing less, and working with existing fabrics and products to create something new. We will continue to push innovation within circular systems and create new business models to support that work. When we were first getting started in our shift, we looked to other brands who were leaders in this space long before us for guidance. Collaboration will be extremely important if we want to change the industry as a whole, not just within brands, but also with retailers, manufacturers, vendors, etc.
Anastasia Podolskaya, Founder, Sane Fashion Philosophy
The first thing all fashion companies should pay attention to is the supply chain. Responsible choice and close relationships with the producers of raw materials, suppliers and factories is a path not only to sustainable development, but also to reducing many risks associated with a pandemic.
Openness and transparency in communications become a new necessity. Customers pay more attention to the ethical side of companies. They want to make sure that people involved in the production of clothing are socially protected and do not suffer from discrimination or any kind of violence. And the guarantee of this is the maximum traceability of the supply chain, as well as the open publication of information such as addresses, phone numbers and photos of factories, mentions of suppliers, certificates, and the company’s environmental and social initiatives.
It is worth noting that transparency is integral to an ethical and sustainable business. And the crisis very clearly highlighted the failure of the majority on this very issue.
Martijn Hagman, Chief Executive Officer, Tommy Hilfiger Global and PVH Europe
Covid-19 has only accelerated how we’re approaching sustainability. The pandemic has forced us all to think differently – to let go of traditional ways of working and seek innovation that furthers our vision in the context of this new world. Now is the time to drive real change throughout the fashion industry by rethinking current business models and practices. In our own value chain, we’ve implemented new solutions to promote environmental and social sustainability, all aligned to our mission of making it possible to be a fashion company that Wastes Nothing and Welcomes All.
Amy Hall, VP, Social Consciousness, Eileen Fisher, Inc.
As Eileen always says, there is opportunity inside every crisis. The pandemic gives us the rare opportunity to reinvent all facets of the industry, starting with the fashion calendar. Anyone who has been working from home these past six months now knows: we only need a fraction of our clothes. Why design into quarterly, monthly or even weekly deliveries? Can the industry slow down and use this time to reduce, refine, refocus? The consumer will follow our lead. We will then be able to design properly, with the end in mind. Is each garment reusable and – ultimately – compostable? Is the supply chain as tight as possible while providing meaningful livelihoods for its workers? Is every component thoughtfully and responsibly sourced? If not, we have the time and obligation to course-correct now. The trees, the water, the people and the ecosystem will thank us later.
Vincent Djen, Director, Cheng Kung Garments
I am seeing new developments, such as chemically recycled cotton textile waste fabric entering the market. Secondhand and reselling, too, continue to gain market shares. Covid-19 has pushed the digitalization of collection development – such as using 3D design tools and 3D virtual cutworks.
Covid-19 has also raised public awareness on which brands really walk the walk in terms of business ethics, treating their suppliers correctly by paying their orders in full and on time – a feat that many a worker’s livelihood heavily depends on. But I think the most important impact is that Covid-19 seems to lead people to spend money more rationally and truly observe the importance and power of Mother Nature. I hope this is the beginning of a consumer mega trend towards total well-being and sustainable living.
Mimi Sewalski, Managing Director, Avocado Store
The Covid-19 crisis is causing many consumers to rethink how they shop. The fashion brands that will emerge victorious from this crisis will be those that impress with their transparency, authenticity and good ‘story doing’ – and that show that instead of twelve collections a year, we need fashion that boasts fair and eco-friendly production, longevity, quality and a truly fair price. Then consumers will get on board too and perhaps start consuming less but better.
Renee Henze, Global Marketing and Commercial Development Director, DuPont Biomaterials
My fervent hope is that the change will manifest itself in a collective acceleration towards greater sustainability and transparency practices across markets, geographies and products. For the fashion industry, we’re starting to see hints of how this may transpire. At the beginning of the supply chain, we’re seeing an even more rapid increase in interest for new, sustainable materials. Coupled with that interest, our brand partners are seeing validation from the market for products that incorporate the best performance with the most efficient, sustainable feedstocks. The forced slowdown has given mills and brands the chance to re-evaluate their sourcing strategies, with a piqued interest in new materials that adhere to the principles of the circular economy and a heightened insistence on transparency. We’re seeing a rapidly emerging consumer preference for well-being, assurance, trust and comfort directly translate back into our fashion supply chain. In addition to producing higher quality, durable products that are less disposable, I believe that both beginning and end-of-life solutions for textiles will become mandatory – if not by regulation, then by brand policy or consumer insistence.
Thimo Schwenzfeier, Show Director, Neonyt
What we all felt in our personal lives, as well as on the business side, is that the people’s sentiment towards sustainability has changed and that there is a deeper engagement with the issue. I think that was a long overdue and very important step towards a more sustainable textile industry; consumers are changing their behavior, which results in more pressure on companies to change their way of manufacturing. And in order to become fully sustainable, we need to map the entire value chain and thus identify opportunities to limit the negative environmental and social impacts of the textile industry and, at the same time, put a spotlight on accountability and transparency.
Jose Pinto, CEO, Lemon Jelly
The tendency for simpler, minimalist and versatile products that also reflect a care for the Earth’s resources is not only a request from consumers but also a necessity for more functional products, facilitating its recyclable facet. There is a need for products with style but mostly purpose. And it’s time to make a difference, to investigate and create new raw materials that bring less impact to the environment, and to reduce waste from production.
And although digital has never been so strong, the same is also true of our awareness that the people behind each brand and cause are the key to pump energy, creativity and innovation into the future. It’s time to come closer than ever to our suppliers and customers, to work in unison, to act together to achieve something meaningful.
With this in mind, we have developed a new biobased material and continue to take action with our Wasteless Act and Closing the Loop initiative, where our waste is taken into account and our products are able to reintegrate the production of new shoes.
Bernd Hausmann, Founder & CEO, Glore
The fast fashion industry unmasked itself once again during the Covid-19 shutdown. It was shocking to see that companies canceled orders in production countries and put textile workers into existential hardship. In our communication, we should always work out what makes sustainable fashion different. Our values are based on human rights and sustainability, and not on pure profit maximization. Every brand can immediately switch to sustainable materials, but no multinational corporation can manage to operate sustainably and act out of inner conviction.
Ruth Farrell, Global Marketing Director, Textiles, Eastman
Even before Covid-19, we were seeing a trend toward brands wanting a more sustainable fabric. Today, it is even more important. Now womenswear designers and manufacturers are clamoring for sustainable fabrics to meet the demand of discerning customers, who care about the materials in their clothes. Naia cellulosic fiber is at the nexus of comfort and luxury because it renders soft, skin-friendly fabrics in rich, vibrant colors with a sumptuous drape.
In the fashion industry, we have to take a conscious look at the big issues we are facing and collectively come up with solutions to solve them, waste being one of them. We have all got to play a role in diverting waste from landfills, and the Naia team is excited to be launching Naia Renew this autumn, which is sourced from 40% recycled plastic waste.
Christina Dean, Founder/Chair, Redress; Founder/CEO, The R Collective
We will see an increase in collaboration across the industry and within companies themselves in order to find ways to reduce textile waste. Covid-19 let fashion’s previously rather hidden waste story out of the bag. As we witnessed consumption and sales come to an abrupt halt, so too did we see textile materials stranded all over the world; from shop floors, design studios, warehouses to factories. This enormous waste hangover will require collaboration – across the supply chain and also within businesses’ various departments – from finance, design, retail and logistics. Waste – which used to be quietly handled by small inner teams, including finance, at large companies – is now an issue that broader management teams must collaboratively solve to protect their bottom lines.
Hans Martin Galliker, Ecopreneur-In-Residence, Huadao Ecovillage
Does it matter whether or not you are a conscious industrialist?
If you don’t care the polar bears and workers in Bangladesh – then at least do it for yourself. No more yo-yo diets, expensive psychiatrists and false friends. Swap your superficial facade with becoming an original style icon. It’s simple: slow down your life. The upgrade to becoming healthy, beloved, stylishly unique and wise requires you to shift gears.
“Less is More” gives yourself a break, buys you freedom, skips the noise so that you finally hear your heart.
“Quality first” will make you care and others who care too will mind the difference.
“Sharing” will lead to family fun during clothes swaps, making new friends while mending together clothes in a hip repair cafe or cycle superfluous samples to second hand markets.
The slowness virus will enlighten you and your beloved ones, colleagues and business partners. Before you can say “mindful” will your new-found inner peace and healthy lifestyle expand your horizons and guide you towards more sustainability-minded business decisions.
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