It is everywhere! Everyone (or almost everyone) talks about it! It is a trend! A tendency! A dream! A dream that is coming true! It is a necessity! It is vital! It is the present and the future! It is Sustainable Fashion!
Sustainable Fashion is the best (and the only) response to the most timely, urgent, and dangerous problem we face. Thus all industries – and not only fashion – must transform and exist sustainably.
To ask what are some of the key factors in sustainable fashion is redundant because all of them are! Everything – from the ideation of a garment or fashion item to the delivery to its receiver must change and adapt to our current reality. It should be stressed to the maximum degree that sustainability in fashion is not only eco-aware and eco-responsible methods of production; it is an ethical, equalitarian, and inclusive attitude towards each aspect – social or environmental.
Fashion can and should be the precursor to revolutionary thinking and innovative ideas.
Fashion can and should shine the brightest light to a safer and more hospitable future!
Some interesting Stats about Sustainable Fashion
- The sales share of sustainable clothing has steadily risen to 4% in 2022
- The vast majority of consumers, everywhere around the globe, are concerned about sustainable packaging and are willing to pay more for sustainable packages. In the UK this percentage is close to 55%.
- According to McKinsey’s “The State of Fashion 2023” survey, tackling Greenwashing will be among the main future focuses of the Fashion Industry. As the industry continues to grapple with its damaging environmental and social impact, consumers, regulators, and other stakeholders may increasingly scrutinize how brands communicate about their sustainability credentials. If brands are to avoid greenwashing, they must show that they are making meaningful and credible changes while abiding by emerging regulatory requirements.
- A report made by the Business Research Company states that The ethical fashion market is expected to grow to £8.47 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 8%.
And finally, a stat that might seem somewhat contradictory:
- Even Fast–fashion brands are trying to become more Sustainable. Although a general shift towards second-hand shopping was obvious in 2022, fewer consumers may be going second-hand in 2023 as fast fashion retailers have committed to reducing their negative impact. Zara’s 2020 pledge was to use 100% sustainable fabrics by 2025. H&M recently has set the same goal for 2030 and Adidas has promised to phase out virgin polyester by 2024.
Sustainable Fashion and Generations
To say that Gen Z and the younger generations lead the way toward the Sustainable pathway is only a little part of the bigger picture, even if according to Forbes: Today, nearly 90% of Gen X consumers would be willing to spend 10 percent extra or more for sustainable products, compared to just over 34 percent two years ago.
But (there is always a but), Gen Z keeps on buying Fast-Fashion – it is the main target of hyper-fast fashion brands like Shein or Asos, which have profited enormously from the boom of online sales, fast delivery, and influencers – and at the same time, men and women of all age groups, social classes and ethnicities choose eco-awarely when buying their new (or second-hand) clothes. Sustainability is a rising concern in everybody’s lives. All consumers demand sustainable fashion.
The difference is that young consumers purchase more. As they get older, consumers tend to buy less. They have either accurately defined their style or they have already created an elegant and flexible capsule wardrobe; two facts (among others) that tone down the necessity to buy more.
As always, differences, nuances, and exceptions do exist, but the prevailing atmosphere is that Sustainable fashion is here and it will keep on growing even if oscillations will – undoubtedly – occur. The recent (and ongoing) war between Russia and Ukraine is an example of how unfortunate (to say the least) events can destabilize the global market and undermine its development. And Fashion, sustainable or not, is a big part of it!
5 Key Considerations and Tips to Be Sustainable
1. Not Reminded but Re-minded
The key to any change is knowledge. Ground-breaking studies and papers are being published every day. New information is disseminated through multiple channels. Useful input can be found everywhere (from clothing labels to packaging boxes). The rivers of knowledge flow endlessly. Still, we don’t need to be reminded to approach fashion sustainably now and then, we have to get re-minded just once! Be informed! Make sustainable choices! Be aware of greenwashing!
2. To be Sustainable is Easy (and Cheap!)
The fashion brands that function sustainably and offer top-quality clothing are many (in the future there will be more), are easy to find and so are the alternative ways of acquiring fashionable clothes (and in the future there will be more). Second-hand shops, a plethora of online Apps (to buy and sell), vintage flea markets or even renting formal outfits that will be used just once, are some ways to be more efficient, more eco-friendly, and more chic.
3. Sustainable: Futurism, Minimalism and Realism combined
Curating a minimalist (and hybrid) capsule wardrobe will help you create the best outfits! Stylish and eternal, sturdy and sharp, iconic and Casual! Don’t buy clothes only for winter or spring, buy clothes for all seasons. Don’t search for an outfit for a wedding, search for an attire for all kinds of celebrations. Define your style, trust your taste, identify your needs, and allow all your garments to embrace your body lovingly! Not for now, but forever.
4. Sustainable for You – Sustainable for All (or No More Deadstock)
Living Sustainably is not just a decision that affects one’s life! Living sustainably creates a powerful ripple effect that affects everyone and that is reflected in everything. Don’t throw away your child’s clothes, pass them on to the little one or their friends. Don’t throw away your not-so-old sneakers, your children or your next-door neighbor might love them! Take another look at your parents’ or grandparents’ closets and you will surely find gems. We don’t have the space or the need for more deadstock.
Sustainability transcends time! Re-ignite the sparks of a wonderful past with your grandad’s Chinos, and illuminate the formal event you are attending tonight with your grandma’s Fendi bag! Just by changing habits, our life changes immensely. The sustainable must expand to everything. From the tops to the bottoms. From the Casual to the Smart Casual. From the Soul to the Skin.
5. Sustainable is Onto-logical
Is AI the future of sustainable fashion? Is Metaverse the space where we will be buying our clothes any time soon? Will cryptocurrency and NFTs be the new money? Are we going to create great outfits for us or avatars? Will the virtual become our new reality? It is up to us! But, whatever the next moment might bring, for the time being, the most quintessential decision and the most suitable, is the most sustainable.
Being eco-friendly, eco-aware, sustainable, or whatever anyone wishes to call it, is presently the most logical thing to do. Ontology is the study of being and to be well, we should do the logical (even if momentarily the logical might seem illogical and counter-intuitive).
Fashion Brands and Sustainable Fashion
What do Kohr, Wawwa, Yes Friends, Levi’s, Stella McCartney, or Dockers® have in common? They all try to be more sustainable. They all try to set higher standards every single day. They strive to push limits and generate palpable change! The least possible use of natural resources, an inclusive and embracive way of thinking, eco-friendly production methods, continuous research, the creation of new fabrics, and bringing ethics to the forefront are what they have in common!
So, what sustainability in fashion should mean? Everything! In a context where words like ecocide are being formed, fashion has no other choice but to be more sustainable. From sourcing, manufacturing, and marketing to packaging and delivering. If the fashion industry wants to throw away the costume of the polluter and the socioeconomically inequitable and put on one of the problem-solvers, now is the moment to do it.
The fashion industry is so big that the impetus of its change will automatically stir other sectors in the right direction as well. We only have one home, one sky, one sea, one sun, and one moon. Let’s treat them as we should; uniquely (and respectfully)
Sustainable Fashion The Conclusion
Sustainability, Awareness, Respect, Fashion, Life, Change, Hope, Need, and Saviour…are all written with A and C, and T and to ACT is only a decision and it might seem ridiculous, small, and unimportant, but washing less, turning off the tab, offering to others what we do not use ourselves, showering and not bubble-filling the bathtub, eating better, being loving and caring, costs nothing, it is scientifically sound and it can be done N O W.
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