What are the main problems you see in the fashion sector today?
The main problems I see today are the vast and complicated supply chains and business models that haven’t changed much in several decades. Unlike motoring, food and various other sectors, the fashion industry is notoriously far behind in terms of embedding responsibility, ethical practices, and sustainability into their business models.
The other main problem I see today in the fashion sector is its continued reliance on petrochemicals for a large majority of textiles; and the other problem I see is a communications issue. Which is that a lot of brands and/or their products have the word sustainable slapped in front of them without much care or depth given to the claims, which is misleading to the customer. So, all in all, we end up with both customers, investors, wholesalers, retailers and just about every other stakeholder confused, but we know that we are at a turning point. To sum it up, the biggest problem is that if fashion keeps producing the way it does, it will be way, way, way off meeting the 1.5 degrees by 2030 or net zero by 2050 target.
To what do you attribute the industry’s recent interest in sustainable practices?
I attribute it to awareness and communications finally getting through to senior decision makers at brands.
Other sectors are understanding that it’s not just a moral or ethical imperative to embed sustainability into their practices but firstly, a business case, smart economics and moreover there are quite soon going to be compliance reasons – if sustainable practices are not embedded, then the brand will be found falling short of legalities around it. I also think that, very typically of fashion, it’s now become ‘trendy’ to be sustainable.
Even though it’s all about innovation and change on a multi seasonal basis per annum, there’s also conversely a herd mentality in fashion and when one brand starts to do something, everyone else just jumps on the bandwagon. This happened with Black Lives Matter as well. So, to be cynical, there is an element of this taking place as well.
What is for you the definition of fashion sustainability?
The definition of sustainability to me is a product or process that puts back the same or more into the planet and its people than prior to its existence. So, the ultimate, perfect, and most pure sustainable fashion is what you see people wearing in tribes – such as in the Amazon or Papua New Guinea, where the clothing they wear can go straight back into the ground in the same process that everything else works in Mother Nature. This is truly circularity at its most pure.
Aside from that, if a brand wants to call themselves sustainable, well then, they are in trouble. There is no clear definition of sustainable fashion because right now there are very few brands that can truly claim to be carbon positive or even carbon neutral. Most of the ones that do rely on offsets and the offsets’ proof can often be murky. So, I don’t think there is such thing as truly sustainable fashion unless we’re talking about what tribal peoples wear.
Looking at the COP26 final agreement and what that means for fashion
I had the honour and privilege of being asked to speak on a panel at COP26. I had a lot of conversations whilst I was up there and obviously, kept close tabs on what the final agreement looked like.
The biggest thing that came out of COP26 for me was regarding the voices that need to be heard in the global south – from indigenous leaders especially. Just after COP26, a report came out about the amount of fashion brands that are directly or indirectly contributing to deforestation in the Amazon.
The main issue we have is that successful brands in the global north rely on the exploitation of the global south to sustain their supply chains and bring products to the market that are ‘affordable’ to western audiences. What is needed is not just an examination of toxic supply chains but a specific focus on making sure that supply chains do not exploit or abuse the global south – both its people and its land.
What changes are required in the fashion industry in order to be more responsible?
The first thing we need is compliance. A great example of this is back when U.S. customs once rejected a shipment of BooHoo clothing because they’d been informed of the slave labour taking place, almost under our noses, up in Leicester.
A second example is the EU carbon border tax and a third example is the Consumer Market Authorities Green claims code. We need much, much stronger compliance and with truly implementable sanctions attached to it. Until that happens, we’re left waiting for investors, consumers and brands to join the dots – for pressure to come from those sides instead.
But whilst we still have an absence of correct stakeholder capitalism and multiple bottom-line businesses without the compliance or legalities in place, these businesses will continue to operate in a more linear fashion, embracing traditional capitalism. So switching to ‘degrowth’ as well as more circular and sustainable models of capitalism, informed by the UN Sustainable Development Goals, would be the first main change. With that established, the rest of the pieces of the puzzle might fall into place.
Which luxury labels are setting the standards for ecological / ethical fashion…do you think they are doing it right?
Stella McCartney has been doing this for a long-time. Is she doing it right? Well, she’s doing a lot of things right but not everything.
I think that Gabriela Hirst and the work she’s done at Chloe are setting a good example, but I still don’t think they’re doing it right either.
Then there are lots of other innovative and disruptive brands that are setting good examples, such as Allbirds – again are they doing it right? No, because right now with the way we are with technology and compliance, it is still not illegal to produce in certain ways. And with blockchains and QR codes still in the early days of development, we just don’t have enough transparency.
However, there are brands such as HNST jeans who I think are taking a really interesting approach in regard to take-back and repurposing their product. I think any brand doing it right is showing not just a responsible or ethical way of producing, but also considering its product’s end of life journey. Any brand that has ‘extended producer responsibility’ built in as a core pillar, which offers take-back and/or recycling programmes, is doing it right.
What are the best practices you’ve seen for fashion’s shift to the circular economy?
The most interesting thing I’ve seen recently is the innovation around breaking down textiles. A lot of textiles have multiple fibres that make them up – they’re not just one pure fibre such as silk, cotton or wool but rather involve a blend of fibres. The technology that we’re seeing now, such as a company called Re-Verso, is making huge strides in repurposing, in a way that enables us to use hundreds of millions of tonnes of excess clothing and textiles – which are literally just sitting there as waste – and transform them into a new raw material. To me, the most exciting thing in fashion’s shift to a more circular economy will be about utilising all the existing ready-made clothing and textiles that are already out there and repurposing them into new garments.
The other best practices I’ve seen would be the aforementioned, HNST jeans brand, and any other brands that use a closed-loop manufacturing process: where wastewater gets recycled, where no pollutants get flushed into rivers or oceans, and where waste fabrics get re-utilised into either smaller accessories or recycled into other fibres.
And lastly, any brands using cellulose or protein bases – aka natural fibres – which can be broken down and turned back into new clothing.
There are some other goodish examples, such as Repreve and Econyl, who transform industrial waste and plastics into usable materials. But, nonetheless, these materials do not biodegrade so the only time they are relevant and worthy of inclusion is when they choose to put consideration and solutions into the end of that garment or textile’s life – so as to keep it out of landfill and send it back into the closed loop / circularity process.
Do you personally think that sustainable clothing brands can impact the world in a relevant way?
I believe that fashion and luxury have a huge amount of cultural capital – in that often what becomes desirable in fashion catches on in other wider sectors. Just think that if fashion’s innate power to change behaviour and make things ‘fashionable’ is deployed correctly, it could be instrumental in changing the perception of sustainability in consumers’ eyes.
How important do you think technological change will be in the future?
I think it’ll be equally as important as embracing processes that we find in nature. So, for example, utilising raw materials such as a Bolivian fish skin and turning that into leather, is copying nature in a true circular fashion.
In tandem to this, technology will enable processes like lab grown leathers, and the separation/recycling of fibres. It will enable a much more transparent measurement of a garment or brand’s inputs and how much pollution or emissions are associated with their processes.
The one thing that really annoys me about technology in fashion is when I hear people saying that they have created garments that use technology to be able to change colour, so you can buy a pink dress that can change to red next week – how is that helping people or the planet? It’s just innovation for the sake of innovation rather than innovation for the sake of the good. And if I had a magic wand or unlimited political power, I would embrace frugal/responsible innovation and make that a huge priority so that we don’t have indulgent and vain innovation for the sake of it.
Are these things less of a problem with menswear?
Yes and No. I have a very strong theory – I could write a book on this – if women all took the same approach to dressing as men do, we’d have way less of a problem. Which is to have a core uniform of items that are interchangeable, that do not really go out of date with trends and that are way more timeless.
I really admire the way that men’s wardrobes are constructed. They have core building blocks of timeless, simple and less trend related pieces, because the more something screams and harks to a current trend, the more quickly someone’s going to get bored of it. And if you think about the evolution of menswear, a lot of the troupes and styles – such as a single-breasted jacket, a great Tuxedo or a classic Oxford button down shirt – these things have been around for decades and they’re still in style today. That is a way more sustainable approach to fashion than womenswear. So yes, there are less problems in terms of mechanisms and the systems and processes that drive the menswear industry.
However, there still lies a problem in the way brands manufacture clothing, the materials they use and the labour rights – because menswear brands are not immune to this. It really does depend on the menswear brand you’re talking about, the kind of materials they use and how they produce. So, is it less of a problem? Well, it really depends. But, conceptually and philosophically, yes it is less of a problem for menswear because of the way that industry is constructed.
What can a responsible consumer do? Are there obvious certifications to look for?
The first thing they can do is open their wardrobe and see what’s lurking in there that can be given a breath of new life. We all have things that we get into a rut with, and I often find when dressing up in fancy dress for a party, no jokes apart, that I often find myself putting things together in a way I wouldn’t have thought of. Oh, I never would’ve thought of putting that skirt with that top before or vice versa. So that’s one way – to get playful and think about different ways of wearing things that are already in your wardrobe.
Second, if things don’t fit, ask yourself if they can they be let out or taken in to give them new or extended life.
Thirdly, if you’re wanting to find new items for your wardrobe then think about shopping second hand. This doesn’t mean that you must trawl through a dirty, dusty second-hand store or charity shop. There are plenty of second hand/ preloved/ preowned resources available online, such as Vestaire collective, The Real Real (USA), Depop, HEWI (Hardly Ever Worn It), Endless Wardrobe, My Wardrobe HQ and so on. Also, a lot of brands are now selling off old season or second-hand things, taking ownership of leftover resources themselves, so be sure to look at the brands’ websites in case they do have any old season available.
Fourthly, look for specific certifications on what’s called the ‘swing tag’ – which is the paper tag that you usually cut off – or inside the care label. You should be looking for any of the following: Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), OEKO-TEX, GOTS, Fair Trade, Fair Wear, Blue Sign, Ethical Trading Initiative, Cradle to Cradle, organic fibres, and B Corp. These are a good starting point and can certainly guarantee that the garment or accessory has more kindness woven into its seams then a comparable product.
How much is the solution just buying less?
If we’re looking at solutions from a consumer perspective then yes, buying less certainly is a contributing factor. But it’s a hard question to answer because it’s not something you can quantify on a scale – how much or how little. A consumer’s duty is to buy less, yes. It’s also to recycle, to repurpose, to repair, to re-wear or share wardrobes. If they buy less then, of course, a lack of demand will then affect the supply because that’s how the laws of economics work.
But the rest of the solution shouldn’t be so much on the consumer anyway. It should be right from the top down, as such a significant part of the solution is about legislation and compliance. As I said earlier, if that was in place then we wouldn’t have to put so much onus on the consumer. But nonetheless, you can still do your bit by asking brands questions – in stores, through chat boxes, DMs or any other social media platforms: Why it was made? How it was made? Who made it? What materials were used? With every response, look deeper and go further – find out more.
Can you really be ‘sustainable’ if you love fashion?
The word sustainable is actually banned in our office internally. Some of the brands we work with do use that word in their consumer facing comms, because as a word it still resonates with audiences, however, it’s no question because the word had become meaningless.
I think the question is, can you be ethical, and can you be responsible if you love fashion or as a stakeholder who works in the fashion business. Yes, you can be responsible, and you can be ethical.
Ultimately though, I always go back to the same point that really the only truly sustainable fashion is garments and accessories that biodegrade without needing any change to them. The biggest sustainable fashion icons on this planet, as mentioned before, are the tribal peoples in places such as the Amazon and Papa New Guinea. They make their clothes out of leaves, petals, wood, shells, and they eventually go straight back into the earth as part of Mother Nature’s wonderful life cycle.
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