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Can the fashion industry truly be sustainable?
Words Sabinna Rachimova
Can sustainability and fashion be in the same sentence? Sabinna Rachimova, founder of her eponymous, fashion-conscious brand Sabinna, gives us a real insight on this matter.
Sustainable, ethical, conscious, green, ecological, planet-friendly - all these buzzwords sound too familiar when scrolling through the world of sustainable fashion. Ideally the meaning would be genuine and descriptive of the actual practices in a business, but the reality is not that easy. Yes, there are a handful of incredible brands out there going the extra mile: making sure to implement the best concepts that respect people and the planet, while producing beautiful products in a volume that caters for the actual demand. But there is also the world of greenwashing, where words have less meaning and are purely used to sell the impression of sustainability. What can we do to change this status quo? How can we hold businesses accountable and where do we even start when the complex world of sustainable fashion starts to overwhelm us? Let’s have a closer look.
The answer can be to move towards a circular economy, lowsumerism (word creation from “low” and “consumerism”) or a sharing economy. We know that the desire for the perfect balance of social commitment, environmental value, digital innovation and financial success is increasing and new business concepts are therefore inevitable. Anyone who starts a fashion business today will quickly notice that sustainability is no longer a USP (Unique Selling Point) that can help you stand out - sustainability is becoming the norm. Therefore founders need to be able to consider the balancing act between an idealistic theory and the harsh business reality when putting together their business plans and thinking about the business model they want to implement.
But what about the actual products? Looking at the dramatic overproduction of clothes and the waste of the fashion industry, we can see that we won't be able to make the fashion industry more sustainable in the long term by simply improving the product. According to the McKinsey Global Fashion Index, the annual production of clothing doubled between 2000 and 2014, exceeding the 100 billion mark. And according to the Pulse Of The Fashion Industry Report 2017, 92 tons of textile waste are disposed of every year, which is actually four percent of the global waste.
Of course, it is the right step to use sustainable materials and it should go without saying that products have to be ethically produced, going hand in hand with fair payment for all garment workers. However, in order to be able to speak of real sustainability and, above all, future-oriented innovation, it is necessary to rethink the way we consume. In order to achieve this, companies should align the supply with the demand for their products.. Pre-order or Batch Drop concepts are a good alternative to explore a cater-to-demand approach to push for conscious consumption, while avoiding overproduction.
A sustainable business concept can also have more than one revenue stream. We see businesses producing new garments while also participating in renting or upcycling solutions and offering a range of experiences to their customers. This shows us that a multi-layered approach towards sustainability is necessary.
Last but not least, it's not just up to the brands and businesses (which doesn’t mean they don’t have most of the responsibility!). It needs a society that accepts these improved concepts and rediscovers the appreciation of clothes - we need a society that repairs, borrows and shares in order to extend the life cycle of as many products as possible. We also need an education system for the creative industry that shows alternative concepts during training and promotes collaboration and inclusion. And of course fashion is a highly political issue as well - we need policies and regulations that hold businesses accountable and reward those who are caring for the wellbeing of our planet.
Looking at all these aspects, we see that there is a lot to do in order for the fashion industry to become more sustainable. It’s all easier said than done and a global pandemic (that has squeezed the industry's annual profit by around 93% in 2020) is definitely adding a burden to the proposed developments. But maybe it can also be seen as the unique chance to throw the dusty hierarchy in fashion and the status-oriented consumption overboard. We have the tools and we know the theory - so it’s time to put it into practice.
And let’s not forget something very important: fashion will never be 100% sustainable - because the concept behind it includes the production of goods that we don’t necessarily need. But fashion can become more innovative, more digital and more transparent through better business concepts, resulting in less harm to people and the planet.