Is Sustainable Fashion Screwed?
Are 'Just Transition', 'Circular Economy' and 'Recycling Revolution' apologetic buzzwords for a shameful industry? The systemic change needed is not being addressed
From some quarters, it looks like sustainability is absolutely screwed. I’ve just come back from an afternoon of government funded panels and keynotes, where the fruits of two years work and £15m has resulted in some small scale case studies, the odd communication workshop and some fairly obvious recommendations to a new government that didn’t commission the report in the first place.
Meanwhile, it appears sustainability is not something customers want to know about anymore - why should they, when they are just looking for a good pair of trousers. After a year of challenging economic headwinds, sustainability focussed brands have either shuttered (Mara Hoffman, Dai), or pivoted their messaging, (Asket, Reformation, Ganni). As far as customers are concerned, brands need to do the work for them, and not waste their air space bragging about it.
But are brands doing the work? The Circular Fashion Innovation Network (a joint venture between The British Fashion Council and the UKFT) presented its findings yesterday, and while the report is well meaning and the best of a meagrely-funded job, we’ve got some existential questions to answer. Such as: is circularity the solution? And why is Donald Trump, a man who insists on a gold bathroom for his new Air Force One Jet, doing more for degrowth than decades of neoliberal hand wringing?
On Business of Fashion this week, the excellent Kenneth Pucker reports that thanks to Trump’s trade war, the Port of Los Angeles is expecting a 35 percent drop in container volume from Asia next week. Trump’s response? “Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls. And maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.” Extraordinary. Buy less, buy better. Perhaps the ghost of Vivienne Westwood is pulling some strings up there. (I wouldn’t put it past her).
Meanwhile, back in the UK, things are getting dirty. A row is breaking out about who should be the recipient of the small amount of government funded sustainability and strategy, with recyclers and polyester reliant businesses on one side, and farmers and craft communities on the other.
Read on for Patrick McDowell, more Royals, the rise of Vinted and why the wool industry might have the answers