10 big questions about sustainable fashion

Fashion is entering an important transition period and we as consumers play a very important role. The old operating system is being changed and reinvented. We asked the questions, sought answers, and the most authentic, real-world solutions from leading experts.

10 big questions about sustainable fashion

Things are turning excitingly, but there’s also a lot of uncertainty. There will be no perfect answer to root out the paradoxes or challenges facing the fashion industry. However, we also have a lot of new initiatives. The most valuable asset of mankind is creativity. The brains at the forefront of the industry are experimenting with many ideas to create the clothes we want to own, along with potential problems and many possible solutions. Here, we’ll keep you up to date with the latest innovations, and find answers to burning questions. Because when it comes to the sustainable future of fashion: Knowledge is power.

Fast fashion is not good, just like Big Mac or KFC. Fast fashion is ahead of all other fashions by shortening the production process, lowering costs by overwhelming volume, and creating shortcuts when eyeing luxury runways. High fashion is often questioned about its applicability, fast fashion knows how to seize opportunities. As soon as you feel and crave a certain “fashion”, fast fashion will put into your hands exactly that dream, instantly and at an affordable price.

The desire to own the latest, the most fashionable brings a sense of satisfaction, and helps you to strengthen your status or belong to a certain group. Like fast food, alcoholic beverages, or cigarettes – fast fashion will still exist to cater to human needs. Liv Simpliciano, Research and Policy Director at Fashion Revolution told ELLE: “Fashion impacts 100% of the global population. ‘Wearing’ is a basic need that has evolved into a mode of self-expression. Fashion can fully serve human life and the Earth at the same time when it is reoriented on the value scale, investing in education and raising awareness about alternatives. We already have a surplus of clothes for everyone in the world.”

Climate activist Greta Thunberg also told ELLE UK: “Most people know fast fashion is bad for the environment. But they also think the situation is improving as more companies introduce sustainability campaigns. But the reality is not so. What they’re doing is actually ‘greenwashing’ which gives the illusion that they’re doing sustainability.”

We need to understand that all we have in our wardrobes are sustainable clothes. Fashion is like a journey to discover the full potential of a piece of fabric or material that has been transformed into a functional definition, but still has endless possibilities to become a wonderful piece of mood and situation. some.

Enjoy fashion with a lot of excitement and curiosity about your available resources, we believe that you are a wiser investor than the savant who knows all the symbols on the label. shirt. The sacrifice of the motherland and the workers (in an industrial factory or a craft workshop) creates a vocabulary field full of aesthetic value – “clothes”. In front of the checkout, look at the cart once and distinguish “needs” from “wants”, recall memories of “similar” items at home, and commit to a long time of love.” your new order”. Don’t forget we also have the right to question brands and retailers on issues related to product formulation.

The answer is equivalent. If brands carry more responsibility in the output and input of the product, the needs of each individual trigger the operation of the fashion production process. Small choices build big game-changing power. You might be thinking, “If the brand doesn’t make the item, I definitely won’t buy it”. But blame is a negative attitude that is synonymous with a denial of consumer authority. The consequences that the fashion industry causes is too big a problem that no one side can bear unilaterally. We all have a responsibility to change.

Cost is not directly proportional to sustainability. Luxury fashion houses are also somewhat supportive of consumerism, incinerating inventory in the name of protecting exclusivity and scarcity. Liv Simpliciano adds: “Many of the unsustainable micro-trends that are revered each season have come from the high-end catwalk, which publishes ‘references’ for fast fashion brands. Fashion flourishes on the remnants of clothing when the trend cycle is left behind by the short life of fabrics. The hard-to-reach luxury is the shallow end of the Earth, the craftsman’s breathing space.”

Aja Barber, Consumed author, and ELLE UK collaborator replied: “Not overproducing, not burning the planet so as not to lead to no land to farm, not driving up the price of cotton and cotton spiked above the allowed limit”. As Tamzin Rollason – a sustainable fashion expert in Melbourne, said: “I think the fashion industry has two big problems that need to be overcome.

The first is the mass production of fleeting trends that are easily washed away with each passing season. While they value sustainability, leaders create a generation that is nurtured by constant newness. The second is the ‘friendly illusion’. Vendors are subverting the concept of ‘sustainability’ by replenishing their shelves with products made from materials labeled ‘sustainable’.

There is also a lack of transparency from brands when it comes to climate topics, wages, and waste disposal. The deeper you dive into the world of fashion and explain what sustainability really means, the more problems you’ll uncover. It’s hard to take on all the tasks at once, so we wanted to “put out the fires” at the top of our to-do list.

According to designer Stella McCartney: “The old-fashioned concept overestimates the longevity of leather and fur. If you consider them a symbol of luxury, believe me, shoes with alternative materials are worth more than ordinary leather shoes, under modern machines ‘tamed’ by skilled craftsmen. Stella also said that animal cruelty will be the next hot topic facing the fashion industry.

Leading the way in artificial leather innovations is MycoWorks, which has introduced a premium alternative to Mycelium, a material made from mushroom roots. In South Carolina, where the company’s first large-scale production plant is located, millions of square meters of mycelium fabric will be produced each year. Myco Works has collaborated with brands such as Hermès, Nick Fouquet, and Heron Preston. According to a company spokesperson: “Mycelium matches luxury fashion because of its supple softness, aesthetic and emotional touch as if it were naturally ‘grown’ and ‘picked’. Patrick Thomas, member of the Board of Directors of MycoWorks and former CEO of Hermès added: “The quest to discover substitutes for animal skins started decades ago but why did the change seem like it just started yesterday? That is because most of the previous inventions did not meet the premium quality. Mycelium is the first alternative to meet the quality requirements.”

Coming from the Anishinaabe community, Lesley Hampton is an artist and designer who focuses on mental health, looks at all forms with positive eyes, and values originality in fashion, film, and media. She is the Creative Director of a multi-size apparel and accessories brand founded by Canadian Indigenous, based in Toronto. Here is her response: “I believe that the inner monologues that deny one’s difference have made the fashion industry less diverse. We live in a post-colonial world where Western beauty has become the norm. Our perceptions and judgments are manipulated and molded into one shape, and consumerism whispers to our ears recipes for changing looks, keeping up with trends, and belonging. But when the trend moves as it is, another ‘reincarnation’ kicks in. This cycle repeats itself, becoming a tie rod that no one can keep up with, at least within the framework of the fashion industry.”

According to Aja Barber: “The top positions of the fashion industry are still held by white people. Until the balance is no longer tilted to one side, fashion cannot change. The rulers cannot understand that sharing power is the first step to change the situation.” Agreeing with this view, there is also Christina Tung, founder of House of, a PR agency, who said: “The fashion industry in every country puts sales above the interests of society and disadvantaged communities. For example, the United States with a high level of racial diversity still has white people making up 60% of the population. Executives would rather openly side with this majority for the sake of sales than promote a diversity-enhancing change plan unless they can find a way to monetize it. Unethical businesses survive and thrive because they are supported by Americans,

The answer lies in the very question: production constraints. The pandemic has provided a break for the Earth to recover and systems to reset. Several brands and retailers have come together to commit to minimizing the production of secondary products. However, Fashion Revolution points out that none of the signatories have admitted their backlogs are sent to places like Ghana and Chile, where locals are managing mountains of waste.

The second-hand fashion market is valued at $36 billion by 2021, but how much profit will the industry’s waste managers get? More transparency is needed to tackle waste in the fashion industry. Corporations with more market share need greater awareness and accountability.

Exploitation takes place in many forms, but the most common method is to squeeze the wages of garment workers, which are already too low to lift them out of poverty. A shocking 96% of major brands and retailers do not disclose what percentage of minimum wages workers are paid in the brand’s supply chain. Fashion Revolution believes that businesses always make promises instead of actions. Therefore, we need laws to protect the income of individuals who contribute to the global fashion industry.

No. of course. Marie-Claire Daveu, Kering’s Sustainable Development Manager stated that “sustainable development stimulates creativity”. Aja Barber also agrees: “Sustainability really forces people to innovate, to be thoughtful, and to look beyond. I think sustainability can help the industry stand up.”

ELLE US asked Hali Borenstein – CEO of sustainable brand Reformation about how to solve economic problems with sustainable conditions. The answer is given as follows: “It’s all based on scale. We install solar panels at the biggest factories. If more funds are available, we can improve the dyeing process by establishing relationships with well-known dyers. We are investing in information systems and new partners. ‘Making big’ means big words.”

Liv Simpliciano concludes with an important point: “Many of today’s sustainable solutions and practices come from local cultures. It would be remiss not to mention their contributions in preserving and protecting the environment. Sustainability isn’t just about the latest, greatest technology, it’s about getting back to basics. It is living with purpose and values. Sustainability can be as simple as cutting out a favorite piece of clothing or experimenting with new combinations from your existing wardrobe.”