Some Problems with Sustainable Fashion

Sustainable fashion may seem simple from the outside: make small changes and implement that and see a difference. In reality, the root of the problem of sustainable fashion is from the inside, not necessarily from the public.

Social media has made a huge gap in the sustainable fashion industry. Certain buzzwords are constantly being thrown around to act as a fix but doesn't actually do anything to help terminate the issues. Misinformation is one of the biggest issues. Brands will throw these buzzwords on collections and make people seem as if they are sustainable, but sustainability comes in many forms. For a brand to fully be sustainable extreme measures must be put into place. The Global Fashion Agenda has set out eight priorities for brands. Some include transparency through the supply chain, safeguarding workers rights, energy efficiency, and reusing textiles. Fashion companies have tried to pick and choose a few of these, which the public is given the false notion of a fully sustainable brand. If a company doesn't focus on the back end of sustainability then minimal change can be made.

Achim Berg speaks on the issue being rooted in the CEO’s of a company:

“Brands have started integrating the philosophy of 'doing business for good' into their values, moving beyond a pure focus on shorter-term shareholder value generation. Sustainability is no longer considered just to be a mitigating risk or part of supplier compliance, but it is becoming increasingly seen by CEOs as a 'must' in doing business."

Greenwashing is a huge factor in the misconception to the public of sustainable fashion. Companies' websites make claims to be “green” that are false or misleadings. Greenwashing then leads to false promotion and engages customers to participate in a business that is lying to the public. A study from the European Commission revealed that 42% of green claims were inaccurate or false in some form. A major brand H&M was called out for greenwashing for their “Conscious Collection”, which was made from more sustainable materials. This strive towards sustainability seems compelling, but H&M could not explain how and what these materials were doing to actually better the environment.

In different terms, major fashion brands have been targeting sustainability from runway shows and events. Recent shows have been following “carbon neutral” shows, such as Gabriela Hearst, Burberry, and Gucci. Even though this does not specifically pertain to clothing and production, in some ways it is a point in the right direction. Kering, Gucci's parent group made a huge announcement during fashion week regarding its brands that “will become carbon neutral within its own operations and across the entire supply chain."

Changes from major fashion brands will hopefully make a trickle effect in the industries leading brands making changes to its business model.