Part 5. Since mass media has exposed the fashion industry’s indiscretions, the socially aware and environmentally concerned younger generations have emerged using campaigns to thwart this system of business with calls to action that involve boycotting brands, anti-consumption behaviors, and demanding brand transparency. Terms like ethical, conscious, and sustainable fashion are emerging from this movement. Eco-fashion clothing seeks to be transparent within the production chain, addressing how the garments are made and by whom. Sustainable production practices are environmentally and socially aware and responsible.
The outdoor clothing and gear company, Patagonia, is a certified B Corporation that exemplifies sustainability. The B Corp. designation is a private certification based on social and environmental performance. The company uses measures to reduce its carbon footprint and offers a program to repair used garments for prolonged use, keeping them out of landfills. Patagonia created a trade-in program enabling its customer base to send back used articles, earning credit towards new purchases. The used clothing is re-sold in a “re-worn” category at discounted prices. Patagonia provides a link on their company website labeled “activism.” Clicking on the link brings the viewer to a list of resources including how to connect with environmental groups or make donations towards environmental nonprofits. For 40 years the company has supported grassroots activists to promote finding solutions to the global environmental crisis. Chief Executive Officer at Patagonia, Ryan Gellert, wants other fashion companies to understand the full impact of their company supply chains. Gellert’s leadership at Patagonia is an example for other companies to follow suit.
The fashion company, Everlane, is a brand that has emerged because of these issues. Everlane markets itself as being “Radically Transparent,” using ethical factories to produce a quality product.(9) Factories sourced by the company undergo compliance audits that evaluate the workforce environment and wages. Indigenous is another fair-trade fashion brand that holds the B Corp identification for its sustainable and ethical design practices. Indigenous claims that it was founded to assist artisans in Peru by offering fair wage job opportunities while capitalizing on the ancient traditional Peruvian textile practices. Conscious consumers can look for the B Corp. logo and other identifiers such as “Fair Trade,” and the Global Organic Textile Standard “GOT” certification to name a few. Companies with these identifications have undergone an investigative process and met the standards and requirements for the certifications.
If the fashion industry reflects culture, apparel companies have an opportunity to demonstrate the best or the worst of human innovation. Greenwashing, a term that implies the misrepresentation of brands to appear as sustainable, has pervaded fashion since the movement has put pressure on companies to change. How companies manage the intended effect is rife with myth. Further investigation of how much innovation, transparency, recycling, bio-based materials, resale, and rental business models in the apparel industry improve the industry’s sustainability is worth scrutinizing for the sake of authentic credibility.
Founder of the Stockholm-based consultancy firm Green Strategy, Dr. Anna Brismar, a fashion sustainability expert, developed the concept of “seven forms of sustainable fashion”.(10) Dr. Brismar identifies the seven forms of sustainable fashion as on-demand/custom made, secondhand/vintage, swap/rent/lease, repair/redesign/upcycle, fair/ethical, green/clean, and high-quality/timeless design. Green Strategy’s website lists clients they have worked with as well as informative key concepts to enhance awareness. Organizations and companies around the world can use the professional tools for assessment and strategy that Dr. Brismar’s firm provides to advance their sustainability.
(10) Anna Brismar, “Seven Forms of Sustainable Fashion,” Green Strategy, 2014, https://greenstrategy.se/seven-forms-of-sustainable-fashion/.
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