Can luxury fashion be sustainable? To answer this question,
let’s start by exploring what is meant by sustainability and luxury:
What is striking is the similarity between the two. It would be
easy to suggest that sustainability and luxury are harmonious
bedfellows. Sadly, this would be somewhat naïve. The planet is
suffering as the population grows and an expanding middle class seeks
products to illustrate new-found wealth.
If everyone on the planet lived the life of an average European,
we’d need 3 planets. Does luxury fashion play a role in this? Most
certainly, as luxury products are often considered to have larger
environmental footprints than their contemporaries. However, I think
this is a misnomer, as there is some commonality between sustainability
and luxury.
Charles Leadbeater – a leading authority on innovation and
creativity – argues that as our world becomes more complex we’ll seek
out and value simplicity and authenticity, which will lead to a ‘less is
more’ attitude and desire to experience products that claim to ‘take us
back to nature’ and to know where products come from. As a result,
consumers want to show that they not only enjoy good quality but that
they also care for the environment.
This is picked up by a number of luxury brands who are responding to
this demand in a variety of ways, whether through improved ethical
practices such as using fairly-mined minerals, reducing the use of
endangered and exotic species, reducing water pollution by using dyes
listed by the
Global Organic Textile Standard (
GOTS), improving traceability by using
Historic Futures’ String platform or measuring environmental impact using a variety of tools such as the
Sustainable Apparel Coalition’s Higg Index.
However, those who are doing something ‘sustainable’ are in the
minority, and very few have adopted a more holistic approach. There
appears to be a reluctance to change, and if there is, it often occurs
in reaction to being named and shamed by
NGOs (e.g. in Greenpeace’s
Dirty Laundry reports).
As the luxury fashion industry relies so heavily on natural raw
materials for most of its products it would make sense to think beyond
one-dimensional issues (as important as they are) and try to become more
proactive by building a sound reputation and environmental ethos which
is core to the brand. In an interview with Stella McCartney she
suggests that you can’t do everything at once and that ‘we do things on
an achievable level in order to make it happen’.
So then, where do you start? From our experience working with small
to large brands it is important to focus on areas that result in both
reduced environmental impact and cost. This can be achieved by
identifying where your environmental hotspots (areas of biggest impact)
are in your supply chain. This exercise can be done in a cost effective
way, and does not require expensive life-cycle assessments. A baseline
environmental impact – whether carbon, waste or water – can be
developed at various levels of detail to provide an indicator of impact,
and therefore area(s) to focus.
Results arising from our work with apparel brands (including luxury) would suggest that the main environmental impacts are:
- Raw materials – cotton, leather, wool, polyester and PVC,
- Manufacturing of finished materials,
- Transport – air, rail and vehicle,
- Operations and retail, and
- Water consumption and pollution (toxicity).
In particular, any measures to reduce the volume or impact of raw
materials and the manufacturing of finished materials should have the
greatest effect. As a small or medium brand this may not be easy, as
you have less control over specifications. However, by improving
engagement with vendors this can go a long way to engendering a
relationship which can not only provide improved knowledge of your
products and their origins, but they are also more likely to work with
you to reduce their, and subsequently your environmental impact.
There are some wonderful examples of smaller luxury brands being
proactive in reducing their environmental impact, and in many instances
ensuring that sustainability is central to the ethos of their business.
I’ve highlighted a few brands below as examples of good practice who’ve
moved beyond ‘turning off lightbulbs’:
1.
Pachacuti are a Panama
hat brand who ensure sustainability is integrated throughout the entire
product supply chain, by investing in sustainable production processes
and sourcing, reducing and preventing pollution, Fair Trade and local
communities.
2.
Viridus Luxe have
recognised the impact associated with the production of cotton and have
sort to use a mix of alternative fibres with a lower environmental
impact, such as hemp.
3.
Etrala London reduces the
amount of waste arising in its supply chain by only producing what is
required, whilst brands such as From Somewhere use off-cuts from luxury
brands to produce clothing and accessories.
4.
Thiery Mugler – Whilst
not a small brand, I was intrigued by Thierry Mugler’s Womanity
fragrance bottles, which are refillable. Certainly a concept which
could be adopted by smaller brands to reduce packaging waste.
5.
honest by have started to
communicate the transport carbon footprint of each garment sold online,
with the intention of ultimately calculating and reporting a garment’s
total carbon footprint (as has been adopted by the likes of M&S,
PPR and other larger brands).
Many of the attributes of luxury align comfortably with the concept
of sustainability. The few examples provided of luxury brands who are
starting to make inroads into reducing their environmental impact
illustrate that luxury clothing can have sustainable convictions and
operate commercially. In the long-term, the fashion industry will have
to become sustainable in order to remain profitable.
Article from
Sustainable Fashion Forum
You can follow Nicola on Twitter
@nicolaruby
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