Sufficient Recommendations

The fashion world is perceived as being superficial, selfish. And it’s true. The environmental issues the apparel industry is addressing today are not new, but until now the clothes have been more important than the environmental cost. The Fashioning Sustainability article identifies eight key issues faced in the apparel industry today and offers solutions for each one. They have offer sufficient recommendations to bring about change, especially when the actions suggested are combined. 

Both Fashioning Sustainability and Ecosystems and Human Wellbeing suggest this solution: Transparency. Transparency can work in two ways. The first way, as stated in Fashioning Sustainability, uses transparency so that brands and retailers are more aware of the origins of their products. The more brands and retailers know about the process behind their stock, the more involved they can be in enforcing high standards of sustainability. The second way, suggested by Ecosystems and Human Wellbeing, requires the company to be transparent with the public about their efforts in sustainability. Public transparency also allows for accountability. If the public associates a brand with sustainable clothing because of the image the brand built up, the public is going to hold that brand to the high standards they will expect from them. For example, Patagonia’s mission statement is: “Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.” Patagonia does an excellent job with being transparent to the community and promoting environmental sustainability.  It would be really hard for their brand to get away with acting outside of the guidelines they have set for themselves because they have transparently placed themselves in the public eye. Also, it could be detrimental to Patagonia’s business if they were to act against their guidelines because people’s expectations would be ruined.

Another solution suggested by Fashioning Sustainability is “empowering consumers is a priority driving demand for sustainable clothing.” As selfish as the fashion industry is, consumers do care about the environment, and thankfully, they are a critical driver for greater sustainability in clothing.  The issue with sustainable clothing is that some designers don’t see sustainability as an opportunity but as an obstacle. The solution is that there are alternatives to designing for sustainability, such as simple solutions and innovations. For example, Urban Renewal: (Vintage: Recycled: Remade) takes old articles of clothing and recycles them by renewing and reconstructing them into modern designs and then putting them back out on the market to be sold as a new product. Another example of an innovative solution comes from Patagonia. Patagonia chooses to use bamboo as a sustainable alternative to rayon. Though Patagonia does not discuss if their sustainability plays a role in their pricing it is not uncommon for sustainable products to cost more. Surprisingly, the organic tshirt costs 30% less than the conventional one and had a reduced impact on our environment. Even if the organic shirt were to cost more I think that we should be willing to pay for the necessary steps to protect our environment and am therefore in full support of better use of real costing. Fashioning Sustainability point out that consumers are “increasingly willing to pay more for more ‘ethical’ products,” especially if they are aware of why the product costs more.

Time has been said to heal all wounds. This has not been the case for our environment. Time has only allowed our environmental issues to pile up. Time is not going to change the state of our environment, but over time the state of our environment can change, if we make the choice to do so. It is up to us as consumers (and designers) to be educated on sustainable issues and to implement things like transparency and innovative alternatives when possible.  

Patagonia resources: http://www.patagonia.com/us/patagonia.go?assetid=23429