Sustainability in fashion: actual progress or plain green washing?
With fashion shows back in physical form, advocates report that more needs to be done to challenge the system. “A 20-minute event that takes six months to create?” notes Orsola de Castro, co-founder of advocacy organization Fashion Revolution. “It’s unsustainable.”
As pressure grows for the fashion industry to address and act on the sustainability issue it suffers from, debates rise regarding the possibility of fashion shows ever becoming sustainable, with activists arguing that they only feed into a broader unsustainable system of constant trends and overproduction.
What the future of fashion shows looks like, is anyone’s guess, and opinions vary in the field. Carlo Capasa, chairman of the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI), which hosts Milan Fashion Week, states that “Fashion weeks are a moment of high communication for the industry, creating jobs and income for cities”, while Fashion Revolution’s de Castro notes the harsh truth that for many designers is financial pressure and overstimulated guests struggling to differentiate one show from the next.
The issue is also recognized by designers known for their sustainability practices. Ganni tries balancing its environmental impact with spreading awareness, but founder Nicolaj Reffstrup, states that finding an effective benchmark that lasts through several seasons and concepts is “frankly, super difficult”. Simon Wick, co-founder of emerging Copenhagen brand (Di)vision, adds: “Either we produce a show and push our sustainable agenda with some compromises, or we avoid shows but can’t share our message.”
The factory below was turning non-recyclable waste into renewable energy for around 100,000 local homes.
Cecilie Thorsmark, CEO of Copenhagen Fashion Week, states that “Fashion councils absolutely have a role to play in sustainability”. CFW did in fact introduce an Action Plan in 2020, requiring brands to meet 18 minimum sustainability criteria from Autumn/Winter 2023. These regard strategic direction, design, smart material choices, working conditions, and – of course – show production.
However, there is also the presence of certain untruths when it comes to the efforts brands are making to meet sustainability goals.
When Chanel needed to borrow money two years ago, the used a new financial product, sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs). The investors, who purchased €600 million worth these bonds, were promised that if the company did not manage to meet the set climate objectives, they would pay them millions more, which was their penalty for failing to be green.
But, according to Bloomberg analysis, Chanel and other companies that are selling SLBs are not risking that much after all, as most of the objectives are weak, irrelevant, or even already met. As brands get to set their own goals, they are clearly given an opportunity to make them incredibly easy to meet. Most investors, however, don’t seem to mind: it looks like they’re satisfied as long as what they’re paying for is labeled “green”. In fact, demand for these bonds exceeds the offered amount by up to five times.
As a result, companies get cheaper financing and a green reputation without any real effort to act on climate issues and no chance of financial penalty
The final question remains, how much longer of these fake attempts to meet a certain level of sustainability can the climate take?
