Fashion’s Downfall

“Above all we understood we went way too far. Our reckless actions have burned the house we live in,” says Gucci creative director, Alessandro Michele.

Angeli Mehta explores the troubling reality facing the fashion industry in her recent article in Ethical Corporation: “‘Pandemic forces fashion industry to take stock.”

The dire conditions facing manufacturing communities, due to abrupt cancellations of apparel orders from global brands, is accelerating the already critical crisis.

Highlights from the report include:

  • The average market capitalization of apparel, fashion and luxury brands dropped almost 40% in the year to the end of March.
  • McKinsey expects “a large number” of global fashion companies will go bankrupt in the next 12 to 18 months.
  • In 2016, WRAP estimated the fashion industry global supply chain waste was 800,000 tonnes, even before any clothing reached the consumer. In the UK alone that year 300,000 tonnes of clothing went to landfill.
  • The industry accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions.
  • McKinsey’s survey of North American and western European sourcing executives reveals not all brands are taking steps to support their supplier base. And only 19% are providing pre-payment for orders, even though 64% of respondents said this action would have a significant impact.
  • The pandemic has increased consumer interest in sustainability: a survey of consumers carried out in Europe and the US in March suggested 20% of them want to support local business, and in Europe 16% said they’d be buying more socially and ecologically sustainable clothing in future.
  • Consumers have also taken note of efforts by brands to look after their employees, contributing items like PPE, or donating to their communities.
  • The Textile Recycling Association fears that unsold stock will take the place of secondhand clothing in many markets in eastern Europe.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/2AwaaVw

Webinar: Greenwashing

Brands are facing a reckoning.

Greenwashing is as pervasive now as it was pre-COVID. Sustainability marketing claims have spiked, but they don’t always mean action. Conscious consumerism is bringing a tsunami of accountability like never before.

How do brands navigate? How can consumers cut through the noise? And what really drives social and environmental impact in fashion and food?

Transparency, supplier partnerships and ESG innovation are just some of the solutions we explored in our NextGenChef Table Talk.

Our panel:

Watch the full panel: HERE