Exactly a year ago, within the first few months of the pandemic, I wrote a profound and comprehensive piece on what effect the COVID-19 virus would have on the fashion industry, Correction, Contraction, and Cessation. COVID-19 Calls to Action a Sustainable Fashion System. Here is what I had to say at that time and it still holds true to my vision today:
The future of fashion, I predict, will be one where both consumers and the supply chain have buried the reckless production, consumption, and throw away habits, shifting their values, to a future of circularity.
We will be stewards of this circular fashion system. Consumers will invest for longevity from purpose-driven, conscious brands. Brands will develop product where the usage will extend over many years of life, passed down to the next generation and where the end use will not be the end of life – recycling, reusing, repairing, repurposing, upcycling – whatever it takes to keep textiles out of the landfill. Holding the production facilities accountable, the future will be one of substantial reductions in waste, air and water pollution throughout the supply chain. Closets will be mostly pre-owned treasures, secondhand, and/or upcycled designs. THIS future of fashion will be the norm not the narrative.
No, this is not a wishful Sci/Fi “Save The Planet” script. However, for Earth month, the following content (published weekly) provides a look into the facts on fast fashion, how zero waste starts at the design phase and pattern development, and is consumer behavior shifting to a future I predict.
- 15%. The Waste on the Cutting Room Floor. Go Green, Here’s How
- The Green Effect: Are Consumer Buying Habits Shifting? Are They Aware of Sustainable Fashion?
- Green Guilt: How Fast is Fashion Becoming Sustainable? Not Fast Enough!
Want more on sustainable fashion?
Take a look at the category Sustainable EDGE and be informed on designers, brands, and global initiatives that are making the case for a circular fashion economy. Sustainable fashion is a big topic and as you tour the website, you’ll find vetted resources, reports, and links documenting this massive topic. For example: in the right column you will find over 34 links in the section: Sustainable Fashion: Be Informed | EDGE Suggested Resources. If you just want data, Fashion Industry Waste Statistics has market valuation, waste, recycle, and used/resale statistics, updated periodically with new statistical data.
Images: Silvia Giovanardi, designer, Milan, Italy. Click this link to read about her circular fashion philosophy.
Through my work, I intend to propose an actual lifestyle, a modus vivendi founded in the rediscovery of profound values, such as the respect for mother nature, its rhythm, its beauty and its wonderful gifts.
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