The inextricable link between sustainability and fast fashion
As consumers spend more time on social media, so does the impact of influencers in determining fashion trends. Fashion consumers have shifted from following up with magazines and catwalks to scrolling down their social media feeds, creating a thriving fast fashion industry. Whereas once fashion trends were seasonal, consumers now perceive them in seconds. The speed at which new information is delivered has driven this process. It has become so impulsive that consumers rarely find themselves caring about quality, let alone anything deeper.
But this is changing, as presented in our latest in-depth analysis of the fashion industry. A growing number of consumers have started to publicise the environmental and social impact that comes with the disposable fashion culture, and their influence on social media is changing fast fashion as a whole. Celebrities, designers, and influencers are raising their voices to support issues related to sustainable fashion.
Research by the Fashion Retail Academy shows 66% of UK consumers are keeping clothing longer and buying more from second-hand platforms. This is further supported by OnBuy research that indicates 57% of Londoners are willing to pay more for sustainable fashion products.
Behavioural conflicts
Consumers are now wrestling with cognitive dissonance. Although they realise the negative effects of fast fashion, when it comes to shopping, they seem to act differently and opposed to what they think and say. It’s a battle between conscious thought and subconscious impulsivity. Often, this issue becomes concentrated on the higher price point that comes with sustainable products due to the extra costs associated with textile sourcing, labour and packaging.
Consumers may say that they are willing to pay more for sustainable products, but it’s hard to find data to illustrate this. Revenues of the major brands continue to increase year-on-year, leading to the suggestion that fast fashion is simply evolving rather than slowing down. Current efforts by fast fashion brands to minimise the issues appear to have appealed to consumers.
Lack of regulations
The sustainability efforts of many fast fashion brands have become a key feature within their annual reports. ASOS and ZARA are both aiming to use 100% sustainable fabrics by the year of 2025. Meanwhile, Boohoo is improving transparency through its supply chain and reducing its carbon footprint. These commitments are of course difficult for consumers to perceive and measure. For the average consumer, it is very difficult to assess whether the major brands are really delivering on the rhetoric in their annual reports.
This is heightened by a lack of industry regulations and standards, making it extremely challenging for smaller fast fashion brands to understand how best to become sustainable. Often times, small fast fashion brands recycle garments from the factory or from consumers and claim to be “sustainable”. But they don’t state how they are going to do so or where the recycled garment will go, as it is not mandatory to do so.
Brands must take responsibility
Despite the absence of regulations, there are a couple of voluntary initiatives that brands can consider and follow. The Ethical Trading Initiative has existed to improve the working conditions and workers’ rights in global supply chains for the last 25 years; H&M, ASOS, GAP, Inditex, Primark, Misguided and many more major fashion brands are members. The Sustainable Apparel Coalition is also dedicated to driving social and environmental change with its tool, The Higg Index. This helps to measure and improve a company or product’s sustainability performance.
Furthermore, they can follow the “Sustainable Clothing Action Plan” to minimise the environmental impact caused by the production process. Of course, there is still a long way to go for fast fashion brands to become more sustainable. But it will take time, and it's encouraging to see changes being within many of the major fast fashion brands, with more and more following suit.
Consumers have a deciding role
Noting the changes and commitments made by brands then leads us to the role of consumers in the process. It doesn’t really matter how sustainable a brand is if consumers buy a product to wear it once. This is highlighted clearly by Professor Tim Cooper from the Clothing Sustainability Research Group at Nottingham Trent University in the report Fixing Fashion: clothing consumption and sustainability. Tim states, “garments should be designed and manufactured for longevity, but a more difficult problem is how to reduce consumer demand for cheap, short-lived garments.”
In spite of regulations, many major brands have made great strides by working with associations and voluntary initiatives. And regulations would be unlikely to affect the choices available to every consumer. Ultimately, it is up to us whether we can control our desire to be on trend with the latest fashion statements and replace that with the sense of well-being that comes from buying environmentally friendly products. Only if every one of us does this, will society become truly sustainable.
We hope you’ve enjoyed the blog. If you would like to read more about the fashion industry, check out our full range of research.
Until next time.
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