[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/02\/18\/sustainability-in-fashion\/#Article","articleBody":"Fashion is a $2.5 trillion industry, producing 10% of global carbon emissions, 20% of global wastewater, and vast biodiversity loss. Consumers are demanding change, forcing sustainability in fashion as a requirement, not a trend. Brands are transforming to create not only the clothing and accessories that turn heads, but also to create sustainable fashion that\u2019s rooted in environmental stewardship.\u00a0\nSustainability and fashion appear to be on opposing catwalks destined for collision. While ethical issues have been driving trends in fashion for years, when COVID-19 ground the industry to a near halt, it momentarily appeared as though the pursuits of a more purposeful fashion industry might be pushed to the back burner.\u00a0\nThat moment has passed.\nHow far passed? Well, there are folks calling for President Joe Biden to appoint a fashion czar, and it\u2019s a compelling argument.\nAs people spent 2020 and 2021 in varying states of quarantine and social unrest, they also became much more careful and conscious about another kind of spend: How they\u2019re spending their money.\u00a0\n \nCorporate sustainability: Making sustainability profitable + profitability sustainable\n   The desire to reduce waste across supply chains and enter a circular economy is driving organizations to embed corporate sustainability in their mainstream business.  \nNo photoshopping the facts: Stats reveal the current state of sustainable fashion\nThere\u2019s no filter that can mask the ugliness below the surface of the fashion industry when it comes to the hard data around sustainability, and consumers know it.\nPre-COVID, brands struggled with how to best stand out in a market that\u2019s always changing. Today, the change in consumer sentiment has made sustainable fashion a priority for both brands looking to emerge as well as the icons in the industry.\u00a0\nAccording to Kate Brandt, Google\u2019s Sustainability Officer, one 90-day report during the first half of 2020 showed searches around \u2018how to live a sustainable lifestyle\u2019 increased by more than 4,550%.\nBaratunde Thurston discussed the issues surrounding sustainability and fashion\u00a0 \u2013 while talking stark data \u2013 including the fact that 84% of the clothes in America end up in a landfill.\nFollowing are just a few of the facts with regard to sustainability and fashion: \nFashion is a $2.5 trillion industry and produces 10% of global carbon emissions.\n20% of global wastewater comes from dying and treating fabric.\n87% of the fibers used for clothing will end up incinerated or in landfills.\nMore than 60% of clothes are made from non-decomposable plastics.\nThe apparel industry is responsible for significant biodiversity loss on the planet.\nTo make matters worse, ethically questionable practices don\u2019t stop at eco-consciousness. Examples of poorly treated workers in the fashion industry are rampant.\u00a0\n \nGreen is the new pink: Sustainable fashion will rule the runway\n   Consumers are changing the face of the fashion industry via their demands for sustainability. Discover four ways retailers can rule the ethical runway.  \nDo a little turn on the catwalk: Retailers must adapt how they do business, or future generations won\u2019t give them their business\nWhile some experts wondered about the viability of ethical efforts in the wake of COVID-19, we\u2019re actually seeing that those efforts matter more. Thanks to tighter budgets, quarantine, and social justice awareness, consumers aren\u2019t only consuming less \u2013 they\u2019re much more thoughtful about where and how they spend their money.\u00a0\n\u201cThe time consumers have spent at home caused a radical reset to their priorities which will be reflected in their lifestyles going forward. As a result, they are going to look for brands they can trust and pay attention to the \u2018collective good,\u2019 most especially in product categories like fashion and beauty that are considered close to the body.\u201d (Forbes)\nThey\u2019re also feeling more personally connected to global issues than ever before.\nAccording to a McKinsey report, quarantine could be accelerating these already-established consumer behavior trends, \u201csuch as a growing antipathy toward waste-producing business models and heightened expectations for purpose-driven, sustainable action.\u201d And their latest State of Fashion report shows that sustainability is the second biggest opportunity for the fashion industry today, second only to digital.\u00a0\nConsumers continue to put pressure on fashion brands to make real, substantial changes. This is especially true of Millennial and Gen-Z shoppers, who were already leading the charge for more ethical practices.\nFor those of us who\u2019ve grown accustomed to a world of fast-fashion, it\u2019s hard to imagine eco-friendly alternatives taking down this long-standing Goliath. But sustainable fashion has been building steam for a while now \u2013 it\u2019s not the scrappy start-up industry it often gets portrayed as.\u00a0\nSome studies predict the sustainable fashion market will reach $9.81 billion by 2025, and $15.17 billion by 2030 \u2013 that\u2019s massive growth that can make an even bigger impact.\n \nWhen she talks, I hear the revolution: It\u2019s no longer enough to hold the line\n   Consumers are driving the next great social change via their wallets, and no amount of advertising, PR, or marketing budget can overcome the power of consumers committed to purpose.  \nSustainability in fashion: Examples of how brands and retailers are innovating\nThe lasting impacts of COVID-19 will continue to shape consumer behavior and shopping trends \u2013 and not just in fashion \u2013 shifts will be felt across the board.\nRetailers that have been planning to adapt to consumer demands for more ethical standards are now accelerating those efforts:\nH&M \u2013 often blamed as being one of the companies \u2013 if not the company \u2013 that started the entire fast-fashion issue has already been dedicating significant efforts to reversing the mindset. They\u2019ve earned top scores from eco-experts, and are working on a Green Machine that would allow people to recycle clothes like they do aluminum cans.\nCompanies are embracing D2C as a way to focus more clearly on delivering the precise expectations of consumers.\nMore and more brands are making very clear how they\u2019re approaching sustainability as part of their overall business strategy, with up-cycling, recycling, and carbon footprint concerns being built into the foundation of companies themselves.\n \nThe ethical supply chain: Definition, examples, stats\n   Consumers expect more from the brands they buy from, and an ethical supply chain is now a requirement. Learn what it means and how to get started.  \nShoppers \u2013 and investors \u2013 are paying closer attention than ever as to how companies are operating, and they\u2019ll continue to flock to brands who reflect their values. And for those organizations struggling to define the values and beliefs for which they stand, consumers will help them quickly figure it out.\nChase zero: Zero waste. Zero emissions. Giants don\u2019t need a footprint to make their mark. Run sustainably with the best.","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/02\/18\/sustainability-in-fashion\/#Article_Person","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/02\/18\/sustainability-in-fashion\/#Article_Person_ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/JennVandeZande_Profile_Pic_2018-1-150x150.jpg"},"name":"Jenn Vande Zande","sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/jennvzande","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jennvandezande"],"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/jenn-vande-zande\/"},"dateModified":"2021-11-05T02:26:59+00:00","datePublished":"2021-02-18T06:02:02+00:00","description":"Sustainability in fashion: $2.5 trillion industry produces 10% of global carbon emissions, 20% of global wastewater, vast biodiversity loss. Discover the future of sustainable fashion with examples and stats.","headline":"Sustainability in fashion: Industry teeters on ethical catwalk","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/02\/18\/sustainability-in-fashion\/#Article_ImageObject","height":"630","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/FCEE130_Fashion_HB-1200x630.jpg","width":"1200"},"mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/02\/18\/sustainability-in-fashion\/","name":"Sustainability in fashion: Industry teeters on ethical catwalk","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/","additionalType":"https:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/wiki\/Q1193236","description":"Relevant, timely information & analysis on commerce trends, both consumer-facing and B2B.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/themes\/hybris_foc\/assets\/images\/layout\/logo-new-2x.png?_=1","height":"96","url":"https:\/\/23x6xj3o92m9361dbu2ij362-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/themes\/hybris_foc\/assets\/images\/layout\/logo-new-2x.png?_=1","width":"500"},"name":"The Future of Customer Engagement and Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/a-call-for-a-better-experience\/id1479742201","https:\/\/twitter.com\/FutureOfCEC","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/groups\/4844282","https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/feed\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/"},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/02\/18\/sustainability-in-fashion\/#Article"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2021","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"02","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/02\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"18","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/\/02\/\/18\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Sustainability in fashion: Industry teeters on ethical catwalk","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/02\/18\/sustainability-in-fashion\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]