The world of the Fashion Industry according to a report by Globe News Wire, experienced a fast decline from $35.8 billion to $31.4 billion, with Fast Fashion pioneering the disadvantageous movement. Experts say that the decline would be no less than -12.32% of Compound Annual Growth Rate, CAGR. With the Corona Virus being a major cause of this eye-opening jolt to reality, a lot of the industry’s consumers are now shifting targets to more sustainable practices. A few reasons are seen below:
Sustainable Fashion is way cheaper than Fast Fashion. Consumers are seeing the need to save amidst the impending economic backlash the pandemic has caused, and is still causing.
Supporting and full remuneration of local artisans are now a top priority.
As we battle the global pandemic that is the Corona Virus, climate decline and change in weather is also an issue we’re finally tendering to. More and more people are starting to see the need for eco-friendly practices, and sustainability provides just that.
As we move closer towards more sustainable practices especially in the Fashion ecosystem seeing that it covers for over 67% of industries in the world, producing a global GDP of $2.5 trillion, it is high time we began to ask very reasonable and obtainable questions like how abused is the word Sustainability, and to what end are its applications?
You see, most brands love to work on trends; and if we’re being honest with ourselves, sustainability and all its practices, have gotten a lot of attention these past few months. The latter ends of 2020 and the beginning of 2021 brought in a new wave of light towards the importance of sustainability and how valuable it is to continue practicing.
While this may be an extremely true fact especially seeing how brands have finally bought into the idea, we need to have certain conversations that includes how much of sustainability and its practices do we know, what exactly can we define it as, does it end on the borders of less is more, or on the shores of imbibing traditional techniques during production? Would you describe it as a practice of paying very substantial amounts to artisans, or using materials that are very eco-friendly, economical and/or biodegradable?
For all we know, this practice has been a long time one which we had to consciously or unconsciously abandon as a result of the trendy Fast Fashion — at least, the bulk of us did. Now that it seems as though it is starting to gain an entrance into the fashion scene, most brands seem to now be “endorsing” the ideas of it without a thorough understanding of its practices, probably because it’s trendy and might keep them relevant. It is suddenly now becoming a word that’s routinely misused and ideally misunderstood.
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Although some might argue that the intentions do not necessarily count so far the practice of sustainability progresses and continues, we have to be transparent about how intentional we want to be with it. Without total acknowledgement of the intents with which sustainable practices are being wrapped around, the abuse of its purpose is only a few blocks away.
In order to get out and very much overrun this misunderstanding, we have to be very intentional about getting involved in it. We have to make very conscious decisions about its practices and doings. We have to see and foresee the extremities of its practices. It’ll help us wholly grab its concepts about how it’s not just a trend, but an entire lifestyle.
Remember, you’re not just looking out for yourself, but for everyone. You’re not just about to greedily exploit the existence of a lifelong practice for brief pleasure. Remember, you’re using this process to conserve, preserve and support the continuous run of an entire culture. Sustainability is not just a concept, it is a conscious decision to practice a healthy lifestyle.
Now, in the words of Fashion Designer Gianni Versace, “Do not be into Trends. Do not make fashion own you, but you decide what you are and what you express by the way you dress and how you live. It’s an easy practice.”
Elvis Chris is a performance-driven Fashion, Culture and Lifestyle Journalist, with years of demonstrated track records in positively impacting organizations through building and strengthening strategic communications, producing digital marketing contents, performing market research and managing projects.
A creative content writer, creator, illustrator, and an overall lover of artistic fashion; currently using his skills to further explore the creative space, and give a voice to a culture he believes in.
