Will COVID-19 Draw Attention To Sustainable Fashion?
While 2019 was labeled as the “Year of Sustainable Fashion”, four months into the new decade and COVID-19 is transforming the entire definition of the fashion world in 2020 in crafting a new future of fashion. This doesn’t indicate that the fashion designer needs to shelve their sustainable fashion commitments, in fact, it’s time for the fashion industry to reflect on their processes, as well as the impact it does on the consumers and the planet. With creative projects slowing down as a result of the pandemic, it is essential than ever for famous fashion designers to adapt to the scenario and consider ways to change the definition of fashion post COVID, as well as looking at sustainability as a medium for this transformation. Right now the world has come to a standstill, but having less to work can ultimately drive creativity, as brands are unable to travel overseas for major campaigns due to lockdown, they may move from the glossy fast fashion culture to sustainability. This fashion blog is all about sustainable fashion and consumer’s behavior post COVID 19 and the lockdown.
What Exactly Is Sustainable Fashion?
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Sustainable Fashion[/caption]
After looking at the consequences of COVID-19 most of us would agree with the fact that our modern society has to develop in more sustainable ways. From recycling and upcycling to wearing second hand’s each of these practices in everyday life can save the Earth from a lot of dump. As quality has always been a part of the Indian culture, repeating of quality garments and using a fashion piece for a long time is the key to contributing towards sustainable fashion.
Sustainability as a process includes how we produce and consume garments, shoes, accessories, and other textiles. Before the outbreak, almost all major clothing brands were working in progress in the area of promoting sustainable fashion.
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Forms Of Sustainable Fashion[/caption]
Sustainable fashion is a highly debatable topic today, there are several forms of sustainable fashion. It is partly about producing clothes, shoes, and accessories in environmentally and socio-economically sustainable manners like paying fair wages to workers and providing them with a good quality working environment, and also about more sustainable patterns of consumption, which necessitate shifts in individual attitudes and behavior changing the way they perceive the future of fashion. After the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh in 2013, the incident which killed thousands of factory workers, the fashion world’s interest in sustainable as well as ethical fashion has grown phenomenally.
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Rana Plaza garment factory, Bangladesh[/caption]
Before The Outbreak, How Was The Sustainable Fashion Trend?
Since the Bangladesh factory incident, several organizations looked out to educate and brief consumers about the impacts the fashion industry has on the environment and encouraged the consumers to opt for better fashion choices.
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“you are never too small to make a difference”[/caption]
Before COVID-19 sustainability in fashion was at its peak, by then people understood that sustainable fashion is not just about wearing organic clothes, it has to be a way of life. Sustainability was an act of conscious living, “bigger is better” was no more encouraged by the consumers. In 2019 the wildfires raging in California, Russia, Brazil, and Australia was a warning about the climate crisis, which alerted the consumers to shop Sustainably. Last year sustainable fashion was on the fashion industry’s agenda, for many fashion brands and famous fashion designers it was the year of awakening, fashion woke up to sustainability in 2019, many fashion blogs reflected well on the topic and did their bit to spread awareness. There was even a series launched ‘Get Your Greens’ to coincide with Earth Day 2019. Greta Thunberg, the Swedish schoolgirl became the representative of youth, and led to a revolution by stating “you are never too small to make a difference”. Further Fashion Revolution announced that it too is declaring a climate emergency, fashion brands like H&M, Gap, Burberry, Levi’s, and Kering all pledged a target of 30 percent greenhouse gas emission reductions by 2030 to contribute to a better future of fashion.
How Does Sustainable Fashion Impact The Environment?
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Why Is Sustainable Fashion Important[/caption]
Many fashion blogs declare that the fashion industry accounts for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions, and around 20% of wastewater. The fashion industry inhales more energy than both shipping and aviation combined. Sustainable fashion can be a one in all solution to reduce all the harmful impacts the industry is causing to the environment over the years. It is a perfect alternative to fast fashion, Sustainability in fashion acts as the closest possible alternative that substitutes a more fulfilling lifestyle choice. It significantly lowers our impact on the environment, as under sustainable fashion we possess only that we use and we use all that we possess. Along with this, the other major factor is that eco-friendly fabrics and accessories last for a very long time. Organic materials keep on getting better with time and don’t need to be disposed of soon, which further creates less waste and prevents the disposed of garments to end up into the dumping grounds and add up to the pile of waste. Opting for sustainable fashion can also be seen as a ripple in the massive ocean of waste reduction.
Will Sustainable Fashion Flourish Post Lockdown?
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Sustainable Fashion[/caption]
Fashion world’s annual transparency scorecard comes at a timely moment this year since the COVID-19 pandemic has paused the entire world, consumers and designers both are taking time to re-evaluate their actual needs and plan not to return to this fast fashion buying and creating culture. Many fashion designers and fashion brands are looking for ways to a slower production along with focusing on sustainable fashion in the near future.
⁃ The fashion world will be moving from showrooms to digitally produced campaigns, this shift to digital will save buyers from traveling and reduce waste.
⁃ The consumption of fast fashion will experience a much-needed slowdown post-COVID and sustainable fashion brands will emerge the strongest in the long run.
⁃ Consumers by then will be adapted by living with less which will further make the designers push capsule wardrobes, focusing on the concept of ‘buy less, buy better.’
⁃ Sustainable and non-toxic fibers will be in demand as health will continue to be a top priority.
⁃ Holidaying will be local once the lockdown is over, and the consumer will look to natural and biodegradable fabrics.
⁃ Fashionable masks will be trending, consumers would be looking for the ones made from 100% organic.
How Should Workers Be Encouraged For Creating Sustainable Fashion?
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Fashion Workers[/caption]
In the last few years, fast fashion has taken over the entire fashion world and left carnage in its path. The fashion brands have been blamed for underpaying and overworking of their employees in factory settings. Ethical fashion is something just opposite to this, it covers issues such as working conditions, exploitation, fair trade, sustainable production, the environment, and animal welfare. Ethical fashion majorly refers to the treatment of people in the stages of raw material, processing, and manufacturing. Ethical and sustainable fashion go hand in hand, to encourage sustainable fashion, the most important thing is to operate ethically with the factory workers, following are the things one must keep in mind-
- Minimum age of employment
- Terms and conditions for employees: rates of pay, working hours, health and safety
- No discrimination, harsh or inhumane treatment
Would The Quality Of Fashion Garments Be Preferred Over Quantity Post Lockdown?
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People Protesting Against ‘Fashion Pollution’[/caption]
As lockdown continues, staying home is transforming people’s psychology towards fashion, be it the consumer or the fashion designer they are utilizing this time to think about new projects and the future, which will be tough, but obviously there will be a future. In the future what the industry and designers can see is that fashion won’t be about quantity anymore, but quality. Earlier it was all about quantity, the quantity of production, the number of shows, the number of samples, hence the quality wasn’t taken much into consideration. This slowdown has made the big fashion brands realize that so much production isn’t necessary at all. Until the time there is no vaccination for COVID, it can bounce back any moment, it’s challenging. The world is considering this virus as a sign from the planet, which we have ruined, and this can lead to the end of fast fashion.
Source: https://www.iknockfashion.com/will-covid-19-draw-attention-to-sustainable-fashion/
