New companies are created every day, but nowadays just having a good business model is not enough to either survive on the competitive market nor satisfy your customers. Sustainability in your company’s core is essential and unavoidable.
But especially in the fashion industry it is very hard to offer environmentally friendly products customers are willing to pay for. Sustainable fashion is not made easy. Some have found a way to market their products so customers want to spend the extra dollars to help the fashion industry become more sustainable. This article includes interviews with experts from such companies and discusses what is necessary for a circular future in the fashion industry.
Fashion brands the industry should look up to
Being conscious of your behaviour as a customer has become very important. Nevertheless, many companies exploit this wish to help the environment by greenwashing their brands. The average customer often struggles to see which brands are honest with them. Still we know of some companies who very much take the topic of climate change seriously and offer products which are truly either sustainably produced, second hand, repaired or even completely circular.
Monica Oliart, Head of Collaborations at ECOALF told us more about the brand’s current projects and future goals.
What are you focusing on right now?
Our main objective right now is to achieve everything possible to reach the purpose of Net Zero in 2030.
How do you see sustainable fashion impacting the fashion industry?
We believe that there is a long journey to raise awareness in the final consumer but that the solution will be to replace fast fashion with slow fashion and the use of sustainable materials.
Do you think a circular fashion industry is a realistic goal?
Yes, it is definitely possible… but one of the most important aspects is creating timeless and quality pieces to extend their life cycles….and measuring the entire chain of raw materials used in the creation of the garment. Ecodesign for circular fashion is fundamental since it depends on that the garment can be recycled again at the end of its life and thus be able to speak of a circular fashion.
One final thought on the topic of circular fashion?
The most important phase is the design phase… designing items that can easily be recycled…Not all material mixtures can be recycled and not all materials are sustainable, so this step is crucial so that at the end of its life cycle the garment can be circular, that is, recycled and have a second life again.
Conclusion on Sustainable brand forerunners
Producing circular fashion is a very hard, complicated and expensive task but for sure doable as Patagonia and Ecoalf show. Changing the fashion industry is without a doubt dependent on both the companies and the consumer. There is no way that only one of them changes as the two are so interconnected. Brands like Patagonia and Ecoalf offer sustainably produced fashion but of course this has a higher price tag. Therefore Mirjam and Monica hope for a change in customers mindsets so we can work towards a circular future in the fashion industry. Thanks for your input.
We love sustainable fashion !
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