SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Yesterday, I watched along with many others around the world H&M and Vogue's talk on sustainability. Hosting the talk was Simon Collins: Dean of Fashion, Parsons the new school of design and on his panel ranged many influential fashion professionals from Jasmin Malik Chua, Managing Editor for Ecounterre to Helena Helmersson, Global head of sustainability for H&M. The topic of sustainability was a much needed investigation. I was delighted to hear such commercial leaders tackling the complex issue and taking it seriously. If more companies and brands collaborated and discussed together the future of retail more often, I think sustainability in commodities would be reached faster and more efficiently. But if this is the beginning of such a snow ball effect then let it be. Sustainability is a welcomed theme in a very unhealthy industry where our relationship to fast fashion and mass consumption has become too extreme, in order to be sustainable. I felt that not many of the important questions were answered effectively - no-one really answered how can we be sustainable and how are we starting such sustainable notions in terms of the entire industry. However, there were some interesting suggestions for instance a collaborative initiative, revolving around the key players in the world of fashion joining forces and implementing sustainable methods. Another was making sustainability more trendy and appealing - thus making it become a trend in its own right and consequently create a following. The idea of mend was brought up by Jasmin Malik Chua who thought we had lost the ability to fix things in the modern age. Although sewing skills are arguably essential and could encourage people to keep their garments for longer - I don't think it would stop them buying excessively. As excessive consumption has become a lifestyle and if we want to change that it will take us changing our behaviour with fashion. One point that kept resurfacing was the significance of the consumer and how largely they contribute to sustainability. However, checking out the messaging feed alongside the live video stream showed how less supporting the consumers were to have the blame put on them. Both sides are right; the consumer does need to demand a difference - if everyone didn't buy any clothes from any brands or retailers, even just for a few days, then the companies would need to sit up and listen. Us buying into the brands so often is only fuelling their profits and at the end of the day that is all the majority are in it for. On the other hand, if brands reduced their stock and the amount of collections they released in a year, consumers couldn't over buy. So, I think for real change, we all need to work together. But like many of the panellists said, most consumers go for the easy option and want to be rewarded for their help, and so we need a strategy that gives consumer an initiative to buy more sustainably and also makes more sustainable options the easier choice.  This was a great concept and made me feel more positive towards the future of commodities, I think the more we talk about sustainability and the more educated we are on their benefits, the more we will demand and desire them. Hopefully, the next generation of designers, artists, creatives and marketeers will be the driving force to such a difference in the retail landscape.