Olivia Harrington-Lodge

The subject ‘People’ is a very crucial part of the fashion business. We as people are what obtain the fashion business. Customers for stores, models for companies, workers for brands etc. As people, we keep the fashion business running. 

When we think of people we think of Diversity, leading to ideas of involvement and inclusion. Diversity allows us to welcome different cultures and lifestyles into our daily lives. It enhances creativity leading to better decision making and problem solving. “Diversity can improve the bottom line for companies, leading to unfettered discoveries and breakthrough innovations.” (K.W Phillips, Greater Good Magazine, 2017) 

The involvement of Diversity is where anyone can feel empowered. We meet new people everyday, each of us has a different background and history. As suggested from K.W Phillps, new knowledge and creative views can lead to “unfettered discoveries and breakthroughs”. This suggestion is vital for businesses within the fashion industry to explore with a variety of ideas, experiment with new materials and to learn the histories within different cultures. 

Fig 1: 

Breakthru Beverage Group. (2018) Diversity and Inclusion: Delivering Change in the workplace.

Figure 1 suggests the whole idea of inclusivity and involvement of individuals from anywhere, creating change and a safe space for anyone from any type of background, creating change in their daily work environment and creating a better workspace. 

A topic which is very important within the focus of the subject ‘People’ is Gen Z. Gen Z are ourselves. They say the age group range for Gen Z is from the years of 1977-2012. “Gen Z in particular differs from the generations of shoppers before them: they are the first to grow up as digital natives – surrounded by technology and the internet all their lives.” (Graeme Moran, Drapers, 2022) 

This idea indicates the ease Gen Z has with new technologies and developments compared to millennials, how they have grown up relying on this fast speed network way of living. The birth of fashion through social media currently is probably the biggest way for brands to promote themselves. 

“Do they prefer to shop online or in stores?”, “Do they actually care about sustainability”- Moran, associate editor, Drapers, 2022. Editor Graeme Moran has suggested these ideas about Gen Z. A lot of ecommerce brands have a persona of not being sustainable. However, there have been contributions of these brands starting to become more ‘sustainable’ and ‘ethical’. But, the truth that lies behind these ideas, we may not know.  PrettyLittleThing have created ‘PLT Marketplace’. As shown in figure 2, this is a place where people can buy and sell clothes. This network focuses on the 3 R’s of reselling, re-wearing and reusing. As the generations go onwards, following certain trends has become a lot more popular, this could be anything from watching certain tv shows, to fashions choices and lifestyle habits. Love Island’s very own Indiyah Polack, has become the newest ambassador for the PrettyLittleThing Market Place. By incorporating popular influencers into these ethical brand choices, this will bring the attention of Gen Z alongside other generations to start making more organic and sustainable choices within fashion and purchase preloved and recycled items.

Fig 2: PrettyLittleThing. (2022) PrettyLittleThing Market Place

Neal Stephenson’s 1992 novel ‘Snow Crash’ introduced us all to the Metaverse, an idea which since has highly developed and progressed within everyday life. The metaverse is almost like a second life, a digital world combined with our normal life. The creation of virtual reality and the internet have made this possible. “61.1% of Gen Z say they are familiar with the concept of the Metaverse compared to 39.5% of millennials.” Moran, associate editor, Drapers, (2022).  The Metaverse is such a big opportunity for brands, as figure 3 displays ‘Fortnite x Balenciaga’. By 2024, the Metaverse is estimated to be an $800bn (£627bn) market opportunity.

One of the four pillars we are looking at within fashion business is Planet. Sustainability is key to keeping our planet healthy. Being sustainable means recycling things when we can, buying from companies which are sustainable, refusing waste and saving money. Keeping this up allows our planet to maintain its ethos and execution for a longer life span.

Maintaining our planet’s health and wellbeing means needing a plan to redesign and refurbish our global system. The Circular Economy is that plan. The Circular Economy is how we manage our resources in any type of production. It’s ‘waste free’ and ‘regenerative’ with recyclable materials.

Fig 1. This smart design will allow us to reduce the cost of living and regenerate the landscapes that we depend on for survival.

The SDG number 6, Clean Water and Sanitation, performs well within the Circular Economy displaying the importance of Water Sanitation and Consumption. It aims to ensure availability and sustainable water management. The consumption of water used within the fashion industry is at such a high volume, however the Circular Economy can change this.

The foothills of Lake Geneva are essential. This is where Plateau Gavot is produced, the water catchment for Danone’s Evian brand. Producing 1.6 billion bottles of mineral water annually, Danone is seeming to preserve the purity of the natural water supply. Grasslands, Wetlands and other activities on the land need this supply. With Evian’s clear objective of maintaining the ‘natural mineral water’ these areas cannot be treated. (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2021)

‘The Sustainable Fashion Glossary’ suggests how textile production takes the most water from countries who are suffering from scarce water sources. Research estimates that 4 billion people (half the global population) face severe water scarcity for at least 1 month a year, almost 50% of these live in India and China (Conde Nast, 2020.)     

Another source suggested from ‘A Practical Guide to Sustainable Fashion’ suggests how an ‘excessive amount of water is used in the cultivation of cotton during textile treatments and processes and in laundering’ (A.Gwilt, 2020.)

Levi Strauss & Co is aiming to make a positive change in reducing their water consumption. As of 2020, Levi have managed to save 13 billion litres of water by maximising their water efficiency and introducing their ‘Water<Less’ processes which started up in 2011. Alternatively, Levi’s ‘Recycle and Reuse’ guidelines progress to recycle more than 20% during manufacturing.

https://www.levi.com/GB/en_GB/features/sustainability

Levi’s, 8th August 2022

References:

Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2021. (Watershed protection programme that builds value, resilience and natural capital: Danone-Evian) https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-examples/watershed-protection-programme-that-builds-value-resilience-and-natural

Conde Nast, 2020. (The Sustainable Fashion Glossary) https://www.condenast.com/glossary/environmental-impacts-of-fashion

A.Gwilt, 2020. (A Practical Guide to Sustainable Fashion) https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/reader.action?docID=6234061

Levi Strauss & Co, 2022. (Building a Better, More Sustainable Future) https://www.levi.com/GB/en_GB/features/sustainability

One of my favourite fashion brands is H&M. I have always loved shopping there as their products are of a good price and of high quality. H&M as a brand have always kept up to date with trends and provide a wide range of styles and sizing for customers.

H&M are also a sustainable brand and talk a lot about their efforts and journey to become sustainable to help the people, animals and the planet overall. 

https://hmgroup.com/sustainability/circularity-and-climate/

I have attached a link which takes you to a page on the H&M group website. The page talks a lot about Biodiversity and Climate Change and how we can make the fashion world a better place to create change. H&M is very passionate about animal welfare strongly stating that ‘No animals are harmed during the making of their products.’ This is another reason why I am passionate about them as a brand as I am very much against companies that support the harm of animals for their clothing.

By 2025 latest, H&M wants to reach full agreement and only source from farms with good animal agriculture for all animal-derived materials.

By end of 2025, H&M claim all wool used in their products should come from farms certified to the Responsible Wool Standard.

H&M have strong views and passions for the idea of Gender Equality. In their own operations, women make up 76% of their global colleagues and 72% of their leaders.

H&M Group welcomes any measures that offer greater protection of workers like the International Labour Organization’s Convention 190 and Recommendation 206, which recognise the right of everyone to work in an environment free from violence and harassment. This shows how H&M as a brand value the idea of inclusion and diversity.

The engagement of Stakeholders for H&M is crucial. As a brand, they understand the importance of new ideas to promote their products. Social media is one way, as we many people know, However, they’re are many more alternatives to promoting a brand whilst creating change. One way H&M does this is by collaborating with partners and innovators such as WWF, ILO and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. 

Foundations like these are empowering and important for everyone to know about them. Brands like H&M collaborating with these foundations will help the Fashion world lead our planet into greater change.