Sustainable fashion has always been something of a paradox. On the one hand, we are in the middle of a certifiable emergency: According to an analysis put out by The Global Fashion Agenda and Boston Consulting Group, fashion is one of the world’s most polluting industries (after electricity and heat, agriculture, and road transportation). On the other, sustainability is dull. It’s often ugly. It interrupts the dreamscape and the fantasy that fashion, especially luxury fashion, promises. It asks regular consumers to be more vigilant, more ascetic, more considerate, and feel more guilt than the brands selling to them. This is all while being okay with looking like a scarecrow in drawstring hemp pants and up-cycled patchwork jackets. Besides, what does it mean for a business — whose entire existence is based on getting people to buy more — to engage with sustainability, which seems to be hinged on getting people to consume less?
Let’s block ads! (Why?)
