Do ethical values make sense in the apparel system? For years “buy-use-dispose” has been the life cycle of most items purchased by consumers. Something is going to change: new virtuous and more circular economic models becomes relevant, also for the business aims.
By Roberta Redaelli
«This collection is our reaction to the complicated historical moment. We have worked with honesty to create useful clothes for people, representing our idea of today’s reality. This is the value of fashion today» said Miuccia Prada, the lady of fashion, at the end of the men’s fashion show at Milan Fashion Week F/W 2023, bringing on the catwalk a fashion with a meaning and a sense. For years “buy-use-dispose” has been the life cycle of most items purchased by consumers, leading to a situation in which overproduction and excessive consumption have become widespread practice, negatively affecting ecosystems and biodiversity. At this historical moment, the push towards new virtuous and more circular economic models becomes fundamental: a need felt in a particular way in relation to the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine, that have prompted reflection towards more respectful paradigms not only of the environment.
Transparency is therefore the first but fundamental step towards a revolutionary change in favor of a safer, fairer and cleaner world fashion industry.
The consumer evolves into consumer-author in the process of co-creation of the finished product, involving the entire supply chain. Brands become promoters of a revolution that poses inevitable challenges such as sustainability and material ethics, the vision of a circular economy, the reuse of production waste and the recycling of clothing and accessories.
Fashion is at a turning point (Wix pic).
As Sarah Ditty, Policy Director of Fashion Revolution, states: «Transparency in itself will not solve the problems of fashion, but can provide an important window on the conditions in which our clothes are manufactured». Transparency is therefore the first but fundamental step towards a revolutionary change in favor of a safer, fairer and cleaner world fashion industry. We are creating clear labels - speaking - that help the consumer to understand what he is actually buying, because currently the only mandatory information is the symbols of washing and composition. Consum-authors, in particular Millennials and Generation Z, are increasingly expressing the preference for brands with a social purpose and, perfectly aware of the demands of sustainable fashion, buy only garments made according to its standards and do not make problems if the object is more expensive than the others. The Total Look makes room for personal and combinatorial style, inter-seasonal, which combines fluidity with the claim “no gender no season”, emphasizing the durability of the garments. Fashion abandons short and frenetic cycles and proposes a more human-scale temporality that leaves room for the quality of natural fabrics.
A more environmental addressed sensitivity is growing in the fashion system (Wix pic)
Sustainability, transparency and traceability of the production process, quality and craftsmanship - which justify the price - are the priorities to design a true democracy in the fashion system. And this must bring not only those who produce fashion, but also those who buy fashion to reflect seriously starting from the concept of “democratic fashion” so flaunted by some media. We return to the idea of a sartorial fashion made to last with a series of creations, a few pieces, that can live all seasons, becoming an investment to be handed down between generations.
Consum-authors, in particular Millennials and Generation Z, are increasingly expressing the preference for brands with a social purpose and, perfectly aware of the demands of sustainable fashion, buy only garments made according to its standards and do not make problems if the object is more expensive than the others.
Versatile garments also in the context of use. The thread, therefore, is a synthesis and living testimony of a culture dedicated to the beauty of the true Made in Italy where every garment is a statement of uniqueness, creativity and craftsmanship, because owning a unique garment in the world is a great way to take care of yourself. An “evolutionary” way of making couture, which skilfully mixes craftsmanship, innovation, respect and experimentation.
The carbon footprint of the textile industry is heavy and finding sustainable and transversal alternatives that reduce the CO2 accumulated along its supply chain is one of the most urgent and necessary challenges to make the entire fashion system compatible with the protection of the Planet and respectful of human dignity.
All this must translate in investments for instruments that trigger the optimization of the processes avoiding the wastage and rendering the supply chain traceable, in order to contribute in active way to a virtuous and transversal process of change. In the continuous redefinition of luxury fits fully the concept of luxury 4.0 of Orange Fiber, the first company in the world to patent, produce and market sustainable and silky-looking fabrics derived from the by-products of the citrus processing industry, which to be disposed of create greenhouse gases.
Revolutionary is also the entrepreneurial adventure of J. AND C. Cosmetics, the first circular economy of Como completely traced, in which cosmeceuticals the silk thread lives a second life interwoven with the care and beauty of the person. A virtuous example of the recovery of waste materials produced by the family company, which was intertwined with the development of a model of ethical entrepreneurship. In fact, the dimension of sustainability and attention to the care of people are central, to which is added the social commitment to health, which is realized in collaboration with the European Institute of Oncology in Milan.
Consuming less and better means returning to the true quality of the raw materials, people and companies involved, rethinking the production process that from linear must instead be regenerative.
© Rekh Magazine
Roberta Redaelli
Roberta Redaelli, Italian Sustainability Consultant, Content Creator, Translator and Web Content Editor. Educated at the Catholic University, she graduated in Foreign Languages and Literature with a specialization in Economics and Technique of business Communication (2020), then took the Master “Fashion and Sustainability: Understanding Luxury Fashion in a Changing World” by London Collage of Fashion and Kering (2021) and the Master “Fashion Values: Economy” by London College of Fashion (2021). As a continuation of her academic research started with the Master’s thesis entitled "Sustainability and communication as values in the luxury market", on 24 January 2021 she founded Made In Como, couture showcase of sustainability Made in Como. Not only a novelty in the social world, but also an important part of a wider editorial project, which aims to tell the excellence of Como in a sustainable way.
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