SUSTAINABILITY IS NOT JUST ABOUT USING RECYCLED FABRICS

I was Rachel Kan's guest on her podcast series last week.

She's the founder of the Ecosystem Incubator collaborative which is a space for sustainable and regenerative fashion professionals to help each other.

We talked about building a brand for longevity, economy of scale, access to sustainable fabrics as a small business and the future of the fashion industry.

Click here to listen to the full podcast.

Alternatively, here are some highlights:

Sustainability and integrity is very important for me and every decision that I make I weigh in the impact it has on my pledge towards creating a sustainable brand.

As would say Rachel, sustainability is a multi layered subject that involves much more than just using recycled or organic fabrics.

- Designing for longevity, with ingenious yet timeless styles and durable fabrics is to me a key step towards improving the industry.

- But it's also about quantities: reducing number of styles proposed to consumers each season, reducing over-production resulting in either waste or strong discount to sell out, are also key to even consider the industry to become sustainable

With Black Friday around the corner it is key to wonder: do we buy things just because they are on discount or because we really need them?

There is an argument that it's not fair if garments are expensive as not inclusive and I want to be mindful of this. I consider that my garments are not entry level prices as indeed they cost a lot to make (from high quality cotton to having extra protective layers integrated in the design, print with plant-based inks and being made by fairly paid workers in Europe), but the point is to buy less to buy better. And a way to be accessible to lower budget could be to develop the 2nd hand market. But a quality 2nd hand market, thanks to quality clothings, that people take care of so they can look as good as new.

- And finally, being sustainable for me is not just about environnement but also making sure that it is sustainable for the people involved in the process. And quite often this is forgotten. Especially with price of material increasing (because more process is required for recycled fabrics for instance) and big brands competing on price and reducing the cost of the make to compensate.

Overall, the fashion industry is changing with consumers becoming more aware of the damage caused to the planet and brands offering recycled or organic fabrics, but unless we reduce quantities, it is pointless and we risk to go from a fast fashion industry to a fast sustainable fashion industry where consumers will think they are contributing to the solution by purchasing « sustainable » garments they don’t need, at low cost, made on the other side of the world.