Responsible by Design: A Beginner's Guide to Fashion Sustainability (Geraldine Wharry)

The Fashion industry strives to innovate and renew itself constantly yet our current system, with its race for the latest trends and revolving cycle of what’s hot and what’s not, promotes accumulation at a high cost to our social, economic and environmental equilibrium.

In 2014 when I first gave my presentation “Responsible by Design” at the British Library, my research found there was a growing need for sustainability and transparency in the fashion industry. Only 3 years later it is no longer a “growing need” and as such an option. It is a necessity.  

As humans, we must treat others and our planet with respect if we want to survive and as businesses our end user is now demanding transparency more than ever. There is increasingly little place to hide our dirty secrets in the age of the Internet and social media, as so strongly shown in the recent Balenciaga scandal involving the unfair treatment of models during an AW17 casting call.

As we sit at the cusp of a new era in ecology and treatment of workers, our civilisation has the opportunity to redefine itself in philosophical, technological and sustainable ways never before seen. It is a choice that can no longer be postponed for future generations who will hopefully not remember us as the generation who did nothing when there was still time to fight climate change. 

Global warming is a reality, backed by scientific facts. As I write this article, California’s perpetual wildfires are on the rise because of not delayed monsoons but diminishing monsoons due to warming oceans, the most recent fires have 20,000 natives evacuating the land as the fire burns through California.

Sustainability has been and is on the rise. Innovations are ever more progressive and the mentality of empathetic consumerism is growing in the market. In this article, we will cover what it means to be transparent as a business with informative examples and resources for those of you who would like to follow sustainable principles but are not sure where to start.
Here is our edited report and a guide to start becoming a sustainable business. 

What will we address?
/ Transparency
/ The cost of climate change
/ Good Business
/ Strategic solutions
/ Resources
 
For the full report and guidelines visit our blog REVOLVE EVOLVE and sign up. It's free and will give you insights on emerging trends and our research at the studio.
 
Copyright Geraldine Wharry



We provide Future Insights, Creative and Design direction for the style industries through consulting, courses and trend research.
 
Contact us at [email protected] and find out more here.