Sustainable Brands to Watch
Sustainability has become one of the most central questions of fashion. DAZED Media's recently released trend report states that 70% of Generation Z consumers believe a brand must have a point of view to be successful, and 67% believe they must adhere to sustainability practices. More than ever, consumers are interested in holding brands accountable to standards that are both sustainable and ethical. But what does this look like in practice?
In an interview with Marie Claire, Orsola de Castro, Founder of Fashion Revolution, an organization that educates brands on sustainability practices, remarked, "There is no fully sustainable brand at this time. There are certainly brands that are embedding sustainability in the way they design and think.”
Generally, brands that adhere to sustainability or ethical practices prioritize the planet, guarantee fair treatment of workers across the supply chain, and minimize use of animal products. Beyond these measures, commitments to regenerative fashion and circularity have become increasingly prominent among brands.
Vivienne Westwood
Westwood has long been recognized as an advocate for climate justice, but in the past, application of those values to her own brand have been criticized regarding continued use of petroleum-based materials in garment production and lack of transparency around labor conditions and carbon emissions. However, in recent years, Westwood has gradually introduced more eco-friendly materials and production standards into her brand. In her SS20 collection, t-shirts, trousers, hoodies, and sweaters were composed of organic cotton, linen, and biodegradable flax, and featured cellulose acetate and viscose generated from responsibly managed forests with reforestation programs. Additionally, from SS17 to SS20, Westwood slashed the number of pieces in her menswear collection by 32 percent, abiding by her own “quality over quantity” approach.
Stella McCartney
Engaged in the conversation around sustainability since 2001, Stella McCartney is a brand that was premised on certain tenets of sustainability, like fully vegan collections. However, the brand has since expanded to encompass many more objectives falling under the sustainability umbrella, such as lengthening the life of products (such as a hook-and-closure, glueless sneaker line), supporting consignment and rental markets and encouraging conversations around circularity (through a partnership with TheRealReal in 2018), and experimenting with new materials (including mushroom faux leather, recycled plastic sourced from the ocean, and a fur substitute derived from corn).
Gucci
Gucci’s new circularity initiative, Gucci Off the Grid, is a unisex capsule collection made using regenerated, organic, or recycled elements. The fashion industry has long relied on synthetic fabric blends, which are virtually unrecyclable. The garments that populate Gucci Off the Grid are made from materials such as regenerated nylon (Econyl), recycled polyester, and recycled plastic. Hardware on pieces like sneakers and handbags are made from recycled steel or brass. The collection is a subset of Gucci’s broader project, Gucci Circular Lines, which seeks to redirect fabric sourcing from raw materials to regenerative options.
GANNI
Founder of GANNI, Nicolaj Reffstrup, began their 2019 sustainability report: “Let me start off by saying, we don’t identify as a sustainable brand, we never have, and we don’t know if fashion consumption can ever be sustainable but we go to work everyday and try to do better.” It is this candid honesty and willingness to evolve that has made GANNI a beacon for transparency in sustainability practices. Along with offering insight on carbon footprint and supply chain traceability, GANNI also publicly releases the fraction of annual net profit spent to achieve environmental responsibility, and calls on other brands to do the same.
Pyer Moss
Riding a tidal wave of success, Pyer Moss designer Kerby Jean-Raymond shocked the fashion establishment when he announced that he would not be showing a collection for FW 2019. This move signalled Jean-Raymond’s distinct perception on what the role of fashion out to be, which materializes in Pyer Moss as more of an “art project” versus a traditional brand. In both production and inspiration, Pyer Moss could be categorized as sustainable. Part of his decision to not show at New York Fashion Week was informed by requiring more time for a thoughtful, developed message to impart, moving away from a culture of disposability and haste. His spring 2020 collection was produced through a partnership with Resonance, a vertically integrated initiative that supplies designers with an alternative to the wasteful, standardized production model. The garments are made to order, with no surplus inventory, and customary deadlines are reduced to a matter of weeks, allowing brands maximized time and flexibility in conceptualizing collections.
GROUND COVER Footwear
From STAATSBALLETT’s Avery Ginsburg arrives GROUND COVER, a line of 8-eye durable boots composed of waste produced from commercial pineapple farming and completely free of animal products, informed by Ginsburg’s veganism. After the material has been upcycled, the residual biomass is exerted in the form of fertilizer or biofuel. The genderless sillouette features a textured upper dyed with GOTS certified pigments, waxed cotton laces affixed with steel aglets, and a removable cork insole.