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Last week the London College of Fashion’s Centre for Sustainable Fashion played host to people from a wide spectrum of backgrounds as part of its Fashioning the Future Conference. The conference was an opportunity for those interested in fashion, sustainability and ethical trade to get together and discuss the idea of sustainability in the fashion industry, and in Impactt’s opinion it’s fair to say it didn’t disappoint. Guests and speakers from academia, industry, the media, NGOs and many other organisations all contributed to a healthy debate on sustainability and helped to create a positive, atmosphere and a general feeling that the issue of sustainability in fashion could be tackled.

The day began with speeches and presentations from the key speakers; of particular interest was a presentation from Michael McDonough – an architect and designer of the ‘e-house‘ – named as the most ecologically aware structure in the world. McDonough argued that durability, rather than sustainability, should be the focus of designers, manufacturers and consumers. He argued that in order to assess durability and minimise the impact of consumption, the entirety of a product should be radically re-assessed to include consideration of the resources needed, the production techniques, the way it is used and the way it ends its life. This is an important point, but should perhaps be extended to include the social effects of production and consumption, rather than the just the environmental effects. For example, the concept of sustainability could incorporate paying a living wage to workers  in the same way that it involves eliminating polluting industrial processes from production; in the long-term they both have significant impact on the sustainability of supply.

Also of interest was a presentation by Anthony Kleanthous from the WWF who emphasised that the concept of sustainability needs to be a driver of business value;  by making sustainability essential to the brand, essential to consumers and by making sure that outputs can be accurately measured and evaluated. Unless companies see sustainability as a driver of business value, they will not be willing to embrace it fully.

The afternoon largely consisted of several break-out sessions discussing specific elements of the sustainability agenda and the fashion industry. The Better Lives group discussed the impact of fashion on those who buy it, those who make it, and on society as a whole. In particular, the themes of honesty, integrity, personal values and a commitment to the community kept re-emerging and the group concluded that integrating these characteristics into the supply chain is important if the fashion industry is to be made more sustainable.

The conference closed with a panel discussion during which some of the panellists were optimistic about the opportunities that sustainability presented, while some were less so; claiming that a business model based on a lower level of consumption was difficult to envisage. Overall, there was a general consensus as to the need for a more sustainable pattern of consumption and use of resources, especially with regard to the fashion industry.

There were some voices of dissent, however, and in particular there was a challenge to the importance of sustainability from Colin McDowell who noted that the sustainability discussion is very Western-centric, and that great swathes of the world aspire to having access to clean water, clothing and food, rather than a new designer handbag. Something to ponder for those interested in sustainability.