Alarmed by the industry’s slow pace of change in the context of the accelerating climate crisis, sustainability experts are emphasising renewed focus on key issues: the industry produces too much; has promulgated sustainability by improving existing production practices, and paying for them by raising prices beyond reach for average consumers; and has focused on incremental shifts at the cost of — and perhaps in distraction from — the deeper, larger-scale change that’s necessary.
As fashion’s leading sustainability voices look to the year ahead, they expect to see the industry begin to recognise that reality. Acting on it will require creativity, to be sure — something the fashion industry, perhaps more than any other, should be able to excel at.