Sustainability

Until recent years I have shied away from the subject of sustainability or lack thereof within the fashion industry. I found it such an insurmountable and scary issue. Of course I have been aware of the way things are, the changes in peoples shopping habits, attitudes towards clothing and the fashion industry itself have changed beyond recognition in my lifetime. I’ve seen the documentaries and read the headlines; I just mean that beyond that I had not investigated the subject of climate change or the environmental or human impact of the fashion industry in any real depth.

Image: WGSN Insider.

With a 24 year gap in my fashion education, aside from the technological advances that have infiltrated every area of life, at degree level I can honestly say there was absolutely no difference in the way fashion was taught except for the issue of sustainability. In 1995 on my HND we as a new generation of designers were not asked to contemplate our responsibility to the welfare of the planet in any way. Now of course it is central to every aspiring designers practice to consider the environmental consequences of their design choices. But we are often asked to do that without fully understanding the full implications of the subject. Within the course content on my degree last year, sustainability education began and ended with a two-hour lecture on the subject and having spoken to students from universities across the country and even around the world it seems this was not unusual.

Image: Fashion Revolution.

With learning outcomes and subsequent grading dedicated to the subject of sustainability I was genuinely surprised there was not a greater portion of lectures dedicated to our education in this area or any environmentally conscious practices evident within our workspaces. I’m not saying this to shirk my responsibility or that of the individual, it just seemed such a wasted opportunity to engrain more ethical design practices onto budding designers. The results of which were a group of students myself included, paying lip service to sustainability but doing little to address the issues in any meaningful way.

This is something that I wanted to change during my masters and so I have grasped every opportunity to learn from those working within the textile and fashion industries as well as participating in numerous online courses and workshops on the subject of sustainability.

I have always been sceptical of sustainability claims made by certain sectors of the fashion industry but what I have learnt has left me more fearful than ever. Facing the true scale of the problem, part of me feels that any effort on my part to address the issue is futile, as a one woman, designer maker, what can I possibly do to make the slightest difference? I am however more determined than ever to at least try to do so, and in some respects what I have learnt makes my project seem even more relevant.

Image: Fashion Revolution.

Certainly, in terms of the motivation behind my masters, as discussed in my proposal, garment longevity has been cited as one of the most important methods of reducing the fashion industries impact on the environment and my project seeks to promote that. However, as a fashion designer I also feel that it is imperative to examine my own working practices to ensure that I am adhering to the values I wish to promote. And with a penchant for particularly large dresses I know from past experience that the creation of eveningwear can generate a phenomenal amount of fabric waste.

I also know from running a textile-based design business for many years, that the cost of labour is usually more expensive than fabric, resulting in cutting methods which prioritise speed over waste reduction, a practice that has to change.

I am also aware that it could be argued that the dress I will eventually make could be constituted as waste fabric itself. I’m not designing it to be worn and sold to a client. I don’t know anybody who would want to wear it to a red-carpet event and if things don’t change significantly with covid, this time next year, we might not even have a show for me to display it at either. In which case is there really any point me even having a final party frock as originally intended, which could use up metres of fabric and potentially not be seen by anyone beyond our course? I have to say there are aspects to my project that feel incongruent with my intentions.

But then even Greenpeace send out letters and a member magazine to raise awareness of their cause. And my dress is no different, it’s purpose is to instigate change which has the potential to save far more fabric than it will ever take to make it.

As a maker though it is my responsibility to hold myself to account and strive to develop less wasteful practices in the creation of any design work I carry out. So far on this project I have only sampled using fabric offcuts from a bridal shops but as I scale up my work I will need to consider other methods to reduce waste.

From what I’ve learnt about my investigations into sustainability or perhaps to use the more appropriate term of design responsibility, there are no easy straight forward solutions, there are pro’s and con’s to everything, manmade fabric v natural, digital printing v dyed, locally v internationally made. Maybe the only thing we can really do as individuals is to use our spending power wisely, making more informed purchasing choices, by asking questions not only about how our garments are made but also why we want to own them in the first place and how long do we envisage keeping them. And that is where I believe my project can really make a difference.