THE SUSTAINABILITY SERIES

Article 1 of 5

This is the 1st article in a series of 5 articles where I will discuss the growing importance of adopting SUSTAINABLE ways of working in today’s world. It seeks to explore the various aspects of the apparel industry and how we can overall become sustainable.

In this article I will discuss

• what is sustainability?
• sustainable development
• challenges in adoption of a sustainable development model
• and greenwashing

LET’S BEGIN BY UNDERSTANDING WHAT SUSTAINABILITY IS?

The Cambridge dictionary defines SUSTAINABILITY as

“causing little or no damage to the environment and therefore able to continue for a long time”

Today it has moved beyond the dictionary. It is a sentiment that resonates with one and all. It can be defined as a set of processes and actions through which companies can minimise their impact on natural resources. As a result, maintaining an ecological balance, and quality of life for the generations to come.

“We are already using resources beyond the earth’s replenishment capacity. In 2020, Earth Overshoot Day lands on August 22, marking the date when humanity has exhausted nature's budget for the year”

Over the past decades, businesses and consumers alike, have indulged in unsustainable practices and can now see the impact of those on our environment. With growing awareness amongst consumers and businesses, today organisations have a clear task at hand, creating a sustainable environment for the future. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT must become an important agenda for fashion companies.

WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?

The most frequently quoted definition of Sustainable development was given by the BRUNTLAND REPORT:

“Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of a the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

In other words, the idea of sustainable development is to ensure

• minimal or no adverse environmental and social impact,
• resource availability for the future generations and
• successful businesses which are able to generate a healthy return for all the stakeholders.

When we look into the Fashion & Apparel industry, some alarming facts surface. It is hailed as one of the most polluting industries in the world. It produces 10% of all humanity’s carbon emissions, uses one tenth of all water used industrially (2% of all freshwater extracted globally), uses 8000 synthetic chemicals & releases 20% of water pollution worldwide.

This industry is responsible for incremental negative impact on land, water, air and biodiversity throughout the product life cycle. Furthermore, at the end of life, the apparel merchandise leads to another rising challenge of waste ending up in landfills & micro plastic accumulation in oceans.

As the effects of these practices are felt by everyone, stakeholders have started gauging the performance using the additional lens of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) and expect the businesses to grow while ensuring a sustainable tomorrow.

With the growing awareness amongst consumers, the fashion companies and brands are expected to be more transparent, sincere and aware about their net impact on the ecological balance and take conscious business decisions.

Least to say, the brands face multiple challenges in adopting sustainable development as a vision and mission.

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FACED BY THE COMPANIES IN ADOPTING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?

1. Need to redefine the objective of Value Creation

First, I believe that, as a concept everyone understands “sustainable development approach” but only a few are able to relate it with the day to day business operations or are able to align it with their vision.

The prime reason for this is the flawed conventional concept of doing business; creating value for shareholders, as against all stakeholders.

2. Different understanding of various stakeholders

Second, is the underlying challenge of different lens worn by the different stakeholders in the industry.

Shareholders & investors are concentrating on short term and long term economic growth, the product and design teams are focused on matching the requirement of fast fashion while the sourcing team is pushed for OTIF in minimum cost.

“In few of my discussions with these stakeholders in the past I have realised that some of these stakeholders may have an intent to contribute for Sustainable development but due to non-alignment of others they look the other way.” 

3. Top management commitment

In the midst of this, what can be called sustainable adds to the problem. This is more profound in cases where the top management is not fully committed to the concept of sustainable development and/or is not driving the agenda.

All the above leads the discussion of Sustainable Development to Cost vs Investment, leaving little room for exploring long term risk and opportunities and focusing only on short term risks.

Therefore, to adopt a sustainable development approach, organisations require a cultural and behavioural shift. It will require redefining the concept and goals of doing business to ensure value is being created for all the stakeholders and not just the shareholders. Organisations that do not start this transition today, may not exist tomorrow.

A few mature organisations have acknowledged the need for sustainable practices and modified their business models. These companies recognise that making themselves sustainable will ensure they stay relevant going forward.

However, in my understanding, a larger percentage of the organisations are still trying to maximise profits through the conventional vision and approach. In such a scenario, the onus of adopting a robust sustainability vision lies on everyone. From the promoters to business owners, to designers, to store managers, each & everyone has to do their bit.

When we look around, there are very few brands which have adopted sustainability as a means to the end. The likes of Patagonia, Mud jeans & a few others are leading by example, however a large set of the brands are struggling to find the right strategy.

In fact, with the growing demand in sustainable products by consumers, many have resorted to GREEN WASHING.

WHAT IS GREENWASHING?

It is the process of conveying a false impression about how a brand’s products are environmentally friendly. It misleads the consumers to feel better about their purchases through these false claims.

Today’s environmentally conscious consumer wants good quality and trendy clothing, while on a budget. This pressure on the brands has led to the rise of green washing as a business trend. Products are green washed through a process of renaming, rebranding, or repackaging them.

For example, organisations might make claims that their products use less water or have organic content but the shift may not have happened or would have impacted only a fraction of the merchandise.

Although some of the environmental claims might be partly true, companies engaged in green washing typically exaggerate their claims in an attempt to sell more. Further, green washing does not allow the customers to make the right choice and undetected, it provides further drive for businesses to look away from actual sustainable practices.

Recently, many popular fast fashion brands like H&M, Uniqlo, Lululemon were criticised for indulging in this growing business trend. Both, their understanding of what sustainable is and inaccurate communication about the sustainability quotient of their products was highlighted. Some critics also believe that these brands are only trying to make money off this trend & do not see sustainability as a need.

Though there are many arguments from each side, I am sure some of these brands are genuinely making an effort to adopt sustainable practices.

CONCLUSION

To conclude, I would simply say that,

• Organisations must chalk out a clear Sustainable Vision and effectively trickle it across the different groups of stakeholders on a regular basis.
• Sustainability initiatives have to be adopted and driven down by the top management.
• All stakeholders across the hierarchies have to be pushed to adopt this as part of the organisational culture.
• Further, it is equally important to clearly define costs and benefits, but be open to investment with multiple returns and new ideas, approaches and collaborations.
• Stakeholders should be educated on the concept of sustainability and should be incentivised to explore innovative ideas to develop / adopt sustainable material and/or practices.

No organisation is expected to become sustainable overnight but, are expected to have a clearly defined Vision to achieve this long term goal. With the increasing push from stakeholders, the organisations involved in Green washing are bound to lose their credibility while the others are bound to be rewarded.

Sustainability is the need of the hour & any suggestions/thoughts/opinions about this subject are welcome. I urge all the readers to leave their comments in the section below to make this article a multi perspective dialogue.

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