THE CHALLENGE OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND A COOPERATIVE APPROACH TO PRODUCTION.
TWO ETHICAL VISIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF FASHION. MITIGATING THE INDUSTRY’S ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT WHILE ADVANCING THE SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES. ALL THANKS TO A PASSIONATE GENERATION OF DESIGNERS.
“We are the last ones who can turn global warming around.” ACTION IS REQUIRED and many young talents are doing their part.
Until recently hardly anyone was talking about fashion and climate change. Fashion and waste? Yes. Fashion’s need for transparent supply chains? Absolutely. But carbon emissions? Not so much. But now the industry’s links to global warming are (excuse the pun) a hot topic. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s “A New Textiles Economy” report, in 2015 “greenhouse gas emissions from textiles production totalled 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent”. That’s more than aviation and maritime shipping combined. Action is required. In November, at Business of Fashion’s Voices event, Stella McCartney announced that the United Nations Fashion Industry Charter would detail 16 commitments to support the Paris Agreement goals. Full details were unveiled at COP24 in Katowice, Poland, on 10 December 2018, with 43 companies including Adidas, Burberry, Hugo Boss and Kering Group pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent by 2030, and aim for net zero by 2050. McCartney calls climate change “undoubtedly one of, if not, the biggest challenge of our lifetime”. Many young designers are already thinking this way, especially in the edgy London scene. “My generation has such a passion to address this issue,” says avant-garde upcycler Matthew Needham, who titled his apocalyptic Central Saint Martins graduate collection “Man and His Man-Made Future”. Needham uses trash for materials, some of it textile waste, the rest bits of junk collected off the street. “It’s about opening people’s eyes to look beyond superficiality at process: what are we making, how are we making it, and why? For me, considering resource use, waste and global warming is an essential part of my practice.” “I think about climate a lot,” says another CSM grad Patrick McDowell, reminding us that 80 per cent of a garment’s environmental impact is decided at the design stage. “I try to prevent my fabrics travelling around the world as much as possible,” says the 23-year-old. He’s working with the Hainsworth mill in Yorkshire. “They have a vertical process. British wool comes in from the sheep and leaves the factory as finished cloth; it’s all done on site, which cuts down its carbon footprint massively.” McDowell also works with local makers, “as close to my London studio as possible in order to keep emissions down”, and is vigilant about reducing textile waste. “I use second standard or unwanted cloth, and I use the offcuts to make my bags,” he explains. Menswear designer Bethany Williams, 28, was initially reluctant to enter the industry because of its wastefulness, but her love for textiles and firm belief in fashion’s power to change lives won out. “I love taking something that’s discarded and turning it into something beautiful,” she says of her luxurious take on upcycling. “My work is about making a positive difference to the environment and people. I don’t think you can do one without the other.” For Williams, climate action is a non-negotiable. “We are the last ones who can turn this around before it’s too late.” Sindiso Khumalo trained in London but is now based in Capetown. Known for her vibrant original prints, she won the 2015 Who is on Next? Dubai contest and has worked with the Ethical Fashion Initiative to present her work in Milan. “My aim is to cut my carbon emissions so if I get an order from Italy, I try to produce that [close by] in London. If I’m dealing with a shop in Johannesburg, I produce it in Africa.” Eco-minded global localism! Why not? •