On the 10th September 2019, ahead of London Fashion Week, The Collective by Lewis Silkin brought together leading minds from the fashion, live events and hospitality worlds to discuss the future of sustainable luxury and the challenges that need to be overcome in order to drive positive change.
Chaired by Olivia Pinnock, Freelance Fashion Journalist, Lecturer and Sustainable Fashion Advocate, the event centred around the paradox of luxury, greenwashing and general attitudes towards sustainable luxury.
Tackling the paradox of luxury
Philippa Wagner, Future Innovation Strategy Trends at Ennismore, who has worked with big brands such as Belmont, Estee Lauder and The North Face, spoke about the significant changes within the luxury and lifestyle industry. Luxury is moving away from excess and mass consumption and more towards valuing the experience of a product. Whilst excessive luxury is still key, this shift towards the appreciation of experience proves that luxury has more to offer than just overindulgence. Philippa suggested that for sustainability to succeed it must be democratised. The problem with this is that luxury is linked to the scarcity and rarity of a product, traditionally meaning only the richest could afford it. The concept of luxury needs to steer away from scarcity and more towards quality which would significantly reduce carbon emissions from manufacturing industries.
Francois Souchet, Lead of Make Fashion Circular at The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, who works with brands such as Nike and Burberry, spoke about the rising problem with fast fashion and returns policies being abused. Francois suggests that there could be a way for brands to stimulate and use this behaviour in a sustainable way. The clothing rental market is growing 10% a year which indicates consumer demand for options to rent products as opposed to buying them.
Teresa Moore, Director of A Greener Festival and Co-Founder of Green Operations Europe and Green Events & Innovations Conference, spoke about how renting could be a useful solution for consumers who are looking for single-use products. In festivals there is a real issue with abandoned tents, if glamping becomes mainstream rather than a scarce luxury, they wouldn’t have to worry about bringing or leaving a tent. Glamping used to be the pinnacle but now it’s becoming more common as people are moving from an ownership-based model to a rental model. This provides the option for consumers to experience luxury whilst boosting sustainability.
Another solution for redefining what it means to be luxurious is to celebrate products that are - or have the ability to become - vintage. Francois suggests products will have lasting value if they are unique and will age in a distinctive way. This means products could be lent long-term or re-sold due to lasting, or potentially increasing, value. Luxury has higher performing materials which acts as an asset, this is an opportunity to tell a story about how the product was made, what materials were used and what its history and heritage is.
Greenwashing
For companies to make the effort to implement sustainable development into their everyday practices, it must be socially and economically beneficial. However, companies that focus solely on financial gain and the reputational aspect of sustainability will often fail to implement proper sustainable development, which is not only damaging to the environment, but also creates the risk of being caught out for greenwashing.
Philippa talked about the example of Stella McCartney, whose drive for sustainable luxury fashion is centred around a genuine passion for the environment. For years Stella McCartney has tried to redefine luxury as more than just fur and leather goods, creating luxurious products from completely sustainable materials. This genuine approach towards sustainability is not only beneficial to the environment, but also visible to the consumer.
Sustainability from all angles
Sustainability isn’t just about the individual switches you make, but rather it is a lifestyle and a way of thinking. Philippa made the point that you may be wearing recycled, sustainable clothes but if you’re flying in a private jet, you aren’t focusing on the bigger picture of being environmentally conscious.
Teresa spoke about how sustainability needs to be a part of everything we do, luxury or otherwise, it needs to become a given. Regardless of luxury or high street, we need to engage with issues like diversity, disability, modern slavery, otherwise consumers will shun you because competitors are doing these things as a matter of course. Good products are about the story, not telling people what to do and shame people into being sustainable. This is a communal effort from all sides, and brands can benefit from taking the consumer with them along their journey to becoming more sustainable.
Teresa also noted that events are now starting to not only think about their own sustainability but also that of their sponsors, questioning where their merchandise and supplies are sourced. Whilst partly a strategic PR move, things are genuinely evolving and people are taking an interest in sustainability, not only for the benefit of their business but also for the environment.
The panel spoke about the need to dismantle stigma surrounding green products being more expensive, the message needs to be spread that being sustainable can be cheaper. The preconception with green products is that there is some kind of trade-off, for example, lower performance light bulbs or undesirable clothes. However, technologies and investments are changing and with green products you can get both high quality and high performance.
The future of luxury sustainability
Recently, The British Fashion Council (BFC) launched a new initiative named the Institute of Positive Fashion (IBF) in order to encourage sustainability within the fashion industry. This move was in response to criticisms and protests, predominantly from activists Extinction Rebellion who announced its plans to disrupt London Fashion Week in hope of raising awareness over some of the fashion industry’s problems. As environmental concerns increase, regulations and social tolerance towards sustainability within companies will tighten. By being one of the first in the industry to show complete transparency over the company’s efforts towards sustainability, you are setting your company apart from those who will wait until forced, either socially or legally.
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