Article focus

I have chosen to focus on the topic of sustainability and overproduction and how Covid-19 has impacted this. First of  all the headline should be more focused so will add the word sustainability in it...

Fashion sustainability in 2020: The changes bound to Covid-19, in this was my readers know the focus will be on sustainability and not on other general impacts.


I have read 3 different articles that discuss the issue of sustainability during this pandemic era and all three point out that the pandemic has left a significant number of stock unsold stock due to lockdowns. This makes clear how the fashion industry is over producing items which have consequences on our environment.

The United Nation Environment Programme  (2018) as cited by Huet (2020), states that the fashion industry is responsible for 10 % of carbon emissions which is equivalent to more than the carbon emissions formed by flights and shipping combined and that fast fashion accounts for a large number of this because it increases the purchasing of consumers because more clothes are made in a short period of time. Moreover Huet (2020) notes that there is a re-consideration in the how the fashion industry is managed and that people have to make changes towards a more sustainable fashion.

 Roberts-Islam (2020) has collected responses of many designers saying how sustainability will be carefully considered and  become a top priority for some brands. Moreover she observes that the consumers too, have a had a shift in habits. According to  McKinsey (2020) cited in Roberts-Islam (2020) an additional  16% are looking for more sustainable items and 20% have decided to reduce their shopping for this year. his article also discusses an argument regarding the already initiated sustainability programs in brands, and whether companies have continued these programs or not and Roberts-Islam reports, through the opinions and thoughts of experts, that the companies who have been built on sustainability will keep going in this direction while the ones who haven't won't.

The third article has been written in a different style. Farra (2020) uses personal experience and rhetoric questioning which strongly suggest a feature article. The different tone while reading is pretty clear because it establishes shares common thoughts with the readers. For example, the words "it’s hard to get agitated about a dress or blouse these days, especially since many of us don’t have anywhere to wear them" (Farra, 2020) expresses a thought that has most probably appeared in the mind of many as we have all experienced quarantine. The article is almost trying to persuade the readers in spending less and using more and more the clothes they have. This can be suggested as opposing the concept of fast fashion. Farra (2020) also states that there is a significant amount of unsold inventory that will go into waste and that it will have a grave impact on our planet, and that before the pandemic 20% of 100 million clothes become waste, imagine now that there has been lockdown! That is why, Covid-19 has made many rethink. Ferra (2020) proposes sustainable clothes and brands. Furthermore, she calls for sustainability in general and predict that is want consumers want as well, "all to say, more isn’t what the industry needs right now—and, hopefully, it isn’t what the consumer wants, either" (Ferra, 2020).

Jacquemus Fall/Winter 2020 Show

There is an example of a sustainable fashion show by the French brand Jacquemus, that occurred as the pandemic emergency was beginning. Simon Porte Jacquemus has used sustainable fabrics for this fall/winter 2020 show, because he wanted his fashion to have a meaning (Tse, 2020).  The brand then used the same fabrics for the recent show of the SS21 collection. Jacquemus had taken a sustainable approach before the pandemic,  but other brands like Gucci has created its first sustainable collection in response to the pandemic. Gucci posted Alessandro Michele's diaries which showed the desire to be eco-friendly, his words "We went way too far. Our reckless actions have burned the house we live in" (Carreon, 2020) suggest that how the pandemic influenced the  fashion as more and more people are considering sustainability.  This example can be useful and I may include it in my article as an example of change or reconsideration.


Sources:



CARREON, G (2020) Gucci Launches Off the Grid, Its First Sustainable Collection. Elle. [Online] 30th June. Available from: https://www.elle.com/fashion/a33014463/gucci-off-the-grid-sustainable-collection/ [Accessed 04/08/20].

FARRA, E. (2020) Fashion is Facing Mountains of Unsold Inventory-Is the Pre-Order Model a Visible Fix?. Vogue. [Online] 19th May. Available from: https://www.vogue.com/article/fashion-designers-pre-order-model-coronavirus-response [Accessed 04/08/20].


HUET, N (2020) Could the coronavirus crisis spell the end of fast fashion?. Euronews. [Online] 22st April. Available from: https://www.euronews.com/2020/04/22/could-the-coronavirus-crisis-spell-the-end-of-fast-fashion [Accessed 04/08/20].

ROBERTS-ISLAM, B. (2020) Social Sustainability, Overstock and 'Greenwashing': How Covid-19 Is Changing TheFashion Industry. Forbes. [Online] 21st April. Available from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brookerobertsislam/2020/04/21/social-sustainability-overstock-and-greenwashing-how-covid-19-is-changing-the-fashion-industry/#43c8b089582d [Accessed 04/08/20].


TSE, S (2020) Jacquemus Takes On Sustainability. Forbes. [Online] 22nd Jan. Available from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/samanthatse/2020/01/22/jacquemus-takes-on-sustainability/#eb6fdba4c8e0 [Accessed 04/08/20].