Threaded Together: How Scientists, Designers, Marketers and Beyond Can Increase Public Engagement on Sustainable Fashion
It’s no secret that sustainable fashion is crucial to reducing the environmental impacts of the fashion industry. Thrifting and repurposing old clothes are a few accessible ways people can contribute to sustainability. However, scientists are finding innovative ways to contribute to this movement. This will become significant as new regulations pass that could impact the fashion and textile industries.
The fashion industry is a contributor to global pollution due to fast fashion — the quick turn around of designing, producing, and distributing clothing. Dyeing, washing, and finishing fabrics contribute to global carbon emissions and eventually these products end up in landfills for decades.
A long time advocate and scientist in sustainable fashion is Linda Greer. She has served 25 years as a senior scientist at the natural resources defense council — a large environmental non profit. She has used her scientific expertise to build a first of its kind program to decrease fashion industry pollution that was adopted by companies such as Target and Levi’s. Her efforts through her Clean by Design program have reportedly saved 3 million tons of water, 400 tons of chemicals, and $14.7 million in operating costs in 2015. Today the program is adopted by the Apparel Impact Institute.
“The missing ingredient in this conundrum is that we went along for far too long with the notion that the best way to achieve environmental responsibility is on a voluntary basis, that companies would find their sweet spot between profit and environmental and social responsibility, and this would all be a win-win for everybody. I think the last 10 or 15 years provide abundant evidence that this feel-good theory is not effective and that we need something else.” — Linda Greer
Another way scientists are changing the fashion industry is by designing novel manufacturing processes — a major contributor to pollution . Werewool is a company creating synthetic fibers with proteins synthesized to match those in nature, for example, in coral reefs. Modern Meadow has combined traceable bio-based and recycled raw materials to design technologies that enable durability and recyclability. They have been able to partner up with brands such as Tory Burch and Everlane.
Clearly this problem has inspired the scientific community to come up with novel solutions. Even further, it is a great opportunity for people of all backgrounds to contribute to the solution. For example, recently at Columbia University, students of the fashion, science, and math departments hosted a Fashion Revolution Week showcasing interdisciplinary projects all focused on sustainability. On a grander scale, Study Hall — Climate Positivity at Scale brought together scientists, chemists, fashion designers, and activists to further the climate change conversation.
While these changes are happening in the fashion and science world there is a gap to be bridged between the experts and the end users. It may be common knowledge that sustainability is something that we as a collective could contribute to. But the impact and significance of these changes could be lost when communicating to the masses. This could be due to the lack of engagement with the public of these new companies and initiatives. There is an opportunity here for scientists to engage with the public and increase the accessibility of the information and the products contributing to changes in sustainable fashion. The benefits of engaging the public will get them involved in the process, increase the spending power of the public towards these initiatives, and further more sustainable change. The UN has even come up with a sustainable fashion communication playbook including a list of dos and don’ts for best practices. So not only is it significant that scientists and designers collaborate in this space to tackle fast fashion problems but it is also significant for the marketers, brand managers, and influencers to play their role in sharing these stories with the public.
