Why sustainability and innovation remain pivotal

Three reasons our focus is needed now more than ever

Published in

Fashion for Good

5 min readApr 10, 2020

With the global economy in turmoil, the world’s attention has understandably shifted to urgent matters. Given the fashion industry’s COVID-19 standstill, there are concerns that the industry’s sustainability and innovation efforts may suffer. However, continued commitment to sustainability and innovation is not only important to ensure the industry meets sustainability targets, companies with a focus on innovation and sustainability are more prepared to meet the challenges ahead and will emerge from this crisis all the more stronger.

The industry finds itself treading in unfamiliar waters, uncertain of its fate. It is easy to fall back on familiar, tried and tested practices as a measure of security and safety. The challenge faced demands leadership; for the industry to not lose sight of the long-term cause while in a situation of short-term difficulty.

Innovation, particularly in challenging times, has proven its relevance time and again to reinvigorate business as usual to achieve organisational objectives. To emerge stronger from this critical period, we must double down on our commitment to our mission of innovation.

There are three key reasons why sustainability and innovation continue to be as important as ever:

Innovation is a core driver of circular transformation & economic resilience

In the past few years, the call for the transformation of the apparel industry has been heard loud and clear. In response, many public sustainability commitments have been made by brands, and important foundational work has begun. In this time of crisis and uncertainty, an increased focus on pivotal innovations is required in order to define the future of the industry and emerge stronger in the long term. Looking to our past suggests companies that invest in innovations during economic downturns benefit first in the recovery phase. As such, the capacity to innovate continues to be a key driver of economic success.

Directing innovation efforts towards circularity allows to redesign fashion’s future, shifting away from the industry’s current take-make-waste model as the root cause of its environmental problems and economic value loss. Such ambitions could design out negative impacts and capture a USD 500 billion economic opportunity by truly transforming the way clothes are designed, produced, sold and used.

Innovations in alternative raw materials, fibre recycling, circular business models and digital technologies have made significant advances toward a lower impact, more transparent supply chain. These innovations enable the industry to reduce its reliance on finite resources and increase accountability during product creation, respectively. As we reboot the industry post COVID-19, adopting them into mainstream practices will accelerate our progress toward circularity much faster than we have seen thus far.

Circularity is an investment that demands patience. The industry is presented with a rare opportunity for catalysation, one which it cannot afford to miss.

Heightened consumer concern as response to the crisis

The consumer mindset was already showing signs of shifting before the pandemic. Renowned trend forecaster Li Edelkoort has spoken of the “quarantine of consumption” having a profound cultural and economic impact. As such, we could see an acceleration towards heightened expectations of purpose-driven, sustainable action and opposition to wasteful business models.

Under the increased scrutiny that comes in times of crisis, consumers prioritise purposeful brands; a brand’s ethics, commitments and actions become as important as their aesthetics. Their focus on sustainability and the environment will be brought into sharp focus, intensifying discussions and further polarising views around irresponsible practices. Simultaneously, what we’re witnessing now with the movement towards a digital step change, seasonless design and so on, is mostly an acceleration of trends that were inevitable, which have gained urgency and speed to necessitate immediate needs.

The pandemic provides an opportunity for the industry to reset and completely reshape its value chain, as well as to reassess the values by which consumers measure its actions. Brands that are able to innovate and transition to more sustainable practices and business models will be able to cater to and gain favour with a captive, informed audience.

Regulatory and public pressure for sustainable targets will not disappear

Increased regulatory pressure as well as consumer attention and awareness has continued to mount. The European Commission for example adopted in March 2020 a new Circular Economy Action Plan, as one of the core building blocks of Europe’s new agenda for sustainable growth, the European Green Deal. This plan introduces legislative and non-legislative measures targeting key areas such as plastics, packaging and textile waste, aiming to make sustainable products the norm in the EU and lead global efforts on the circular economy.

Likewise, governments across the globe have passed legislation towards similar goals — such as the French Anti-waste Law for a Circular Economy implemented at the start of 2020. On the UN level, efforts around UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, adopted in 2018, continue to move the textile industry towards a holistic commitment to climate action to achieve a net-zero emissions.

Given the suspected root cause of COVID-19 to be connected with loss of habitat and increased pressure on animal populations, additional regulation may emerge to address land use such as agriculture and resource extraction.

The challenge ahead

As an industry, we have persevered through challenging times, have shown our resilience, ingenuity and creativity to emerge all the better. We have numerous allies and champions across the industry whose steadfast commitment to sustainability and innovation is needed to ensure they remain a priority moving forward.

Despite the brief respite climate has experienced due to the halt in industry and movement, environmental issues remain and will require our full focus and energy if we are to see positive impacts once the world is up and running. This situation calls for clarity of thought and bravery in adversity, conviction of purpose and resilience to endure the inevitable transformation.