For five years now, FashionUnited has been compiling the fashion industry’s efforts to increase sustainability month after month. Reason enough to let our eyes wander through the years before drawing the conclusion for 2023.
While 2019 was characterized entirely by individual efforts and produced recyclable and more environmentally friendly products in the sports and denim sectors, 2020 was initially more about survival than sustainability thanks to the corona pandemic. However, this already changed in the second half of the year, when sustainability was seen as a way out of the crisis and brands, retailers and other industry players increased their efforts. The general industry slowdown that was called for was unfortunately short-lived.
2021 was still heavily affected by the pandemic, but the industry noticed that lone fighters don’t get far – the call for togetherness and collaboration became louder. However, membership in intra- and cross-industry alliances should not be a substitute for efforts at the individual level; Likewise, half-hearted initiatives or only supposedly sustainable ones hardly exist anymore – “greenwashing” became established as a term and “greenwashers” were outed.
This trend continued in 2022. The whitewashing of actions, projects or initiatives as “green” when they are not, was no longer accepted, even if they were done out of ignorance. Calls for legal action against greenwashing grew stronger. In addition, in view of the growing mountains of clothing and textiles, the industry is relying more on textile-to-textile recycling or technologies that can address the issue mechanically and chemically.
Annual review of sustainability 2023
This brings us to 2023, which has been marked by extremes – instead of a general slowdown in the industry, it has split further with ultra-fast fashion on one side, accelerating production even further, and ultra-slow fashion on the other Page that not only produces less, but also calls for non-consumption and initiatives such as repair, exchange and resale – Green Friday is a trend here.
Joint initiatives continue to be popular as the industry recognizes that it is stronger together and can achieve more, including greater transparency. On January 1, 2023, the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG) came into force in Germany, which is intended to guarantee that companies do not benefit from child labor, forced labor and other abuses at their suppliers. The European regulation is close to completion with the upcoming EU supply chain law. There is a general call for more legal regulation when it comes to sustainability. How did this come about? Follow the developments in the 2023 annual review.
December
December was dominated, among other things, by the COP28 climate conference, where more sustainability and innovation in the fashion industry were discussed. Various studies examined supposedly sustainable initiatives such as biomass and textile collections for recycling purposes. At a legislative level, the industry should take environmental claims and future legislative proposals on environmental claims seriously and an agreement has been reached to ban the destruction of unsold clothing in the EU.
November
In November, the industry’s efforts to become more transparent were noticed – for example through certain standards, but also through clearer communication on the brand side, for example regarding the true cost of a piece of clothing. Consumers, on the other hand, seem to pay less and less attention to the sustainability aspect when purchasing.
Various industry events are dedicated to sustainability and the circular economy and Black Friday is increasingly becoming Green Friday – more and more brands are taking part. FashionUnited also visited a textile recycling plant in Wormerveer, the Netherlands.
October
There were some interesting food for thought in October that invited the industry to pause. For example, behavioral scientists from the University of Amsterdam and the University of Amsterdam suggested that the Dutch government ban advertising for fast fashion.
In California, a new law requires large companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions – but only from 2026. A background article explained what the fashion industry has to do with microplastic pollution and what you should know about the EU initiatives to combat microplastics.
September
In September, in addition to trade fairs such as the Fashion Transparency Summit, awards such as the Sustainable Fashion Award, brand initiatives and partnerships on the topic of sustainability, two individual efforts stood out: Alex Dabagh, founder of the New York bag label Anybag, wants to revolutionize textile production by reusing single-use plastic , and entrepreneur Thomas Hebenstreit wants to transform the shirt market in India with his shirt label The Shirt Dandy with European know-how and Indian tailoring. In the future, consumers in the EU should also be able to better see whether a product is sustainable and how easy it is to repair leaves.
August
August was marked by individual efforts and innovations as part of the Green Product Awards as well as partnerships – for example between Under Armor and Hemp Black and Soex and Circular Republic. The 2022 Environmental Awareness Study found that the majority of Germans are aware of climate change and consider combating plastic waste to be a central task. More and more companies are also saying ‘no’ to kangaroo leather – such as Nike, Adidas and soon also Puma.
The minimalism/frugality trend was also stirring people’s minds, which is currently encouraging people to declutter, especially when it comes to their wardrobe. However, experts advise that minimalism should go from being a private pleasure to becoming a phenomenon so that something changes on a larger scale.
July
While July brought warm summer weather, it revealed some unpleasant truths in the area of sustainability: the European Court of Auditors found that the transition to a circular economy was practical, despite the ten billion euros made available to EU member states to promote the circular economy came to a standstill.
The European Commission published an updated Waste Framework Directive (WFR) with a focus on textile waste. This is intended to support the separate collection of textile waste, which will be mandatory in the EU from 2025, and promotes circular textile technologies such as fiber-to-fiber recycling. However, it is not far-reaching enough and does not set specific targets for reuse and recycling, which the Changing Markets Foundation calls a “missed opportunity.”
The leather discussion also flared up again in July: While Desserto inventors Adrián López Velarde and Marte Cázarez Duarte further developed their leather alternative made from cacti (Nopal) and presented the first vegan ‘leather’ based on agave, FashionUnited held a discussion with an expert on the subject of leather and sustainability. In an interview with PETA it emerged that animal cruelty is inevitable when using animal products.
June
June was all about exchanging information – about new materials, EU legislation and pioneers such as Allbirds, Freitag and Arda Biomaterials, who are pushing the topic of sustainability in the textile and clothing industry. Sustainability was also not neglected at the Global Fashion Summit. FashionUnited compiled the European Parliament’s legislative initiatives to address the industry’s negative social and environmental impacts.
May
May was marked by recycling and upcycling initiatives from the brands Nat-2, Aku and DBL Böge and textile innovation from TomTex and UPM Biochemicals as well as a new standard from the Textile Exchange. The environmental organization Greenpeace also published a greenwashing study to check how sustainable the industry, including its brands and retailers, really is. Several European cities signed a declaration against fast fashion at the end of the month.
April
April turned out to be one of the most active and promising months of the year. It was marked by Earth Day on April 20, Fashion Revolution Week, which commemorated the tenth anniversary of the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh on April 24, 2013, and the World Retail Congress on April 25-27 April in Barcelona, which focused, among other things, on sustainability, transparency, traceability and responsibility.
Perhaps the best news, however, came from MEPs on the European Parliament’s Environment Committee: They drafted tougher regulations and called for an end to fast fashion, which encourages excessive production and consumption. Instead, MEPs want to encourage European Union countries to produce circular, sustainable and socially responsible textiles that are more durable, easier to reuse, repair and recycle.
March
There were also some highlights in March: a study showed that social media is one of the most influential sources of sustainability information for consumers, and Amsterdam lingerie label Love Stories and Dutch designer Tess van Zalinge presented how to upcycle wedding dresses and can transform vintage veils into underwear.
The most innovative approach in March was offered by Dutch clothing brand New Optimist, which introduced deposits on its clothing. Tomo opened in the Westfield Mall in the Netherlands in the middle of the month, which is nothing unusual. However, it sees itself as a “department store with a mission” that wants to motivate consumers to participate in the circular economy. This month, FashionUnited also contributed with a new section for sustainable fashion, which aims to promote the exchange of knowledge in the industry.
February
February was mixed and perhaps a little frustrating: While on the one hand initiatives were joined and efforts were made to become more circular, on the other hand the industry is struggling with its legacy: huge mountains of textiles in Ghana, for example, or consumers who are more likely to Pay more attention to price than sustainable products.
In addition, the tripling (!) of used clothing exports from the EU is causing problems in Africa and Asia. However, a plastic-eating enzyme could target polyester clothing waste, and plastic from Indian waste pickers has been made into millions of buttons.
January
In January, pioneers in the industry looked back on several years of experience and shared it, such as the Dutch brand Kuyichi, Asket and Lindex from Sweden and the fashion brand ETP with regard to innovation processes. Mud Jeans and Kings of Indigo show how denim can be recycled.
Efforts also continued in the areas of resale, clothing exchange and second-hand. The European Fashion Alliance, founded last year to drive the necessary change in the European fashion industry, presented the results of its first summit.
Sustainable trade fairs such as Beyond Fashion Berlin and Innatex also achieved good success and collaborations such as Fashion for Good drive innovations forward. While sustainable influencers take on fast fashion, the EU Commission was planning a law against greenwashing.