Driving positive changes in the fashion industry – this is the goal of the Fashion Changers Conference. The digital event took place for the third time on Thursday.
Topics from recommerce to inclusion were discussed in panel discussions, keynote speeches and debates. In addition, approaches and tips for more responsible action by all players in the industry were given. It became clear that sustainability and fairness must be considered at all levels and must be seen in an overall social context. Ecological aspects alone are not enough to act responsibly – real sustainability is also social. FashionUnited has summarized the most important topics of the conference for you.
Farewell to conventional structures
A sustainable fashion label should offer more sizes than conventional fashion – Norah Joskowitz, the founder of the Valle ō Valle label, started her presentation on needs-based product development with this point of view. With her brand, she relies on a flexible size concept and has said goodbye to conventional sizes.
She explained that in a ‘fat-phobic society’ like ours, fashion discriminates against tall sizes, and people are thus structurally excluded. The standard remains at sizes 34 and 36 – even with fair labels. Joskowitz’s goal is for large sizes to become a matter of course in fashion and in the eyes of society. But to do this, labels have to become active, offer additional or new sizes and, above all, ensure that the target group feels invited again, because the demand is there.
Tips for implementation:
- Cooperation: Going into exchange, working with people and getting fit on many different bodies.
- Visibility: Make large sizes visible and integrate them on all channels.
- product development Question the initial size of the basic cut, offer size-adjustable clothing, establish your own sizes.
- Transparency: Creating size charts for each product also reduces the return rate.
Other social groups also receive little attention in conventional fashion. Anna Flemmer, fashion design expert for inclusion, is committed to breaking down barriers through design and thus making clothing more inclusive. In her work, she focuses on inclusion as a social aspect, sustainability in the ecological sense is a matter of course for her.
Inclusive fashion aims to break down the stigmatization of clothing for disabled people compared to conventional clothing. To do this, people with disabilities and limitations must not only be perceived as a target group, but also included as experts in the entire design and manufacturing process.
This is how clothing becomes more inclusive:
- Integrating reflective details into the design creates a sense of security on the road.
- Incorporate color contrasts for people with visual impairments, for example closures can become more visible.
- Design patterns that are reversible so it doesn’t matter how you dress.
- Design prototypes and test them in everyday life.
Act ecologically and become more circular
When talking about sustainability, responsible action and changes, the topic of the circular economy should not be missing. In a discussion on the topic of recommerce, three speakers discussed various concepts, their implementation and the advantages and disadvantages. It became clear that recommerce alone does not bring any changes, but that in order to consistently avoid waste and make fashion recyclable, the source of the problem must be looked at: the overproduction and ever-deteriorating quality of fast fashion.
The discussion about recycling material between Kai Nebel, Sustainability Officer of the Textile & Design Faculty at Reutlingen University, and Johann Bödecker, Managing Director of Pentatonic GmbH, came to a similar conclusion. A major problem is that fiber-to-fiber recycling is still only marginally used in the fashion industry. Not only do the materials accumulate where they cannot be recycled, but recycling companies are already reaching their capacity limits. In addition, the variety of fiber blends in fast fashion clothing ensures that the materials can no longer be separated in the recycling process. The idea of recycling is good and ensures resource conservation, but the implementation to date has not yet contributed to ecological sustainability. To achieve this, products would have to be manufactured responsibly, used for a long time and returned to the cycle.
Demands for a better circular economy:
- Need for political action: Production volumes need to be regulated and greenwashing penalized.
- Down from consumption and production: Society’s consumer behavior must change and overproduction must be reduced.
- Sorted material:In order for clothing to be used and recycled for a long time, the quality of the clothing must increase again.
- Thinking upcycling further: Find new functionalities for materials and upcycle clothes into other things as well.
- Hold fashion brands accountable: Not only for the manufacture of the products, but also for disposal.
Questioning, informing and thinking ahead
The importance of fair production in the fair fashion industry was also viewed critically. Three experts spoke about what actually lies behind the term “fairly produced” and how much fairness is received in the production countries. Kaplona Akter, team leader at the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity, made it clear that workers in her country don’t see much of it. In the productions, no differences are made between fair and conventional brands, the workers do not benefit from it and do not receive more wages – the differences are only made through certificates for the customers.
Make a difference
- In order to bring about changes and better working conditions in the manufacturing countries, not only legislation and political strategies are necessary, labels and consumers also have to become active, question certificates and get an idea of the situation in the factories and production facilities.
The topic of sustainability has also changed the fashion media and the way they deal with the topic. With the addition of social media, fashion journalism also had to reposition itself: Classic magazines faced restructuring processes, print and digital had to be linked and new forms of presentation had to be established.
Kerstin Weng, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Germany, sees the emergence of online offers as a positive change: Brands can connect with consumers, receive feedback and also become aware of criticism. Journalist Anna Schunck also supports this view and emphasized that fashion with social media has become less elitist and more approachable.
Not only the importance of online presence for the classic media was discussed, but also the communication of critical and sustainable topics on the social media for both sides – the labels and fashion journalism. How is it possible to reach people with difficult issues and do you have to be active on all platforms these days?
Communicate critical content and sustainable topics on social media:
- Credibility and focus: It’s not about being in all channels. But where you are, you should be authentic.
- Shareable content: Content must be presented briefly and concisely. Followers must be willing to repost.
- Language and memes: Plain language is important for faster understanding and to make content accessible to more people. Memes are suitable for making critical issues heard.
- Credit and Research: Cite sources to prevent greenwashing. Link experts and those affected.
The conference was a critical wake-up call to everyone in the industry. Because all actors in the system bear responsibility not only on an ecological level, but also on a social and economic level.