“Sustainability” and “circularity” have become familiar terms addressing the current climate crisis. These words come with various solutions, but understanding the individual role can be a confusing and overwhelming process. Funded by the Eileen Fisher Foundation, sustainability consultancy Pentatonic has launched a new platform, Hey Fashion!, dedicated to “elevating the issue of textile waste in the fashion industry.” The platform is an extension of the newly released Hey Fashion! report that unpacks the ineffective systems currently in place in the fashion industry that is designed for overproduction, and overconsumption, which ultimately has seen an increasing percentage of textile waste over the years and what we can change to create a better circular fashion economy.
As of 2022, the report states that there are “150 billion new clothing items produced annually. Currently, the volume of clothing produced and discarded is growing at a faster rate than recycling facilities can process” making the fashion industry the third highest producer of greenhouse gas emissions globally. As part of Pentatonic’s research, the agency has interviewed 50+ established and leading businesses and figures to create an action plan, covering every corner of the fashion industry from the executives, to the supply chain, and the consumer by breaking down the problem into 8 action areas: Scale sorting, Invest in recycling, Reduce production and consumption, Cross-sector collaboration, Design for durability and recycling, Industry standardisation, Divest from fossil fuels, Change the metrics of success.
SLEEK spoke to Pentatonic founder Johann Boedecker and product director Lauren Greenwood about the changes required in each sector of the clothing lifecycle based on the new report and emphasises how working collaboratively as responsible leaders and mindful consumers is key to making the difference we need to reach the net zero goal.
SLEEK: Firstly, can you give me a quick introduction to Pentatonic? How did the research for the Hey Fashion! report begin?
Johann Boedecker: Pentatonic normally operates in the for-profit space, enabling corporate clients, blue-chip companies and established brands from various sectors to achieve their net zero waste and overall ambitions. Hey Fashion!, however, is our first venture into the non-profit space through our partner the Eileen Fisher Foundation.
We worked with the Eileen Fisher clothing brand previously. They implemented a returns programme in 2009, which was incredibly forward-thinking back then and we helped the brand to build some of the solutions to tackle their non-resellable textile waste. We felt there are many things fashion needs to address; labour conditions and climate change being the two biggest, but both related to how we handle materials and how cheap we need to make them. The short-lived items push for constant production, and the waste ends up in the ocean or in other countries.
Eileen Fisher and Johann Boedecker. Image Courtesy of Pentatonic.
S: As you described, we’re in a vicious cycle of mass production and waste. From the research, what has been a common struggle between various businesses and figures that have delayed the implementation of a more sustainable clothing lifecycle?
JB: As a society, how we satisfy our basic and luxury needs follows a certain trend. The constant pressure to sell more is a driver for innovation but also overproduction – that’s capitalism. To change it is too ambitious of a project if even possible. The fundamental problem is the idea of infinite growth with finite resources the planet can provide. Within textiles, every time you sell a new clothing item, you need to extract new raw materials. However, if you’re able to reintroduce the fibres that you once made to satisfy the new raw material need, rather than having to make things from virgin resources, you could drastically reduce the amount of waste.
I think the majority of the industry would agree to be circular if they could snap their fingers, but how do you transition your supply chain to become circular? That’s where we wanted to share information and start discussions with Hey Fashion!.
S: Hey Fashion! offers an 8-step action plan promoting circularity to address the textile waste in the fashion industry. Why do you see this as the most effective solution?
Lauren Greenwood: From the farm to the product manufacture, it goes through so many levels and people. There are many areas for improvement to make it a more equitable model that values time and natural resources. At the moment, the profits are disproportionally spread that brands are in a vicious cycle where they keep down the price of materials and it’s hard for recycled materials to compete because the virgin materials are so cheap. We are undervaluing raw materials and the people making the products, feeding into over-production and over-consumption – this makes us less interconnected; never really cherishing the item. Trying to build a fairer model seems to all lead to the same goal, which is to reduce waste and spread profits more fairly around the supply chain.
There is no order of priority for the 8 action areas, but all of them need to happen to make a big impact on the issue of textile waste. Our main research focus was on the supply chain and what we wanted to do for the consumer is spotlight simple facts people can remember. For example, the more fibres you blend, the less chance of it being recycled – that’s something that can be easily done by looking at the composition label, and makes you think twice about purchasing the item. Or understanding how the sortation process works to help people donate more responsibly like tying the shoes together or always washing the garment before donating.
S: We’re seeing a growing trend of upcycled fashion and resell retail platforms such as Vestiaire Collective, Vinted and brands opening up new channels to source their own older products – all of which sounds like it’s pointing in the right direction, but still far from the net zero goal. What would be the next step to accelerate change?
JB: I think there are multiple steps. There are easily implementable little tips as Lauren mentioned, but also what you can implement if you’re in a leadership position. You need a strong resource and investment plan for the next 5-10 years including investments into technology and new materials such as mycelium, and fungi that can be a leather alternative. Those things need to be undertaken now to be in effect by 2030. You can’t just decide to source differently tomorrow, it requires a lot of information, talking and then doing.
LB: Resell platforms are an interesting topic that arose in the research. The industry has opened up to the idea of secondhand whereas previously they wanted nothing to do with it – but it’s glamorised secondhand. It’s an interesting shift but there are some criticisms as NGOs of export markets that have dealt with clothing waste for decades haven’t been involved in this new shift, and the brands are now capitalising on something these organisations have already been doing, not to forget a lot of the work affects the community from the Global South. It’s something brands and new platforms need to start factoring into their future circular business models.
You can download the full report on heyfashion.org.