Consumer expectations of socially responsible fashion are at a high but there’s a long way to go for fashion to become truly sustainable. Meaningful progress will be achieved by consolidated action from the full industry ecosystem – including several radical changes to fashion supply chains, says Julian Burnett, VP, Global Markets, IBM.
Socially responsible apparel is the height of fashion. More than any other fashion trend, it needs to stick around for many seasons. Because no matter what fashion marketing might have us believe, the reality is that the fashion industry is far from sustainable – and the challenge of fixing it is immense.
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By GlobalDataConsumers are rightfully expecting more sustainability from fashion brands. We are buying more clothes, but recent figures from Morning Consult research that IBM-commissioned in Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK show that three-quarters of people are concerned about waste in the industry. We enjoy the multiple collections that some brands bring out every season, but well over half of those surveyed by Morning Consult think fair conditions and wages for workers are very important.
A National Retail Federation/IBM survey of nearly 19,000 consumers in 28 countries showed that 45% of consumers thought it very important that the brands they purchased were sustainable and environmentally responsible.
Consumer desire for more sustainability must be matched – by those who can afford it – with a willingness to invest in more sustainable fashion choices. Our research shows that consumers are willing to pay up to 10% more for a sustainably made T-shirt. That may not be enough of a catalyst for systemic change across the whole of the industry. We need to not just think about sustainability, we need to act more sustainably.
Increasing visibility of the supply chain
Fashion supply chains need several radical changes to match the desire – and hopefully the spending power – of consumers.
Firstly, today’s fashion supply chain is fragmented and diverse like no other.
Behind the simplest of white shirts is a complex labyrinth of players across the globe – from large scale transport companies to smallholder cotton farmers. For that shirt to become truly accepted as sustainable by the consumer, all of those players need to visibly play a role. While a technology like blockchain cannot alone make a farmer waste less water in growing cotton, putting the supply chain on blockchain and giving consumers a view of the shirt’s journey can demonstrate to the farmer that there is a growing market for more sustainable cotton.
Implementing internationally recognised standards
Secondly, there are no internationally recognised standards in the supply chain for any materials or services that go into a fashion item. This is a major hindrance. IBM is working with GS1, the international standards organisation, to achieve the implementation of really important standards around the composition of a product, the trading partners involved, and events that have occurred between the product’s conception and the point of purchase. While these standards will initially apply to food products, they can and should be used as a model for the fashion industry. These standards are not obligatory, however, and because our planet does not have the luxury of waiting for the industry to adopt them on their own initiative, government and international regulation will be necessary to ensure they are applied.
Digitising supply chains
Thirdly, supply chains in the fashion industry are woefully analogue. Digitising those supply chains will not only make it easier for participants to engage with each other, it will also increase both cost and environmental efficiency. A win-win situation of increased cost efficiencies coupled with greater sustainability will be a vital nudge for the many industry players operating on extremely tight margins.
Digital supply chains will also enable some much-needed transparency. Many of the brands making a serious effort on sustainability are not giving the consumer credible information about it. Nearly three-quarters of respondents to our survey in Italy and Spain would be more likely to buy garments if new technologies could prove sustainability claims. And if one brand provides that information, consumers are likely to expect a similar level of information for all the clothes they consider buying – raising the level of transparency across the industry as a whole.
Entities like Burberry, Kaya&Kato and the Italian Ministry of Economic Development are already using technology to enhance the transparency and traceability of their garments. Each is using blockchain to collect tamper-proof data at every stage of production. This means a company can answer consumer questions such as how the fabric was manufactured from source to sale, who, what, where, when, and under what conditions the clothing was made, providing consumers with an immutable declaration of the garments provenance.
There’s a long way to go for fashion to become truly sustainable. But the challenge is by no means insurmountable. Meaningful progress will be achieved by consolidated action from the full ecosystem of the fashion industry. Working together on good practices will never go out of style.
