Fashion forecast: The fashion industry and sustainability

From the large retail chains swallowed in debt to, the high-end brands that had no cushion to weather the drop in sales; we have seen the fashion industry take a sartorial pause due to the coronavirus negatively affecting its consumer spending.

Buried in some stuff. Buying the things we hold dear to will instead of things we don't will not only make us happy but the planet as well. [Image via @fash_rev]

By Esihle Faltein

The spending habits and behaviour of the consumer have changed drastically over the past year. We have transitioned into a period that is more relaxed, easy and repeatable style approach towards fashion. As fewer men are buying suits, more corporations have become steadily more casual, heightened by the change in people working from home. It led to many brands failing to keep up with the changing times, filing for bankruptcy or even worse closing down. The brand Brooks Brothers, well known for being the de facto menswear brand for famous people, presidents and the wealthy, is amongst the many that will no longer be.

Trying to keep up with the ever-changing world, means coming up with new ways of thinking. The marketing and targeting strategies are quickly evolving from conventional, fixed ideals, demographic-based benchmarks, lifestyle and psychographic influences that inform why the buyer buys what they buy. There's been a sudden decrease in the number of luxury brands being purchased globally, due to the economic decline caused by COVID-19. And because everything has come to a halt, there seems to be no need to buy an R32 615,00 Louis Vuitton duffle bag when you're at home all the time. Having to prioritise essential purchases rather than discretionary ones is something we have all had to pay close attention too. A way in which retail brands can adapt to the change is by recognising strategies in investing in e-commerce and wholesale.

The rapid nature at which the fashion industry is continuously changing makes it particularly problematic. As with every passing season, consumers are encouraged to buy the most current items to stay on-trend. The downfall of most fashion brands affected by the pandemic is their inability to adapt to the changing demands and trends. As Athleisure becomes more dominant in the fashion scene, brands such as True Religion, have fallen out of favour in most recent years, amid increasing competition from more economical brands such as Levi Strauss and Madewell. As a result of the economic strain, we will no longer be seeing True Religion brick and mortar stores and many other brands as they invest more in their e-commerce business.

The fall of average online spending per month since COVID-19, per product category

[Survey done by the United Nation Conference on Trade and Development.]

Companies that put e-commerce at the heart of their business strategies are much prepared for the post-COVID-19 age. In the post-COVID-19 world, the unprecedented growth of e-commerce will most likely disrupt national and international retail frameworks. It is because of this reason that policymakers should take on concrete measures to promote e-commerce adoption within small and medium scale businesses, create specialised talent pools and draw in international e-commerce investors.

The fashion industry is the world's third-largest manufacturing sector after the automobile and technology industries. It is valued at $2.4 billion worldwide and directly employs about 75 million people within its value chain.

The textile industry accounts for ten per cent of the world's carbon emissions and close to twenty per cent of wastewater. And in addition to the environmental impact, it uses more energy sources than shipping and aviation combined. The industry has a complex supply chain. Therefore, making it hard to account for all of the emissions produced when making a pair of simple jeans or even a plain t-shirt. The means of production need to implement sustainability to reduce the environmental footprint. But even with sustainable methods of making clothes, we face a much bigger problem, one that might need consumers to examine their egos. The insatiable appetite for fashion results in consumers buying more clothes than they possibly need, and eventually landing up in landfills. We could argue that our buying habits are based on rational, conscious and well thought out decisions. However, when it comes down to it, the complexity of the human behaviour and the fundamental nature of fashion implies that ethical consumption may not be an attainable goal; it may just be a pipe dream.

The growth in ethical consumption has not yet materialised in mainstream fashion. Brands that are a part of ethical manufacturing and aim to achieve sustainability face the problem of not being supported or acknowledged. Many consumers lack awareness of the ethical issues faced by the fashion industry. Or are reluctant to pay for the surcharge for sustainable products. Perhaps with the changes caused by COVID-19, it might lead us into a paradigm shift in the behaviour. It's predicted over time that we will see slow fashion becoming the norm, where the permanence of classically styled garments is far more favoured than the latest fashion fads that last for a few months.