The power of fashion is in its double role as both a reflection and a vanguard of its time. As more and more people are taking bold steps to tackle the climate crisis, fashion needs to lead the way and use its ability to tell compelling stories to amplify the impact of such actions. The definitions of fashion are also changing in these turbulent times, and so we must first ask what kind of fashion does the future need.

The sector increasingly acknowledges its accountability for global heating and social and environmental injustice. In the current climate emergency, the industry needs an urgent and radical paradigm change to show a firm commitment to respect and care for people and planet. The concept of sustainable development recognizes that meeting present needs must not compromise the well-being of future generations, and so the logic of constant growth and overconsumption in the finite limits of this planet is no longer an option. However, while the framework for sustainable development has been in place for over thirty years, it has not yet brought the desired results. We are still witnessing acceleration of unsustainable practices that do little to challenge the politics and the business logic that are at the core of the climate crisis. Instead, they carry on with a false premise that business can go on as usual while the planet will be saved. It is now clear that the last thirty years of incremental changes in sustainable materials, resource efficiency and recycling did not bring the desired results. Innovation in products, materials, manufacturing processes and end-of-life solutions are all insignificant in a system where the rates of production, consumption and waste generation constantly escalate. Therefore, to make a true impact in fashion and sustainability, we must stop focusing on temporary fixes and symptoms and instead commit to finding long-term solutions that address the underlying causes of the extremely high environmental and social costs of fashion.

We must now be bold in questioning the status quo of the industry that still prioritizes profit over vital social and environmental concerns. We need to revolutionize the ways of thinking and practices of design, production, communication, wearing and enjoying fashion that value the diversity, prosperity, well-being and interdependence of human and natural systems. This means a radical “unlearning of fashion-as-we-know-it” by uprooting the logic of endless growth, overproduction and overconsumption. We need to find new and richer ways of enjoying and giving value to fashion.

- Centre for Sustainable Fashion

Accountability is an aspect of governance which requires that public and private organizations as well as individuals assume the responsibility for their actions and impact. In the context of the fashion industry, accountability means that companies must identify, assess, and measure the impact of all their activities on people and the environment worldwide. The principles of accountability extend well beyond compliance with minimum legal requirements. Accountability relies on companies' voluntary commitment to deliver on high social and environmental standards in their operations, especially with regards to human rights and sustainable development. The relatability of fashion makes it particularly well placed to lead by example in its accountability.^(1-4)

See also: Externalized costs, Stakeholders, Respect, Traceability, Transparency, Supply chain, Corporate social responsibility (CSR), Trust.

Care means attentiveness and consideration for people, things, and the environment. To care means to take responsibility for the cause and effect of our own actions, recognizing the interconnectedness of the world and the human agency in it. The importance of care in relation to designed objects (these would include clothing and other fashion products) was emphasized by the designer and educator Victor Papanek in his influential book Design for the Real World (1971). Papanek argued that normalizing disposability of things we use has damaging consequences for the environment, social justice and also for our personal relationships. “Throwing away furniture, transportation vehicles, clothing, and appliances”, he believed, “may soon lead us to feel that marriages (and other personal relationships) are throwaway items as well, and that on a global scale, countries and, indeed, entire subcontinents are disposable like Kleenex”.⁽¹⁾ As the effects of the climate crisis caused by the culture of disposability in the Global North are now acutely affecting multiple regions in the Global South, Papanek’s view of care seems especially relevant, not least in relationship to fashion.^(1-3)

See also: Respect, Well-being, Interdependence, Global inequality, Accountability, Corporate social responsibility (CSR), Systems thinking.

Collaboration is an active strategy of working together and sharing knowledge, resources and experiences between individuals, teams, and organizations to achieve a shared goal. In the context of fashion, pre-competition collaboration between micro, small and large players across all levels of the value chain is now considered a key enabler of the necessary systems change towards more sustainable ways of producing, communicating, selling, using and engaging with fashion in the future.^(1-7)

See also: Accountability, Care, Corporate social responsibility (CSR), Paradigm change, Prosperity, G7 Fashion Pact, United Nations Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action.

Corporate social responsibility is an evolving concept of corporate governance that requires businesses to extend their responsibility from managing their own resources, to also considering the long-term impact of their practices on the resources of the society, including environmental resources. The concept has especially evolved since the 1990s with the global expansion of supply chains. Its more mature versions demand that companies behave proactively, using their values, day to day practices, operations as well as a proportion of profits to contribute to positive social change. Corporate social responsibility requires long-term strategies with regards to workplace environment and company culture, the entire supply chains, customer base, wider communities, and the environment. It is underpinned by triple bottom line accountancy, that measures business performance not only on financial transactions and profit (bottom line) but also on its impacts on people (social bottom line) and the environment (environmental bottom line).^(1-4)

See also: Accountability, Respect, Externalized costs, Environmental costs, Social costs, BCorp.

Craft of use is the ability to draw a deep satisfaction from resourceful ways of wearing, repairing, re-making and looking after old and familiar clothes. The concept of craft of use resulted from an international research project led by Professor Kate Fletcher, collecting people’s stories of their favorite clothes across six countries and three continents. Fletcher argues that while clothes are sold as products, they are lived as a process. Craft of use highlights that the current fashion system lacks a long-term perspective and ignores the connection between the making and use of clothing. The ways in which people engage with and enjoy clothes are often far removed from the constant turnover of pristine looks that drives the prevailing fashion narrative. This is why understanding how clothes are worn, laundered, and cared for during their lifetime is key for a more sustainable fashion future. Craft of use offers an extended understanding of fashion that challenges the market-driven overconsumption, showing that satisfaction and pleasure can also come from lasting relationships with the clothes we already have.⁽¹⁾

See also: Post-growth fashion, Care, Diversity, Localism, Respect, Inclusion, Prosperity, Sufficiency, Well-being, Extending clothing lifetimes.

The term decolonization, in its literary sense, refers to the withdrawal of imperial powers from colonies and the restoration of political and economic independence to the colonized regions. At present, it is used especially in connection to the dismantling of European colonies in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific, after the 2nd World War. However, decolonization does not stop with reclaiming political and economic control. It is a complex and gradual process, that is never quite finished because the legacy of the colonial rule, especially with regards to culture, continues long after the emancipation took place. For this reason, the term decolonization is increasingly used to refer to the emancipation from cultural dominance, or what is sometimes called the ‘decolonization of mind’⁽¹⁾.^(1-4) The issue of decolonization is now also widely discussed in connection to fashion, highlighting that the Western fashion system has enforced a global fashion identity that is seen as a universal norm. The dominance of Western fashion decimated the diversity of other fashion expressions and suppressed the richness of indigenous fashion forms that do not fit into the Eurocentric aesthetic.^(5-9) The homogenized view of fashion also contributed to the loss of regional artisan and heritage crafts traditions with damaging knock-on effects on local economies, cultures and the environment. The global climate crisis urgently requires that we “imagine and propose ‘differently’ dressed worlds”⁽⁶⁾ that allow for multiple fashion narratives, as the global expansion of the Western fashion system has proved socially, culturally and environmentally unsustainable.⁽⁸⁾ The narratives presented in the fashion media have a critical role to play in this respect, as they can potentially transform and decolonize the fashion system from the inside out.⁽⁹⁾

See also: Inclusion, Localism, Respect, Prosperity, Interdependence, Globalization, Global inequality, Cultural appropriation, Indigenous rights, Sustainability, Sustainable fashion.

See Post-growth economy.

Diversity refers to the recognition of and respect for the differences between individuals, communities and cultures. These may include, but are not limited to, differences in race, ethnicity, culture, religious beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, physical abilities, health issues, political views, value systems and socio-economic status. All such differences may be reflected in a variety of perceptions and unique individual expressions. Exploring and nurturing the differences in a safe environment enables everyone to make a valuable contribution to their community and society as a whole. In the context of fashion, diversity also means creating an environment where multiple narratives and forms of aesthetic expression can flourish side by side. This can include a shift in focus from runways and star designers to equally considering the subjective experiences of people who make and wear clothes.^(1-2) Diversity also requires preserving the rich traditions of fashion and textile production, many of which are now close to extinction due to the competition of cheaper, homogenous, mass-manufactured products. Fostering diversity enables us to draw strength from multiple sources and so it enables a