Sustainable fashion on a difficult mission
Climate change constitutes a fundamental threat to humanity. Every one of us contributes to this rattrap, and it is of the utmost importance that we put aside disagreements to collectively figure out how to avoid making the 21st century a centuria horribilis for which our descendants — or even ourselves — are burdened with a dizzying price.

A development christened ‘fashinnovation’ — a portmanteau of ‘fashion’ and ‘innovation’ — unites fashion designers, influencers, tech entrepreneurs, brands, and startups who recognize and are prepared to talk about the true price of fashion. To make the most of this occasion, we should acknowledge that each of us can take responsibility and keep in mind the following circumstances.

The holistic approach
Fabrics and textiles bind us together. We all wear clothes, and our preferences and fashion choices are extensions of our personalities. But questions present themselves when we examine this clothes’ course through the manufacturing process. Who made it? What is it made of? Which natural resources were affected by its manufacture? Can we improve on this course?

We all live under the ecological system’s canopy, where food, fashion, and nature meet. We are symbiotically associated with our environment. What is worn today, engenders tomorrow. Farmers, manufacturers, entrepreneurs, designers, and consumers are all obliged to fight climate change. The Corona pandemic demonstrated the enormous effect each individual part of the supply chain has on the whole.

How comprehensively the supply chain’s individual parts influence the whole is among the Corona pandemic’s most visible epitaphs. It is incumbent upon us to examine it and learn from it. As far as sustainability goes, everything connects.

Empowered individuals
The fact that all of us can have an impact can be an overwhelming thought, but it nevertheless remains true. Business’ and consumers’ daily manufacture and consumption choices can either make or break Mother Earth. In the age of social media, we are all auteurs with own stages and audiences. Never has it been easier — and of more import — to share ideas for sustainability. In a Manichean perception of people and their approach to important social, political, and economic questions, we can resort to the ‘evil’ throwaway mindset and buy clothing we’ll barely use and which ends its days on garbage heaps. Or we can be ‘good’ and engage in a sustainable, ultimately rewarding, lifestyle.

Stronger as a team
That we can make a difference at the level of the individual doesn’t necessarily mean that we should go it alone. No matter how influential we can be as individuals, team efforts are even more so. We are clever on our own, but together we are geniuses. Fighting climate change is a common cause, and cooperation should be at the heart of how we take it on.