Mia Juul

This pillar’s main focus is about the consumer, diversity and representation, and the relationship between company and consumer. The main demographic that this pillar si focusing on is Generation Z. Gen Z are the people born between 1995-2010, this generation grew up in the height of technological advancement, social movements and many political changes and rifts, this means that their values and moral compasses are different to their older counterparts. This comes into play when coverinmg the topic of diversity and inclusion within a company and how this collides with this consumer’s inner values and morals.

In the height of cancel culture fashion brands need to be very cautious about the image they put out to the public. For example, Nike has been called a brand that has “Championed diversity throughout their company” (Corcoran, 2017) and therefore is hasn’t come under fire. However, brands like Abercrombie and Fitch had a very public downfall due to the fact that they part took in discrimination based on skin colour and looks when hiring people ti work in their stores across the world, on writer wrote, “The culture was also seen as very discriminatory” (Biondi ,2022). In addition the CEO of the company would micromanage to the point of what hairstyles were appropriate for the shop floor, (Biondi,2022)

On the flip side, cultural appreciation is also more prevalent within the fashion industry, the designer for Dior’s 2020 cruise collection collaborated with Spanish designers and credited them as a part of the project therefore injecting the Spanish culture and design within a big fashion house’s collection. This demonstrates “the tribute to diversity and savoir faire”,(Radica, 2019)

REFERENCES

Annachiara Biondi –https://www.ft.com/content/b96016f7-9c16-4730-8378-4e9436f996e8

Amy Corcoran- https://swaay.com/6-brands-championing-diversity-inclusion-company-culture

Rosalba Radica –https://www.fashionpress.it/dior-presents-the-cruise-2020-campaign-42459.html#:~:text=Dior%20Celebrates%20Diversity%20In%20New%202020%20Cruise%20Campaign,%E2%80%9Ccommon%20ground%2A%E2%80%9D%2C%20in%20tribute%20to%20diversity%20and%20savoir-faire.

What is the Planet Pillar?

This pillar’s main focus is about how the fashion industry fits into the notion of sustainability, now what is sustainability? In relation to fashion, sustainability is using resources that are responsibly sourced and that can be recycled (ecoworldonline.com). In addition to this sustainability also relates to the UN’s SDGs or sustainable development goals.

What is a circular economy?

A circular economy is a regenerative system in which all items are circles through a system, as long as their maximum value is retained. When speaking in the context of the fashion industry, a circular industry is the same definition, apart from the fact that all garments must be returned to a biosphere when not of use (Motif.org) or when the product is at the end of its life cycle.

What is Sustainability in relation to fashion?

In my opinion, sustainability in fashion is the concept of renewable fashion in the sense that all products should be able to live more than one life. For example, if a T-shirt is at the end of its life it should be able to start a new life as something else without creating waste, just like a plastic bottle can be recycled into a multitude of different things. In addition to this I believe that sustainable fashion should be made much more affordable and accessible within the market.

The fashion industry and SDGs

The fashion industry is lacking within the sustainability department, however the good health and wellbeing sector of the industry is also lacking in terms of working conditions. Workers in factories are subjected to 10-14hour long days, all injuries are ignored and if they cannot maintain an acceptable rhythm they are fired leaving them jobless and in a precarious situation (labourbehindthelabel.org)

References :

https://ecoworldonline.com/what-is-sustainability-in-fashion/#:~:text=Sustainability%20in%20fashion%20is%20based%20on%20the%203,to%20do%20with%20the%20fast%20pace%20of%20fashion

https://international-partnerships.ec.europa.eu/policies/sustainable-development-goals_enf