The fashion industry's sustainability efforts continued this month with
a vengeance - 26 such initiatives were announced in August 2020 alone.
Cooperations between brands were in fashion but also those industry-wide or
even industry-transcending ones that are concerned with guidelines and
standards. At brand and retail level, more sustainable collections are
going strong as well as operating in a more responsible, efficient and
sustainable way. Yarn innovations were big this month too, along with new
clothing rental initiatives.
Fashion Positive, a nonprofit initiative for circular fashion, has
launched its first-ever Circular Materials Guidelines to align the fashion
industry on what circular fibres are, and how their design can make them
equipped for a circular economy. Fashion Positive has created the Circular
Materials Guidelines in close collaboration with industry stakeholders, to
provide safer and cleaner ways to produce fashion.
British designer Stella McCartney has signed a long-term partnership
with Thélios, the eyewear division of LVMH, to create sustainable eyewear
collections starting with the spring/summer 2021 season. The first
collection will debut in November 2020 and will offer consumers eyewear
products made of alternative raw materials, as part of Stella McCartney’s
commitment to sustainable fashion.
H&M has announced a collaboration with luxury Italian brand, Giuliva
Heritage, launching next month. The collection is made from more
sustainably sourced materials using recycled fabrics throughout and comes
as both brands take steps towards circularity.
British tailoring brand Skopes has launched its first
sustainably-sourced suit collection made using plastic bottles. The suits,
in the Leed-based brand’s Morelli, Pepe and Gambino ranges, are each made
using at least 45 recycled plastic bottles. Skopes linked up with UK-based
sustainable clothing manufacturer Lyfcycle to develop the new collection.
Other features include linings and woven labels made from recycled bottle
tops, while paper hang tags are made from 100 percent recycled
FSC-certified paper. Customers can scan QR codes on the tags to see how and
where the suits were made.
The ever popular quilted down jacket is a category staple for many
fashion brands, but alternatives to using feathers have not yet been fully
embraced by luxury companies. Save the Duck, the first Italian fashion
house to be certified as a B Corp, aims to create a product that is animal,
human and environmentally friendly. Since 2014, Save the Duck has asked its
suppliers to adhere to the social compliance of Amfori BSCI (Business
Social Compliance Initiative) and require its suppliers of raw materials to
provide Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex certification.
Sustainable fashion house Prophetik by Jeff Garner has launched an
eco-intimates label called Wolf + Rose, which offers a “green range” of
intimates for men and women. Garner, alongside his creative team, Olivia
Corwin the chief sustainability officer and Matt Shubin, ambassador of
ethos, have designed and developed Wolf + Rose, with all the products made
from plant-based fibres and dyes.
Selfridges has partnered with Hurr Collective to launch its first ever
designer fashion rental collection. There are over 100 pieces in the
collection from more than 40 brands and rentals will be available for 4, 8,
10 or 20 days, at discounted prices from the designer’s recommended retail
price (RRP).
Amazon has announced it is introducing 1,800 electric vehicles from
Mercedes-Benz Vans to its delivery service in Europe. Mercedes will be
producing the eSprinter and the eVito models for Amazon which will save
thousands of metric tonnes of carbon dioxide, the company said. The
electric vehicles will be ready to deliver goods to consumers in 2020.
Tommy Hilfiger has announced the ‘Make it Possible’ program powered by
the PVH Corp’s Forward Fashion strategy, as part of its approach to
becoming a more sustainable organisation that “wastes nothing and welcomes
all”. Initially, Tommy Hilfiger aims to accomplish 24 targets towards
becoming a more circular and inclusive organisation by 2030. The four main
pillars of the program are ‘Circle Round’, which is to create fully
sustainable products, ‘Everyone Welcome’, which is to be completely
accessible to all people, ‘Made for Life’, which is to operate with care in
areas of production affected by climate change ‘Opportunity for All’, which
is to create opportunity for all employees of Tommy Hilfiger.
Fewer collections, longer lasting creations - rarely before did the
future of slow fashion look so realistic. Swedish slow fashion label Asket
focuses on an ascetic lifestyle; less is more. This is why the
Stockholm-based brand has been concentrating on timeless basics and only
one permanent collection since its founding days in 2015. FashionUnited
spoke with Asket co-founder August Bard-Bringéus about managing a
transparent supply chain, the effects of the corona crisis and possibly
offering clothes for women soon.
The University of Cambridge’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership is
calling on fashion start-ups and entrepreneurs based in England to apply
for its ‘Innovators for Sustainable Fashion’ free accelerator programme.
The six-week virtual accelerator programme, which will take 2-3 hours per
week, has been designed to bring together a select cohort of innovators to
help fast track their sustainability solutions, with expert contributors
from the United Nations, the University of Cambridge and experts from the
fashion, investment and tech sectors.
European textile company Nylstar has introduced the new Meryl yarn, made
by Invista, as part of the global strategy to provide circular economy
solutions to the textile industry. Meryl yarn contains more than 50 percent
of recycled content. Invista sources post-industrial nylon 6.6 material
from its plant in Kingston, Canada, where fibres for airbags and carpets
are produced.
