Scandinavian fashion industry prepares for the big sustainability boom

These days things are happening fast in sustainable fashion in Scandinavia. Alternative fibres, recycled cotton, organic cotton, improved labour conditions in manufacturing countries – the possibilities for making the fashion industry greener and more ethical surely exist and are being exploited.

The latest initiative is Vigga, a Danish childrenswear brand launched in 2014. Vigga is childrenswear on a subscription basis. Parents pay a monthly fee, receive Vigga clothing for their child, use it and return it when it no longer fits. The returned clothing will then be recycled to another subscribing family. This represents the sustainable element. This unique concept has ensured Vigga solid media exposure, and while success is not guaranteed the launch does exemplify the wealth of innovation in Scandinavian sustainable fashion and the attention it receives.

Large players investing

Thinking about Vigga and other small manufacturers, it is easy to imagine that sustainable fashion is a niche that will never go mainstream. That is not the whole truth, however: large, powerful players are also moving towards increased sustainability. Swedish H&M has its Conscious Collection, made from sustainable materials, but the Danish giant Bestseller is also joining the sustainability movement. In 2014 the company launched its Green Attitude collection under the leading brand, Vero Moda. Among other things, the collection uses organic cotton, recycled cotton and recycled polyester. Mainstream sustainability is no longer a sensation. Clearly the Scandinavian fashion industry is investing in sustainability. That should come as no surprise. After all, Scandinavia and sustainability has always been a good match, as illustrated by the packaged food market. Organic packaged food has a value share above 3 percent of total packaged food in Scandinavia. That makes the region a European leader. Now the fashion industry seems to make the plausible assumption that the same Scandinavian consumers who opt for organic food more often than other consumers will also welcome sustainable apparel.

Hesitant consumers

So far, however, this is not how things really are. Apparel is not food and the purchase decision differs a lot for these two categories, relying on different parameters, which again relate to each other in different ways. Organic food has benefitted from a synergy, where the “organic” feature has led consumers to think that a product is both more sustainable and of higher quality. Consumers of apparel do not see any reason to believe that organic cotton is better cotton, and why should organic garments have better designs? Sustainability and design quality are not necessarily linked, and when there is a choice, even the Scandinavian apparel consumer tends to value design and price above sustainability. In other words, sustainability is not yet a parameter with strong influence on the purchasing decision.

The question arises, then: which are the constraining factors manufacturers will have to address to succeed with sustainable clothing? First of all, it is a problem that consumers tend to know little about apparel manufacture, regarding the immense water consumption and the intense use of pesticides in cotton farming. On top of this lack of knowledge is a lack of transparency, when consumers have difficulties finding information about the larger or smaller environmental impact of different garments. Even in terms of ethical labour conditions, there is a problem when consumers may know that not everything is well in all apparel factories in Bangladesh and China, but still cannot trace the exact conditions under which the nice t-shirt sold at a 30 percent reduction in their favourite web shop was produced. The result of all this is that the communication of sustainability becomes blurred. Meanwhile, consumers will go on focusing on price and appearance.

Breakthrough ahead?

Successful communication is, however, a nut which the industry is already working to crack. In Norway the domestic market leader, Varner-Gruppen, has published a complete list of its suppliers on the company website. That is one step towards transparency, at least for the idealist consumer, who may potentially investigate working conditions in the factories on the list. Much more important, however, are the measures being taken within the framework of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC). Within this coalition players in the global apparel and footwear industry are in cooperation to create the Higg Index – a tool to measure the sustainability of facilities, brands and products. The announcement that future versions of the Higg Index will facilitate improved consumer communication gives hope for everyone involved in sustainability within apparel and footwear. Potentially, by 2020 garments may carry a label with a sustainability score from 1-100. That could develop into a communication tool which is both simple and credible. It could free sustainability from the confines of endless CSR-reports and take it into the stores and – most importantly – the minds of consumers.

The Higg Index and a widespread expectation that sustainability will become an increasingly important competitive factor is the background for the Scandinavian apparel industry’s current investments in green initiatives. One final example: Swedish Filippa K has introduced leasing of garments for special occasions such as parties, dinners and job interviews. In this way the Scandinavian fashion industry is positioning itself for the major sustainability boom. The future is, after all, just around the corner.

Stefan Anbro, Research Analyst, Euromonitor International
Images: Vigga