In a world where the fashion industry generates 92 million tons of textile waste yearly, the urgency for change has never been more evident. The Treet team joined over 200 sustainability and brand leaders to discuss the future of fashion at the Sourcing Journal's Sustainability Summit. It was an incredibly thought-provoking day full of ideas and examples of how brands can embody a more sustainable path forward. Among the countless lessons learned, here were our top five takeaways:
1. Sustainability Can Be Profitable, Just Ask Dôen
Sustainability initiatives must prove its return on investment to remain sustainable for the long haul. Brand leaders need proof these initiatives contribute to the bottom line. As one summit speaker pointed out, initiatives that don't show measurable ROI may be the first to go when the next economic downturn hits. Avenues like resale alleviate these concerns by demonstrating their revenue potential from the start.
Kristine from Dôen shared their experience with Hand Me Dôen, their take-back resale program, as a perfect example of a sustainability initiative that has proven to be a fundamental and strategic channel for the brand. For Dôen, owning every aspect of the resale product journey was essential to ensure a fully on-brand experience that feels native to them. Since launching, Dôen has seen the multi-pronged value proposition of resale: they’ve grown a new revenue stream, diverted 17k pounds of clothing from landfills, and re-engaged customers looking for archival and secondhand Dôen items.
2. Regulation Is Here
While regulation might seem like a daunting prospect for some brands, it's clear that it's not a matter of if but when government oversight on sustainability in fashion will come into play. We're already seeing legislation pass in some states, specifically California's Responsible Textile Recovery Act. This bill sets the stage for extended producer responsibility (EPR), ensuring that producers take responsibility for the lifecycle of their products, reducing waste, and increasing secondhand and recycling rates across the state.
Regulations enforce consistency and accountability, ensuring all players meet a minimum standard of sustainable practices. Whether it's reporting on carbon emissions, enforcing ethical labor practices, or mandating product recyclability, implementing standards level the playing field and drive continuous improvement. Regulation and innovation are necessary for change.
3. Engage With Your Customers On Their Terms
While many companies take meaningful steps toward sustainability, these efforts often fail to resonate with the average shopper. Simply put, saying, “We diverted X thousand pounds of clothing from landfills,” doesn't always connect on a personal level with an audience. Consumers connect to stories.
Elisabeth from Frank and Oak pointed out during the summit that innovation in materials is crucial, but it's not enough on its own. Consumers want to know how sustainability efforts affect them personally; storytelling is the key to making these connections. There are many stories brands can tell, from showing the behind-the-scenes images of what actually happens to discarded items, showing the full lifecycle of one of your garments from creation through resale and end of life.
Kathleen from Reformation echoed this sentiment by explaining how they've focused on making circularity fun and engaging for consumers. One of their campaigns emphasized how easy it is to participate in their recycling program by encouraging them to recycle clothes "without putting their pants on." A playful approach takes the edge off a sometimes overwhelming topic like sustainability and enables customers to get involved.
Communicating sustainability in ways that are accessible, exciting, and tailored to consumers' daily lives is essential for driving participation and loyalty. Brands that meet consumers where they are will increase engagement and foster a more profound sense of responsibility among their audience.
4. Cross-Industry Collaboration Is Vital
The fashion industry's sustainability challenges are complex and interconnected; no single brand or organization can tackle them alone. Whether it's manufacturers, 3PLs, brands, or consumers, everyone needs to be part of the conversation. Brands should not feel the burden to solve every problem on their own. Instead, focus on identifying the issues and sharing them, as its likely someone else in the industry has already developed a solution. Cross-brand and cross-provider collaboration accelerates progress by pooling knowledge and resources, reaching solutions quicker.
At the summit, Amelia from Debrand stated the need for brands and manufacturers to collaborate with recyclers and sorters early in the product development journey so we can better design for circularity. By working together, we can identify more efficient processes, avoid redundant efforts, and leverage each other's expertise to drive meaningful change.
Amy from Citizens of Humanity emphasized the power of collaboration by sharing their work with other brands to make regenerative cotton more accessible in the U.S. The overwhelming consensus is that progress will require unprecedented collaboration across the entire value chain.
5. Understanding Your Product Life Cycle
Designing for circularity from inception through manufacturing is paramount to ensuring an item lives its longest life before properly being recycled. Every brand should consider how each material and component impacts the product's ability to re-enter the cycle. This means eliminating features that hinder recyclability, working with sorting centers to understand what's viable, and partnering with resale platforms to give products a second or third life.
Adam from Triarchy spoke about how deep this understanding needs to go, pushing further than only water-saving practices in denim production. They swapped plastic in their denim for a biodegradable rubber, which breaks down in two years. Then, to test this further, Triarchy used scraps of their denim as fertilizer to grow tomatoes, which they then turned into tomato sauce and served during fashion week.
By taking these concrete steps of evaluating materials, simplifying designs, and collaborating with industry partners, brands can ensure their products are designed for circularity.
The Time For Action Is Now
Overall, the summit was a fantastic opportunity to learn from sustainability experts, understand the problems brands face on their circularity journey, and discuss resale as a profitable solution for extending the product life cycle. The time for action is now, and it's up to brands to create a fashion industry that thrives economically while respecting our planet.
If you're eager to learn more about the future of sustainability in fashion, you can download Sourcing Journal’s Sustainability Report here.
