As you may or may not already know, earlier this summer Mara Hoffman closed her iconic brand, a shock to many. This news has led to discussions about the future of sustainable brands and if we are in a slow fashion recession. With such a big brand, like Mara Hoffman, with a loyal following closing its doors, this leads to the question. Do smaller, lesser-known sustainable brands even have a chance?
After reading numerous articles on the subject, I have a few thoughts about the future of sustainable fashion. Let’s get into it, shall we?
Fast fashion brands claiming to be “green”
It seems that just about every fast fashion brand claims to be sustainable nowadays. If you go to any sustainability section on sites like Zara, H&M, Uniqlo, etc. you are hit with pretty photos and a wall of jargon leading to no real information on their actions, environmental impact, or human rights protections. In 2022, H&M faced a lawsuit (which was dismissed!) for misleading marketing on the brands’ sustainability. Now, it seems, anyone can claim to be “eco-conscious”.
Does it even matter to claim to be sustainably conscious anymore?
Small brands normally have smaller budgets, they simply can not compete with the deep pockets of these ultra-fast fashion brands to sell their goods. With everyone trying to make a buck, with whatever lie necessary, this has led to actual sustainable brands not being able to compete. If every fashion company can claim to be “green” AND GET AWAY WITH IT, is claiming yourself as a sustainable brand hold any meaning anymore?
Can a brand be successful without claiming they are sustainable?
It has happened to me that I discovered a brand and liked their things, and then after purchasing from them learned they were sustainable. Them being sustainable didn’t influence my purchase, it happened naturally. Which leads me to think if sustainable brands should focus their attentions, marketing-wise, in other ways? Not saying that brands shouldn’t try or not be proud to call themselves sustainable, but with every other brand saying the same thing, why waste the money?
A shift in priorities
Let’s get real, the argument against sustainable fashion has been that it is out-of-reach for the average consumer. Which, depends on how you see it, but I have to agree. When the cost of living going up and up, most people just don’t have the same spending habits they used to.
We, unfortunately now, have grown accustomed to the prices of fast fashion and that is hard to change.
I don’t want to sound all doom and gloom over here, of course there are alternatives. Shopping second-hand, thrift, consignment are steps in the right direction, but as someone who already shops mindfully this also had me annoyed because…
Why is all the pressure on the consumer?
We are dealing with big, big companies, with big, big money, why is it on the consumers alone to fix the problem? We need help from governments to put a stop to these money-hungry monsters. In order for slow fashion brands to exist, we need to pump the brakes on these fast fashion brands and their claims. I know in the EU, they are already tackling this issue and I hope in the US, we can do the same.
After writing this blog post, I thought I would be able to come to some sort of conclusion, but I find myself with more questions than answers. This is a topic that is important to me as a previous employee at HWGA, an avid resale shopper, and conscious consumer, and I just wish this had a simple solution. Wouldn’t that be nice? Please let know your thoughts.
Until next time,
Dre