Updating your wardrobe each season is not entirely a trendy thing to do anymore. With the fashion industry having to confront its huge impact on the environment, designers are increasingly showing support for sustainability.
Their efforts range from unveiling upcycled collections to creating outfits from recycled waste. Some are even digging into their archives to show past looks at fashion weeks, in a bid to cut down on having to churn out new clothes.
While sustainability in fashion has gotten more of a global spotlight, the issue has taken root in Malaysia as well. Recognisable local names are taking a stand and speaking out about their environmental concerns.
Designer Hatta Dolmat for example, recently launched a ready-to-wear collection produced from sustainable fabric. The material consists of 60% recycled plastic bottle yarn, weaved with 40% organic fibre cotton.
This green effort is in partnership with Malaysia’s SWCorp (Solid Waste And Public Cleansing Management Corporation) and Kloth Cares, a Malaysian social entrepreneurship movement for keeping fabrics and plastics away from landfills.
“The fashion industry needs to take action now for the sustainability of the future, ” Hatta comments, adding that designers should show a good example on how to better adhere to green practices.
Read more: Prince Charles lends his backing to new sustainable fashion range
His new sustainable collection highlights classic, timeless shapes, colours and patterns. It embodies his belief that wild trends synonymous with glitzy fashion weeks should be left in the past.
“In my opinion, our consumers are eager to explore more when it comes to sustainable fashion but they have limited access to it. Therefore, designers need to wake up, ” he points out.
He, however, says that going sustainable can begin with small steps. Moving from fast to slow fashion for example, is a good change. Designers can also start producing accessories from fabric remnants.
“At Hatta Dolmat we have been practising slow fashion since 2015 by introducing a pre-order term on all purchases. This will eventually reduce the fabric waste from our stock, ” he notes.
Green fashion becomes a hot topic
The United Nations (UN) Alliance For Sustainable Fashion, which was launched in March last year at the UN Environment Assembly, seeks to halt the environmentally and socially destructive practices of fashion.
According to the 2019 report by the UN Environment Programme, the industry is the second-biggest consumer of water, generating around 20% of the world’s wastewater and releasing half a million tons of synthetic microfibres into the ocean annually.
It also states that the average consumer buys 60% more pieces of clothing than 15 years ago. Each item is only kept for half as long – which only highlights the wastefulness of fashion lovers.
Kloth Cares states on its website that Malaysians produce an estimate of up to 2,000 tonnes of textile wastes and other wearable products daily. Old clothes make up 5% of solid waste ending up in landfills. These claims are based on data from 2019.
That said, the fashion industry has long been aware of its environmental impact. H&M took steps since 2013, offering a garment collecting and recycling initiative, as well as charging for the use of plastic or paper shopping bags in Malaysia.
Marian Dang, H&M’s sustainability manager of South-east Asia, says that both initiatives are well-received by Malaysians. She points out that the fast fashion label additionally launched sustainability-led activities in September – encouraging customers to repair and upcycle their garments.
Read more: Why is the fashion industry so enamoured with the capsule wardrobe trend?
So what changed in 2020? Why is green fashion now such a hot topic? You could say that the issue of sustainability has become something too prominent to ignore this year – largely caused by the pandemic.
Covid-19 shocked the fashion system. As cities started going into lockdown in early March, designers had to contend with stockpiles of clothes that were going unsold. It was a wakeup call.
In May, Gucci announced it was going to take a “seasonless” approach to collections, one that would decrease output and increase sustainability. Less is more, was the clarion call issued.
“Above all we understood we went way too far. Our reckless actions have burned the house we live in, ” wrote Gucci’s creative director Alessandro Michele in his lockdown diary, shared to the world.
Britain’s Prince Charles, who has strong views on the environment, is increasingly vocal about the need for fashion to go green. He partnered a fashion brand recently, backing a new sustainable fashion range.
“I happen to be one of those people who’d get shoes – or any item of clothing – repaired if I can, rather than just throw it away, ” he told British Vogue recently. The magazine praised him for his timeless sense of dressing.
Eco-friendly and fabulous?
In Malaysia, more independent brands are embracing sustainability. Modestwear label Hanya unveiled an upcycle collection in September, where some of its unsold collections were given a second life.
With added embellishments or improved enhancements, they are now being marketed as new designs. In a press release, the label’s co-founder Veen Dee Tan says that millennial consumers are now a lot more in tuned with purposeful fashion.
Designer Syomirizwa Gupta presented a mix of both new and old designs for the 2020 Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week. He says that he loves the idea of taking something from the past and making it relevant to this time and age.
“Sustainability to me is to manipulate materials you’ve used before and to make sure it can be used for not only one thing. Also, to encourage people – we don’t have to have everything new all the time.”
In August, Poplook launched a collection with sustainability as its theme. All the pieces were crafted from natural fibres (think cotton, linen, hemp and more) – which the label says require less chemicals during processing.
Speaking on behalf of Poplook, marketing executive Bella Zaulkafle explains that fashion, especially fast fashion, has gotten a bad rep for using environmentally-unfriendly fabrics. She says everyone should be conscious of the materials that go into fashion products.
“Climate change and social rights have become the forefront of global issues. And so it is important for both producers and buyers of fashion products to be conscious of what we make and buy.”
Read more: How climate positive clothing is shaping the ecological role of fashion
Bella adds that the label is not worried about charging more for clothing that are sustainably produced. Additionally, she believes tagging a product as such does influence a person’s decision to purchase – in a good way.
“I do feel that Malaysians are becoming increasingly aware of sustainability when it comes to fashion – from environmentally-friendly fabrics to sustainable ways of production, ” she says, about the changing consumer trend.
Which goes to show that the power to affect real change in the fashion industry lies in the hands of the people themselves. Brands or labels are more willing to alter their practices if purchasing patterns fit this need.
As for whether green fashion is just a trend that will pass (or fade into moral irrelevance), it remains to be seen. With climate change becoming something hard to deny, sustainability may soon become a permanent style.
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