Does Sustainability Even Exist?
Let’s talk about sustainability. Does it even exist in the modern world that we live in? We’re going to do a deep dive on this topic and discuss how we can best balance the “capitalistic society” we live in and chase our ambitions at the same time.
If we’re being honest, the most sustainable thing for us to do would be to live in the wild — hunt and forage for our food, wear rags/minimal clothing, and not go anywhere except on foot. We would have to live like the Stone Age.
Technically, the most sustainable thing to do would be to have no business or companies because every activity has an environmental impact — there’s no getting around that. If you have a sustainable fashion brand, you utilize materials, electricity, carbon, energy, etc.
However, we live in a modern world and it’s not realistic to completely revert back to the Stone Age. That’s why at Recloseted, we believe that the goal of sustainability is to balance our current modern-day lifestyles while leaving enough for future generations.
We always get our clients to pick and choose their sustainability battles by picking priorities. There are a million and one climate issues and as a small to medium-sized business, you cannot solve all of those problems. If you attempted to do that, you would get very overwhelmed.
You might also believe that the best solution then would be to close shop and not have a business at all. However, that’s not realistic either because consumers are going to continue to buy clothing and accessories — and they need sustainable options. Mills and manufacturers will continue to exist but when brands demand better alternatives, change can happen. This is why we need to support manufacturers and mills that are leaving a positive impact and doing great things.
So all this to say, “sustainability” exists if the purpose is to conduct business in a more “modern” way where you pick and choose your sustainability priorities, do the absolute best that you can, and continue to improve as more budgets and resources become available.
If you’re reading this and you’re a business owner who feels overwhelmed — think about some of your favourite conscious brands. For example, Patagonia is a brand that has massive scale and impact, and even the brand admits that they aren’t perfect. They’re still working on things but we admire their transparency and how they involve their community on their journey. That allows them to be kept accountable but also educates their community.
A lot of brands can be hesitant to share their plans because they’re afraid of backlash but the transparency piece is huge — most people assume if you don’t say anything, it’s likely because you aren’t doing anything. And we’re in a time where we cannot afford to be silent anymore. We need to develop plans and act accordingly.
With the clients that we worked with to craft their sustainability strategy and communicate these changes to their community, it’s always gone well when the client is transparent. They share information with their community about where their brand is at, their priorities based on budgets as well as resources, and a roadmap about what they’ll accomplish next. The beautiful part is that their community feels like they’re on the journey and want to continue to support the brand because they want to see them succeed and continue their sustainability journey.
At the end of the day, our goal is that we don’t have to call the clients that we work with “sustainable fashion brands” or “conscious brands”. We want that to become the norm and they’re just known as fashion brands. We hope that the industry standard becomes that brands need to think about their environmental impact and report their progress. Consumers must demand transparency from the brands they purchase from and become aware of where their dollars are going. That’s how we will right the harmful fashion industry.
If you’d like help with your sustainability strategy, sustainability priorities, sourcing materials and manufacturers, reporting impacts, and communicating efforts to customers — we can work together through our Sustainability Consulting Services. Our team only works with a limited number of clients every year so if you’re interested in working together, you can request a complimentary consultation to see if it’s a fit to work together and create a tailored consulting package for your needs.
