The latter half of the 20th century brought about a revolution in the fashion industry with the rise of big, well known brands, high streets and shopping malls, and the emergence of the middle class. As per Trista Bridges and Donald Eubank’s book ‘Leading Sustainability: The path to Sustainable Business and How the SDGs Changed Everything’, all these factors converged to create an ideal market environment for retailers and fashion groups across the world. The book attributes growing popularity of fast fashion models to consumers’ increasing desire for latest and greatest fashion.

The book highlights, success in fashion is often determined by brands that have the most efficient and cost-effective supply chains, and quickly move to rapid prototyping, quick materials sourcing, fast production, and seamless and swift distribution. However, this causes an immense burden on the environment and communities in emerging markets.

Globalization forced apparel production to move eastward. This shift was further accelerated by a WTO policy that limited textile and apparel imports from certain emerging markets. Introduced in 2005, the quota system established contract manufacturing as the new operational norm. However, it also caused several challenges for the sector. For example, In 1990s, Nike was accused of several labor onslaught and environment scandals. Since then, the brand has made a dramatic turnaround to being a role model of sustainability

Leading the sustainability movement

Driven by bold sustainable fashion innovators and an evolving consumer mindset, the fashion industry is entering a period of reflection and reinvention. Global fashion and apparel groups are beginning to invest in fashion tech startups and innovations. Foremost amongst these is the H&M Group which has introduced several sustainability initiatives since the last decade. The group is known to ensure fair wages at its factories by encouraging its manufacturing partners to implement wage management systems.

H&M has developed systems to isolate and remove wage costs from any price negotiations The brand produces 67 per cent of its product volume in factories that implement improved wage management systems, well exceeding their initial 50 per cent target. In the long term, H&M aims to change wage setting systems for the whole industry and, ultimately, entire countries. It also aims to adopt full circularity in its production and operations.

Using technology to adopt circularity

Fast fashion brands need to realize the dangers of climate change related supply disruptions on operations, says Hendrik Alpen, Sustainability Engagement Manager and Team Leader, H&M Group. They should adopt circularity through new technologies such as the Global Garment Collection Program. The ‘recycle-reuse-rewear’ approach can enable these brands to reuse 40 to 60 per cent of reclaimed materials with remaining materials being used for other applications such as making housing and car insulation, etc

H&M is also investing in a recycling technology launched by the Holy Grail of fashion. The group is collaborating with other companies and stakeholders to support their development. Two such companies are Worn Again Technologies, a polymer recycling startup, and HKRITA, whose full-loop hydrothermal method for recycling cotton and polyester blends is able to maintain the structural quality of the materials, a difficult feat to achieve.

Though the efforts of big brands like H&M are creditworthy, the sustainability movement can be successful only when small innovators and like-minded investors participate in it.

Kate Nightingale, Founder and Head-Consumer Pyschologist, Style Psychology says, consumers are socially conditioned to love everything that’s new. This explains the relentless popularity of fast fashion across the globe. Even though environmentalists have repeatedly warned about the hazards of fast fashion, its popularity continues to soar.

COVID-19 accelerates fast fashion popularity

The pandemic is likely to further accelerate the popularity of fast fashion. As the crisis has plunged many countries into recession and increased unemployment levels across the globe, consumers are likely to shift focus to affordable garments rather than sustainable ones. Even before the pandemic, consumer interest in sustainability was limited. Only 7 per cent of respondents to Global Fashion Agenda’s Pulse of the Fashion Industry report 2019 had said sustainability is the key deciding factor in their fashion purchases. Rather, they focused more on quality, value for money and the impact the garment made on the wearer’s appearance.

Though the lockdown has badly hurt fast fashion players that do not have a strong online presence but sales of big e-tailers have soared. For instance, Boohoo investors have increased their bet on the company even though the company has been accused of labor rights violation during the coronavirus outbreak in Leicester. Its largest independent shareholder Jupiter Asset Management increased its stake in the company from 9.6 to 10.1 per cent. Adam Cochrane, Analyst, Citibank expects Boohoo to successfully recover about half of its share price decline in the near term

Social media impact

The fast fashion model was established by brands like Zara and H&M in the 2000s. The entry of social media and online-only players elevated this model to new heights as ultra-fast fashion players, such as Boohoo, Fashion Nova and Missguided started offering influencer-led trends at dizzying speed.

One reason for the sustained popularity of fast fashion brands is their agility in adapting to new reality, opines Joaquin Villalba, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Nextail. These brands have swiftly tapped into powerful networks of influencers and micro-influencers to create a highly engaged community of shoppers.

Regulating the fashion business

Despite all this, there is a growing opportunity for big brands to market sustainable fashion. They are increasingly launching capsule collections featuring organic cotton, carbon offsetting and textile recycling. Their growing experiments in resale, fabric innovation and automation are an indication of their efforts towards remaining relevant and on the right side of consumer sentiment.

There is also growing push for a regulation to incentivize brands for their sustainability efforts. Along with over 90 retailers, 50 British MPs and other organizations, the British Retail Consortium issued a letter to Priti Patel, UK Home Secretary, urging the government to protect employees from exploitation. Despite these efforts, the resilience of the fast fashion industry is often attributed to its business model which represents an entire price point that consumers are accustomed to.

The year, there has been a 3 per cent drop in global apparel manufacturing with cancelled events forcing fashion retail stores to cancel orders from their manufacturers. Over 40 billion dollars’ worth of goods have been dumped into the landfills, says Ayesha Barenblat, founder of Remake, a nonprofit organization advocating for the rights of fashion manufacturing workers.

This is impacting individuals who have already spent hours making these garments as they are being left unpaid. s most of these workers live in developing nations, there aren’t many avenues of work available. While it is these large-scale companies that are making the error by relying on fast cheap fashion, it is the garment worker that pays the price.

Not only this, but human rights are not upheld by the working conditions in many of these factories, says Clare Press, ethical fashion activist and owner of the Wardrobe Crisis podcast. Women of color have been hit hardest by this issue. But the resounding issue of this financial crisis has finally reached the ears of these large-scale corporations. In March this year, over 200 000 signatures were collected by a Remake lead petition for fashion companies to pay their workers.

From this, 18 global brands have joined the movement, such as Zara and H&M. There is now a push to reuptake local production, as Australian regulation ensures a fair wage and treatment of workers. Perhaps now that these companies are taking action, this frontier may be a possibility.

VF Corp is working to protect the financial integrity of its business while also helping to protect the livelihoods of its suppliers and the workers they employ. The company is paying its suppliers for all orders that have already been produced. It is honoring all valid purchase orders with a factory release date before June 1, 2020.

In some cases, VF is delaying shipment dates to manage the flow of goods into the destination country. When shipment must be delayed, the retailer engages with its suppliers to determine if the shipment delay will create a cashflow challenge for its supplier, and works with the supplier to support their financial needs through a variety of potential solutions.

The retailer has asked its suppliers to pause work on any open purchase order with a release date on or after June 1. This will allow it to reassess projected consumer demand so it can better understand the appropriate timing for the delivery of these orders. It has asked all suppliers with paused orders (those for release after June 1) to provide details of their liabilities resulting from ordered raw materials and work completed in relation to these open purchase orders.

To help manage this situation in partnership with its suppliers, VF is not issuing new purchase orders until it has better visibility of consumer demand and production needs.

The retailer believes these steps will demonstrate its commitment to maintaining strong working relationships with its suppliers and its shared interest in maintaining open channels for ongoing dialogue and discussion. It is working with its peers across the apparel and footwear industry, as well as with multi-stakeholder organizations to identify additional opportunities to support apparel factory workers during these uncertain times.

Coronavirus issues have started impacting Bangladesh’s sweater segment as almost 80 percent of man-made sweater yarns are imported mostly from China, said Mostafa Sobhan Rubel, Managing Director of Dragon Group, a leading sweater exporter.

The lockdown in China had slowed down the import process of raw materials into Bangladesh. Bangladesh sweater exporters are in a dilemma as from November till February which is an offseason period for the sweater factories and usually, Bangladesh exporters export below 50 percent capacity of their installed capacity,

However, peak seasons which start from March till October changes that trend completely as during this period our factories are running on 100 percent capacities with many factories engaging 2 or 3 shifts or even subcontracting from authorized and approved factories.

But just as they were approaching the peak season with huge orders booked till June and July, then suddenly this virus stopped the entire world where its sweaters are exported, said Rubel.

Due to the global shutdown some buyers are asking these exporters to keep the goods on hold and some are even canceling orders, which were placed earlier. According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, in the fiscal year 2018-19, Bangladesh earned $4.25 billion from sweater export, which is 15.82 per cent higher compared to $3.67 billion the FY18.

Talking to Textile Today, sweater manufacturers and trade analysts have opined that technological upgradation has contributed a lot to increase the export earnings, while extended winter expedites the growth.

According to the BKMEA leader almost all sweater factories have installed the automated machine. The sweater industries need to be incubated immediately by the government through favorable policies for at least the next 6 months so that it can come out of this imminent crisis, sector leaders opined.

In its second quarter results to be published soon, Jeff Gennette, CEO, Macy’s will elaborate on current consumer shopping trends. Macy’s Inc managed to work through another COVID-19 spike to post stronger sales in the second quarter by addressing the safety aspects and shifting to new trends such as curbside pickup. The retailers’ digital business has been strong and there has been an increase in its customers.

In the past, the retailer’s urban stores provided a sizable sales contribution to its brick-and-mortar component given the denseness of the communities. However, with international travel suspended, its apparel sales have slowed. Its formal clothing line has been affected due to the lockdown. With ready-to-wear no longer being in vogue, Gennette will disclose how Macy’s is adjusting its mix to reflect footwear and accessories in its new casual collection.

Ultra-fast fashion brand BooHoo came under spotlight recently when a news journal published investigations showing workers at its Leicester’s factory working throughout the lockdown earning as little as £3.50 per hour which is way below the UK National Minimum Wage of £8.72. The investigations revealed that workers were forced to work despite being infected and contract violations were widespread.

BooHoo responded by declaring it will stop working with the accused factories. However, experts believe, the brand will have to survive the situation and repeat somewhere else. With fabric price, trim price, their marketing budgets, head office salaries and insane management bonuses; it is simply not possible to have anything else, but cheap labor.

Most consumers have no idea where their clothes are made. While sustainability advocates may want to pressure brands to label their products, most customers don’t even check the label on the clothing while browsing. Hence, brands sell their clothes at price points that are set by the market. BooHoo managed to capture the space for ultra cheap, ultra fast fashion and serve what the consumers wanted, experts believe. Hence, to change the buying habits of an entire generation of consumers, the industry needs to combine price regulation with education. Till then such scandals will continue to break and grab headlines.

Saida Muna Tasneem, Bangadesh High Commissioner to the UK has sought post-COVID-19 extension of UK's Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) facility to Bangladeshi products until 2030 to boost trade and greater support to low-carbon climate-resilient development strategies for a faster post-pandemic SDGs recovery. Tasneem applauded Bangladesh for its brilliant deliverance on its pre-COVID SDGs performances as witnessed last month during its 2nd Voluntary National Review at the UNHLPF on SDGs in New York, exceeding many SDG targets ahead of the slotted 2020 and 2025 deadlines.

These include SDG 1 and 10 on reducing poverty and inequality and enhancing economic growth, SDG 2 on achieving food security, SDG 3 on good health and well-being, SDG 4 on quality education, SDG 5 on gender parity, SDG 6 on clean drinking water and sanitation, SDG 13 building climate resilience and many more.

The high commissioner also apprised the APPG about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s focus on climate financing for delivering on Bangladesh's NDCs, reducing extreme climate disaster vulnerabilities and building back a climate-resilient post-COVID future for Bangladesh and other CVF members, including implementation of the Bangladesh Delta Plan (BDP) 2100 and working closely with the UK Presidency of the COP26.

Highlighting Bangladesh's post-COVID SDGs and economic recovery challenges, Tasneem said, in post-COVID, Bangladesh's apparel sector export earnings suffered unprecedented cancellations and non-payments by the UK and other global retailers and need early recovery along with recovery of crops and infrastructural losses of more than $6 billion caused by extreme climatic disasters like the recent cyclone Amphan and monsoon flooding making millions homeless and slide back to poverty.

In a recent ‘Carved In Blue’ webinar, Tricia Carey, Director, Global Business Development-Denim, Lenzing said overlooking invisible elements of a jean like thread, interlining or labeling can significantly add to the environmental footprint of a garment. Carey explained, with consumer awareness of false sustainable claims being at an all-time high, any brand using the word ‘sustainable’ to market its jeans must ensure that every element of that product is indeed environmentally friendly.

Trim suppliers have a introduced classic jeans trims like rivets, buttons, zippers and back patches made with cleaner, upcycled or recycled materials and processes. Responsible manufacturing is the way forward for trim makers—many of which plan to double their sustainable efforts to have a place in the post-pandemic world, said Vitor Teixeira, Sales Executive, Crafil whose 80 per cent production is dedicated to denim.

Arzu Turgay, Global Accounts Manager, Coats said the Turkey-based company is creating in response to the industry-wide shift to sustainability. Likewise, printing techniques and products that can withstand harsh wash tests, have been part of Avery Dennision’s long-time R&D.

Suat Odabasi, Key Account Sales and Sustainability Executive, YKK said the company developed special sustainable product specifically for the denim industry. Brands are responding positively to zippers made with organic cotton and Tencel fibers, as well as YKK’s post-consumer recycled polyester zipper program Natulon.

Trim suppliers are also doing their part to support the new needs brought on by the pandemic. YKK is supplying components to companies that produce PPE as well as supporting hospitals in the local communities near its factories with PPE. In terms of its own business, Avery Dennison is producing trims and packaging for masks globally for customers. The company also launched Patch Together, a collection of iron-on woven patches for customization that feature feel good messages and support for health care workers

A survey ‘Evolution of Sourcing in 2020 conducted by Hong Kong- based QIMA says, Bangladesh remains one of the top sourcing destinations after China for international clothing retailers and brands even during the pandemic because of competitive prices. The survey results were drawn from inputs by over 200 businesses around the world across a variety of consumer product segments and built on previous QIMA research.

The report analyses the evolution of global sourcing in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, US-China trade tensions and other disruptions to global supply chains. The report states, China still dominates as the global sourcing destination though its dominance is noticeably less dramatic compared to previous years, especially in industries such as textile and apparel, where supplier portfolio diversification has been a priority for a while now.

Consistently ranking among China's regional competitors, Vietnam continues to reap the most benefits of continued mass exodus of Western buyers from China, with 40 per cent of EU respondents and almost as many US brands included Vietnam among their top sourcing regions. The US and the EU brands are exploring sourcing options closer to home but are more likely to near-shore rather than re-shore.

For US-based companies, sourcing destinations closer to home continue to grow steadily, with the popularity of Latin and South America almost doubling compared with last year. Meanwhile, EU brands are increasingly turning to Turkey as a nearshoring destination as the latter was named among the top three sourcing regions by 30 per cent of EU respondents.