This, at a time when we barely go a day without a new statistic emerging detailing the harrowing impact of our consumption on the environment. It intrigues me further when sustainability-driven brands such as Stella McCartney post each day on Instagram and regularly urge followers to pre-order collections, yet simultaneously launch a campaign featuring members of the Extinction Rebellion movement, which itself encourages consumers to #BoycottFashion.
I know what you’re thinking, though: brands need to make money. That’s a given. But if a brand purports to be sustainable and to champion a more considered approach to consumption, perhaps it’s time for labels large and small to find a new social space to share their work and values?
It's here that Instagram owner Facebook could work in tandem with modern consumers and sustainability movements to envisage and innovate a standalone social platform solely for sustainable fashion and lifestyle brands. Certainly, with ASOS and Net-A-Porter recently launching sustainable fashion edits, demand and interest has peaked across consumer demographics, hungry to go green. Within this new space, brands can be discovered, accrue followers, and promote their work and ethics to people who actively care. But shopping? In this future, one-click won’t cut it – if you really want something, you’ll make the effort to hunt the brand down.
Embodying a Brand Redemption mindset, let’s hope Instagram re-evaluates its shopping tools, and embraces a future in which fashion thrives not by perpetuating sales, but instead championing longevity, quality materials and sourcing, and more considered purchasing.
To gain additional insight on the sustainable retail industry, download our Sustainable Futures Report.
