The mainstream fashion industry is proving unsustainable in terms of cultural heritage, social equity, autonomous livelihoods, and environmental stewardship. Improvements in these areas are unravelling at a slow pace and new research is urgently needed in order to build an equitable and sustainable future for the sector. While the industry is currently being guided by three core pillars of sustainability – environmental, economic and social – there is a clear need to add a cultural dimension as an essential component of a sustainability agenda.
Historically, the textile heritage of marginalised groups has often been the object of abusive cultural appropriation practices undertaken by fashion brands – or has been systematically obscured. With a harrowing 89.3mn people worldwide having been forcibly displaced at the end of 2021, the fashion industry must re-address the needs and aspirations of migrant communities and find ways to honour their diverse cultures (source: UNHCR).
While mainstream UK fashion players – from M&S to Asos – have pledged to create jobs for Ukranian refugees, many brands are failing to embrace the culturally-informed design skills that such employees could offer. By adopting a more holistic approach to sustainability, there is an opportunity to widen the fashion system by including artisanal practice carried out by refugees and asylum seekers who, despite their traumatic journeys, retain their culture, customs and faiths, as well as a variety of invaluable craft heritage skills.
Furthermore, to avoid the current situation where Eurocentric designers are parachuted into disadvantaged communities with the assumption that they can bring their own knowledge and expertise to solve their problems, there is a need to decolonise such dominant approaches. This means dismantling colonial systems of oppression and exploitation, empowering a multiplicity of voices and agencies, and leveraging the values of diversity and sustainability.
