How would you rate the fashion industry’s progress toward achieving the necessary changes for sustainability on a scale from 0 to 10?
I would give it a four. If we consider the three aspects to focus on – reduce, reuse and recycle – we can see lots moving forward in the direction of reuse, considering the success of secondhand platforms. Compared to five years ago, there are also notable industrial efforts being put into scaling recycling. But the elephant in the room is reduce. There is nothing really stopping overproduction yet. That said, there has been immense progress compared to 10 years ago.
What do you see as the biggest challenges the fashion industry must overcome to achieve true sustainability?
The biggest challenge is to reduce the amount of clothing we produce globally. The current fashion industry business model is based on economy of scale: the more you produce, the cheaper the cost, the higher your margin. It’s a business model born in the era of globalisation: a company’s growth is determined by producing more, selling more, and profiting more. As a consequence, the market is oversaturated, and a low price has become the main driver. In a post-globalisation era, this growth model is no longer compatible with the needs of people and the planet; nobody needs new jeans. Even though institutions such as the EU Commission are working on legislative frameworks to introduce “controlled degrowth”, the actual production system does not allow brands to change. That’s because the supply chain has been exported and to bring it back, we need innovation that is not ready yet.
If the industry doesn’t fully embrace sustainability, what do you envision for fashion 10 years down the line?
I think that we will see big changes happen in the next 10 years. New technologies will offer solutions to rebalance demand and supply, which is the first and biggest problem of the industry. For this change, we need new technologies, legislation, and a cultural [shift]. If we keep doing business as usual, then the saddest thing, besides the ecological disaster, would be the commoditisation of fashion with the consequent loss of “cultura di prodotto” – the culture around and about fashion products.
How do you anticipate upcoming regulatory changes will impact brands and manufacturers in the fashion industry?
The EU Circular Economy Action Plan is making progress, and I believe that it will significantly impact the industry. I work with around 300 brands and most of them will not introduce any changes until they have to adapt to new legislation. Until the directives and regulations are fully defined, brands will not invest their money, and I can’t blame them. Therefore I believe that the timing of the definition of the legislative framework is of paramount importance.
Could you give specific examples of new technologies and innovations to rebalance demand and supply?
The big challenge is to reshore productions to western countries while keeping costs competitive. Innovation is the bridge between sustainability and compliance. I believe that first of all we have to make the fashion system efficient again. Overproduction and waste are symptoms of inefficiency. Second, we need to generate value again to de-commoditise fashion. New technologies are aiming at facilitating the production process for western labour, who are no longer qualified: sewing is the bottleneck in all this, because the skilled seamstresses (Italy and Portugal are the last manufacturing countries in EU) are exiting the industry and no new labour is following their footsteps. We have to create new work environments that can attract young workers and create the needed cultural change.