by Francesca Romana Rinaldi, co-author of the book The Responsible Fashion Company
Talking about ‘responsible fashion’ has become commonplace, not least because the horrific Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh and other sewing sweat shops accidents, have been an overdue wake-up call to the industry.
Companies are requested to be more transparent and traceable. Consumers are more aware and expect much more from the companies: the neo-consumers, increasingly attentive to the environmental and social impact of products, continue to spread at international level and belong to the niche often known as ‘cultural creatives’, also called LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability).
Responsible fashion will be the new black when ethics and aesthetics will both be integrated into the value chain of more companies.
During the last decade some fashion companies have started their journey towards responsibility.
Working towards more responsible fashion means trying to answer the specific needs of all the stakeholders: environment, society, workers and consumers, art, culture, territory, media, institutions. This is what gives responsible fashion so much potential but this is also what makes being responsible very complex.
Of course some elements could delay the adoption of responsibility initatives: in order to move from a “vicious circle” to a “virtuous circle”, which is based on the creation of shared value for stakeholders, a combination of elements is necessary: the need for the consumer to be informed correctly and thoroughly to ensure continuous interest; setting partnerships between the various stakeholders (companies, buyers, public institutions, universities, mass media); spreading a culture of innovation etc…
The complexity is there but companies that are investing, or are willing to invest, in responsibility are not just a few: there are already some strong benchmark players out there providing important best practices.
True, we still don’t live in a transparent and traced fashion industry – but this is the direction the industry is taking… in the footsteps of the food industry over the last decade.
The real change should start from each person, each manager, each entrepreneur.
Mahatma Gandhi was right. “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. We not to wait to see what others do.”
Let’s start changing then: we have just one chance of getting it right!
Francesca Romana is co-author with Salvo Testa of “The Responsible Fashion Company”, Greenleaf Publishing (2014). She is professor of competitive strategy in creative industries and fashion management at Bocconi University in Milan. She is director of the Master in Brand & Retail Experience Management at Milan Fashion Institute (intra-university consortium between Bocconi University, the Catholic University of Milan, and the Polytechnic University of Milan). She is faculty member of the Luxury & Fashion Knowledge Center at SDA Bocconi School of Management and Responsible of the CSR Seminar at the Master in Fashion, Experience & Design Management. She is also an international consultant for companies in the fashion and luxury sector. She started the Bio-Fashion blog in 2010 with the intention of raising awareness and providing information on sustainable fashion and lifestyles.
Photo courtesy of Francesca Romana Rinaldi