Although no industry has been immune to the effect of COVID-19, the existing pandemic has had a devastating effect on the fashion space. According to the recent report of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, with pedestrian traffic in retail and recreation declining by 44% in the United States and by more than 50% in many countries around the world, fashion and luxury segments have been more affected than many other customers’ goods and services. Fix Most clothing factories have been affected by cancellations or suspensions of orders, resulting in mass layoffs and factory closures. With the accumulation of losses, some companies will not suffer the crisis. From J. Crew, known for its basic preppy, to Neiman Marcus, a high-end branch chain, a growing number of corporations already in trouble have filed for bankruptcy.
While the role of fashion in the global economy cannot be underestimated (clothing retailers, retail and cosmetics locations branches employ millions of people and generate billions of dollars in annual profits), the industry was criticized for being “broken” for a long time. before the pandemic. In an effort to continuously increase sales, designers have produced collection after collection, accelerating production, while drastically reducing products and sacrificing product quality and sustainability of operations.
The demanding situations of the pandemic have shown how closely economic, environmental and human are intertwined.
“The crisis has led us all to re-evaluate our values, to question our non-public relations, our work-life balance and, in general, our lifestyle,” said Masha Birger, who heads sustainable progression consultant ESG Alpha. “Take me for example: I cleaned my closet. What remains now is a carefully arranged capsule cabinet, containing well-made vintage multifunctional pieces. I’m more focused than ever on buying durable, less expensive items, and I’m not alone. With others around the not-easy global social, environmental, and economic change, it’s transparent that fashion industry corporations want to rethink their priorities and adapt to the new reality,” Birger said.
Some logos, giant and small, are already pivoting, intensifying their sustainable progression efforts or at least reorienting their marketing campaigns. Many are intended for sustainable fabrics. Fashion giant Gucci launches Off Grid, its first sustainable collection, recycled, biological, biologically or sustainable fabrics such as econyl. The BelarusIan Fashion Council recently organized Ethical Fashion Week to raise awareness of plastic pollution. Similarly, the small Emilia George maternity clothing logo has selected eco-friendly fabrics such as bamboo, cupro and Tencel-Luxe for its new Fabrics Matter collection. “However, the use of biological and recycled fabrics is not enough to make fashion sustainable,” Birger says, “All stages of production will have to be sustainable and this includes waste and water management, greenhouse gas and chemical emission control, employee coverage and the fair. Compensation. Array »
To read about how fast fashion corporations see sustainability in the post-COVID world, we spoke with Anna Gedda, Director of Sustainability at H-M Group.
The fashion industry has been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. What has been the effect of the pandemic on H-M? How has this been from other crises of the past?
Anna Gedda: The existing crisis has occurred on a temporary basis. I think COVID-19 has been one of the most demanding situations we’ve faced lately, and being as big as we are, it’s been hard to move. One of the main disorders was the closure of retail establishments. At one point, 80% of all of our retail outlets were closed and we have more than 5,000 outlets worldwide. It was a challenge in terms of sales and security measures, as well as our source chain. First, we are involved in the protection of our staff and customers. In addition, we experience a sharp drop in sales: our second quarter report shows that our net sales have declined by 50%, despite an increase in online shopping. So, everyone in the industry felt they had an effect on the source chain. Due to the drop in demand, we had to temporarily figure out how to mitigate those effects through collaboration with our suppliers to ensure that they can execute orders and receive payment, while reducing our losses as much as possible. The effect of the crisis has been felt throughout the enterprise. Fortunately, things are slowly improving as retail outlets reopen and more and more people return to a kind of new normal.
Here’s something everyone asks in those days: how is this pandemic transforming the fast fashion industry?
Anna Gedda: I guess that’s the million-dollar question. Corporations have not only been heavily affected in terms of operations, but also in terms of people’s expectations, ideals and values. Even I think about things now. You may have learned what is really vital to you in life, but it will take time to see how this will translate into our industry.
Here’s what we can predict. First, the industry landscape will be different. As I mentioned, we had a sharp drop in sales because many outlets were closed, but at the same time, there was an immediate acceleration of a virtual phase. The virtual change that many had hoped for for some time accelerated during the crisis, and this will only continue. This will have an effect on the various actors in the fashion industry. We can already see that those who had not entered the virtual area were the first to suffer at the beginning of the crisis. In addition, I think visitors’ expectations and behaviors will change. Not only will others shop differently, but their purchasing decisions will also be affected by considerations of non-public monetary security. According to Deloitte’s recent survey, 77% of millennials and 66% of the world’s Z-generations are now concerned about their finances. Clearly, this economic truth also affects behaviour. At the same time, there is a lot of communication about environmental sustainability, as well as economic recovery efforts, adding the creation of tasks. We can see that we really want to move to a more resilient and varied business style, a much more circular business style than we have today.
How will the H-M Group deal with this transformation?
Anna Gedda: For H-M Group, those are all spaces where we can meet many of our customers’ expectations and their long-term needs. We may be offering sustainable products, sustainable fashion and, more importantly, we can make them available to many. We believe that sustainability deserves to be affordable. In addition, through our reach, with our partners, we will be able to help create jobs and generate revenue in our retail and production markets.
He has created several sustainable collections and used sustainable fabrics in some of the products. Are you accelerating your sustainable progression initiatives?
Anna Gedda: Yes, I think we’ve completed a lot and today we have a giant collection of products made from sustainable fabrics. This means that they come from sustainable resources or are recycled in other ways. We also have the clothing collection program and have tried other circular business models, such as re-trade and rent, to further extend the life of the products. But also, to be honest, we have a long way to go. When we communicate about a circular system, it encompasses how we design products, manufacture them, and manage their end-of-life. In a circular model, of course, all fabrics will have to be durable one way or another. In addition, when possible, we have several uses of the product. And while we still have a long way to go, that’s the only way we can move forward.
Even in these difficult times, we make continuous investments, either in more sustainable materials, but also in testing and testing new types of circular business models. We have funded inventions that can help us become more circular on the product side, but also, more importantly, in the source chain.
What do you expect in terms of sustainability?
Anna Gedda: I foresee a future where our offerings will be more sustainable, but also will continue to be available and affordable to customers. We believe the key is to mainstream sustainability, to scale things up by finding clever solutions to make things sustainable yet affordable for many.
What sustainable progression projects have you targeted?
Anna Gedda: Several projects we presented before the crisis will be even more vital after COVID-19. We have begun to gain access to our global source chain as a service for external corporations through an initiative called Treadler. We have spent over 20 years working with our suppliers and partners to create a sustainable source chain. We haven’t gotten there yet, but we’ve made many innovations and investments along the way. Now we need to grow and allow others to contribute more to this change, and that’s why we have the B2B service. It’s also a way to diversify our profit stream.
Another vital picture we are making is transparency. With transparent data on how, where and how a product is manufactured, consumers are empowered to make informed decisions, making sure that everything they buy is designed, manufactured and treated with the duty of others and the environment. Earlier this year, COS partnered with a VeChain blockchain platform to allow consumers to see the full story of a recycled wool sweater. The blockchain generation has traced the origin of the remnants of wool, yarn and the fabric plant. When scanning a QR code on the flying label, the visitor saw a card, photographs and may simply read the sweater history. The sweater that will be available at COS outlets in Asia in February 2020. Another one of our brands, Arket, has also tried this generation.
Tell us more about your investments in inventions than circularity.
Anna Gedda: We have been investing in several sustainability starts-ups. One of them, TreeToTextile, uses renewable forest raw material and regenerates the cellulose into a textile fiber. Another is Worn Again, which has developed pioneering recycling technology that can reprocess pure and blended cotton and polyester textiles by separating them and then recycling them in two different streams. Re:newcell – a third example – is developing a recycling technology for cellulose-based textiles, such as cotton and viscose, creating a more sustainable textile pulp that can be used to produce new fibers for use in textile production. Earlier this year we announced that H&M’s Conscious Exclusive collection featured the newly patented material Circulose, marking the first time chemically recycled fibers are used in garments sold at scale.
Can percentage of some express examples of new circular models that have already been tested?
Anna Gedda: We have carried out many pilot tests around new circular commercial styles such as renting, renovation and convocation. For the first time, H-M members will be able to hire popular pieces from previous Conscious Exclusive collections at one of the newly renovated flagship outlets in Stockholm. The rental style is a component of our ambition to make the life of our fashion bigger. It also means taking the call from our customers, for whom access is more vital than property. Since December 2019, members of China’s largest subscription rental company, YCloset, can subscribe to a determined diversity of COS clothing. Last May, the H-M Weekday logo unveiled its exclusive “Re-made” online collection, which redesigned clothing from old collections to align with current trends to reduce and use existing products instead of creating new ones. Clothes from the collection are produced near the coast (reduces transport and emissions). Developed in collaboration with the laboratory, the concept has been a success and is currently being expanded.
With demand, we continue to explore new sustainable business styles to reduce production. We see on-demand style as a wonderful opportunity to be sustainable but profitable. In addition, studies show that emotional durability increases when a visitor participates in creating a product, making it more likely to be enjoyed for longer.
What sustainable projects did you launch after COVID-19?
Anna Gedda: After the onset of the crisis, we were able to redirect some resources towards the production of PPE (personal protection equipment), in collaboration with our source chain, which was delivered to the fitness system. Since mid-March we have been manufacturing masks, aprons and gloves for other countries and for our own operations.
You have a recycling program: how have you recycled and where are you now in terms of recycling?
Anna Gedda: That’s right. We have been collecting garments at our points of sale since 2013 and this has been a wonderful initiative for everyone. We try to make sure that no way was lost and that everything was returned to the system. Our consumers literally enjoyed being part of the solution rather than the problem. The purpose was to collect more than 25,000 tons a year by 2020, and we controlled to overcome it: in 2019, H-M Group gathered 29,005 tons of textiles to reuse and recycle through our clothing collection initiative. Unfortunately, we have temporarily suspended our clothing collection service in some markets. As a result of the pandemic, we have had disruptions in logistics and the ability to classify and recycle textiles, however, we are working hard to get our clothing collection service back up and running as temporarily as possible.
Does the H-M Group have a percentage of technologies and inventions of sustainable progression with the industry as a whole?
Anna Gedda: Yes and no. We’ve made the most of investments with others to make sure we have an intelligent combination of ownership, with other skills creating the ultimate productive situations to evolve those innovations. We also have our foundation, the H-M Foundation, which won the Global Challenge Award, the world’s largest innovation challenge for early-stage innovation in the final cycle. Each year, five winners shared 1 million euros to realize their concepts. These concepts are designed to be used throughout the industry and are not exclusive to H-M Group. We have noticed that, in fact, they have earned very well through other players in the industry, adding some of our competitors.
I have worked as a journalist in virtual and print publications, public and marketing for over a decade. I’ve written a lot and informed about fashion and
I have worked as a journalist in virtual and print publications, public and marketing for over a decade. I have written extensively and informed about fashion and emerging markets, as well as fresh culture, lifestyle, diplomacy, education and the arts. I am the founder and editor-in-chief of DEPESHA mag and effectively introduced the Thom Browne, Rubin Singer and Custo Barcelona brands in Russia, as well as Nicola Formichetti’s pop-up shop in New York. I have been interviewed and published in dozens of publications, adding The New York Times Russia Beyond The Headlines Edition, Forbes International, The Huffington Post, Women’s Wear Daily, The Official, Vogue, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Yahoo Style and Examiner. To Forbes.com, I write about emerging fashion markets. Email me to [email protected] to be a part of my world.