The Spectacle Of Sustainability
An exploration into the westernisation, commodification and the greenwashing of sustainable fashion.
Sustainable fashion is trending. The words ‘carbon neutral’, ‘eco-friendly’ or anything connoting ethics is deeply (and problematically) embedded into most fast-fashion company's marketing practices. With natural disasters now regularly clogging our timelines and reminding us that action is necessary for change, fast fashion is becoming more heavily critiqued by the consumer. The illusion that the consumption of fast fashion is simply a form of retail therapy, enacting no harm other than to the consumer's bank account has been shattered. Clearly, there are side effects of fashion consumption that exist outside our own experience. So as the consumer aims to be more mindful, mass polluters have begun to claim sustainability, so being commodified by the capitalist.
Ethical fast fashion can simply not exist. Yet, as consumers in the western world, our growing desire to undo the harm done to the environment has resulted in the definitions of sustainability becoming perverted to benefit capitalist preoccupations. Ideally, the aim to be more sustainable through our fashion choice would be reflected in a decrease in fast fashion demands, pollutants and more ethical conditions for garment workers, yet this is not happening. Now ideas of sustainability have become complex, viewed through a westernised and increasingly elitist lens. The verb, to be sustainable, has now become somewhat of a contemporary buzzword, a trend to acquire rather than the lived-in reality for many. Sustainable fashion is marketable, a privilege associated with the fashion-forward and fashion-conscious.
No longer bound to themes of reusing, repairing and simply consuming less, the subversion of sustainability into a modern-day spectacle is inherently harmful. Understanding sustainability as neither a contemporary nor western concept is vital. Preserving the Earth for future generations is one deeply rooted in human kinds' culture, tradition and inherent nature. This newly founded concept of sustainability is a direct result of globalisation, which has afforded economic freedoms to select countries and have so gone on to define what it is to be sustainable, removing the traditional notions attached to its meaning.
Greenwashing & consumer manipulation
This marketing of sustainability is mostly conveyed through greenwashing, a process in which companies falsify their identity as being one that is concerned with environmental issues when their wider business practices reflect no care or desire to preserve the planet. Companies notoriously unethical and unsustainable, have adopted the label of sustainability in order to appeal to the mass market who are moving towards sourcing more ethical fashion. This is a deceptive practice which has become increasingly common as environmental consciousness has shifted into the mainstream.
Greenwashing oversees the use of language coded in manipulation to confuse the consumer, giving the false impression of being environmentally friendly. Capital is therefore being made from consumers' fears of climate change, giving the appearance of sustainable practice while the reality does not reflect this. This is extremely problematic as it allows for companies to divert their consumers' gaze, being aware that marketing themselves as more environmentally friendly is appealing and makes people more likely to invest more money into those products. Ultimately the core of the company remains unsustainable and extremely damaging to the planet. Fast fashion companies especially are engaging in this myth.
Sustainability as a lifestyle
Due to this commodification of sustainability, the marketing of it has become an aesthetic or lifestyle to attain. The privileged are adopting tactics of working-class communities to achieve this lifestyle. A key example to reflect upon is the punk counterculture of the 90s, whose choice in clothing reflected anti-corporate, anti-consumerist culture. This subsequently became appropriated by the masses and upper classes, branded as ‘cool’ by capitalism and subsequently, the roots of the subculture degenerated.
With certain ideals now attached to sustainability, there is the notion that you can only be sustainable in certain ways, making it restrictive. The gentrification of spaces like Depop, rise in the prices of charity shops and idealisation of working-class ‘aesthetics’ all contribute to this commodification of sustainability. It is also important to recognise the dialogue of shaming towards people who still shop fast fashion as there are classist notions attached to the idea that everybody can shop sustainably and has the time and accessibility to do so. In many ways, this reinvention of sustainability only fits the middle-class consumer, who has the time to engage with this specific definition of being sustainable. Sustainability should not be an exclusive movement afforded to those with the time and financial freedom to support independent designers or shop vintage. Rather the intersection of class, size, gender and race all need to be highlighted.
Ultimately the suitability fashion movement is not a separate one from the societal issues present in all other spheres of life and is still one which perpetuates ruling systems. The loudest voices within the movement are ones which are white and privileged. To truly have an effective movement, there needs to be a diverse range of voices discussing what marginalised communities need, to aid them in their sustainable journeys, rather than focus on the exclusivity or demonisation of those who cannot partake. Class heavily intersects with environmentalism. Exploitative labour is a product of fast fashion which affects those most vulnerable. It is also a well-known fact that those in the poorest conditions suffer most from climate change. The amount of climate refugees dramatically increases each year. To truly combat environmental degradation we need to see a return to the core of what sustainability is, which would mean integrating traditional knowledge from a diverse range of people to become a movement for all. Sustainability is not just an environmental issue, but a humanist one.
Escaping the paradox
The concept of sustainability itself exists as a paradox. We are consumers and so, with consumption comes the unattainability of sustainability. Yet, the expectation for society to simply stop consuming is unrealistic. The demonisation of the consumer is rarely productive, yet the corporations causing harm and damage are at such a distance that it seems futile to critique their practice. Those of us who have the privilege to, should continue to challenge the capitalist corporations using our empathy and desperation for the preservation of the planet. On an individualist level, being more mindful of our personal consumption and the people who we choose to support if accessible (small, independent designers rather than corporate giants, marketing themselves as sustainable) is a practice some of us can begin to embed into our lives. Acknowledging our personal responsibility towards the planet should be present in our everyday decisions. Fashion can be vital to self-expression, at the core of expressing our internal identities and values. However, finding meaning in shaping our identities outside of the external and finding expression outside consumption is key to escaping the paradox of sustainable fashion.