Covid-19, climate change and the fashion industry

Change is imminent. That much is obvious. So imminent in fact, we are currently living it. I for one haven’t left the apartment in 2 days. Or maybe it’s 3, I’ve lost count. 

As I write this, thousands of people are dying due to Covid. Millions of people have lost their jobs. Our lives and the economic system as we know it may never be the same again. And it seems blatantly obvious that by the end of 2020, things are going to look very different.

There is no doubt that Australia is one of the most privileged countries in the world, and although it’s predicted that over 2 million Australians are facing unemployment, third world countries will experience far worse levels.

Like so many industries, including travel, hospitality and entertainment, the garment industry has taken a huge hit. Some of the world’s biggest fashion brands owe more than $3 billion to garment factories across countries including Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and Cambodia for upcoming orders, and it’s estimated that over 50 million garment workers will be impacted by Covid-19. 

We’ve seen the global lock down of retail which has disrupted consumer spending and has pushed us as consumers to question our purchasing behaviour around non-essential items in a time of crisis. And it’s no secret that the fashion industry’s predictive seasonal systems are broken and out of date, specifically from an environmental and humanitarian perspective. 

Remake, a community of women pledging to wear their values and put an end to fast fashion have started the #Payup petition, demanding the following fast fashion brands to ‘Payup’ for cancelled orders that will impact the lives of millions of garment workers around the world -

Zara, H&M, Target Corp., Mango, Primark, J.C. Penney Co. Inc., Walmart Inc., Marks & Spencer, VF Corp., C&A, PVH Corp., Tesco, Kohl’s Corp., LPP, Bestseller Fashion Group, Mothercare and Kiabi. 

You can help champion this campaign by signing the petition and or donating here.

What kind of long term impact will the Covid-19 crisis have on reshaping the fashion industry as a whole?

The Covid-19 crisis is an opportunity to redefine business models and replace outdated systems with systems that are more sustainable and progressive. Many of the more innovative brands are currently exploring digital fashion alternatives including digital clothing samples, digital catwalks, 360 Look Books and made to order software. The limited physical contact between designers and manufacturers has led to digital clothing samples, highlighting outdated processes and thus leading to the elimination of textile waste.

Additionally, made to order software means the product is manufactured entirely under one roof, attaching more meaning, creating less returns and significantly reducing mass production and waste.

2020 has been a hell of a year and we’re only 4 months in.

Australia is recovering from our most devastating bushfires in history with over 18.626 million hectares of bushland destroyed and half a billion animals perished. According to the NBC, 900 million tons of carbon dioxide have been released into the atmosphere, equivalent to nearly double the country's total yearly fossil fuel emissions. If Covid-19 and the disastrous bushfires don’t wake us up to how broken our system is, what more will it take?

I’m sure I’m not just speaking for myself when I say we want change, but it’s clear that our outdated political leaders are sweeping glaringly obvious issues under the rug and want to continue with business as usual. In fact, just recently a decision to renew the Victorian logging agreement was quietly pushed through in the middle of a pandemic. 

Legal organisation, Environmental Justice Australia said the agreements had been renewed without properly considering what the fires meant for wildlife and EJA’s chief executive, Brendan Sydes, said it was a “massive failure of leadership” by both tiers of government.

You can help spread the word by signing and sharing this petition championed by the Greens party. 

If Covid and the recent Australian bushfires have taught us anything, it’s that we’re abiding by outdated practices and attitudes and systems, governed by leaders who are motivated only by monetary gain. But let’s face it, this learning isn’t new, it’s simply becoming increasingly obvious as it continues to impact us in more direct ways.

Perhaps privilege had caused our circumstances to feel like a surreal, apocalyptic film, it’s not everyday your country is devastated by fire or the world stands still at the hands of a pandemic. But it’s hard to not take meaning from metaphors in such confusing times, and from this angle, Mother Nature is pissed.

Ultimately, it would be a real tragedy to come out of this unchanged, sliding back to cheap clothes with slashed discount tags and forgetting all about the devastating impact of the bushfires and the perspectives gained from Covid-19.

If you do anything today, please sign the Payup petition here and read about the latest logging agreement here.