SUSTAINABILITY OF FASHION

As  the market place changes, with growth of new economies, the availability of resources, the means of production all altering constantly fashion has to ensure that is it changing in line with the rest of the world. I will look at how fashion will ensure that it remains sustainable and what it has to do to ensure this:

The Global Community:
As the world becomes more interconnected, this has become a plus and a minus for the fashion industry. The issue of distance has become more and more irrelevant as travelling has become so much easier. The internet has made us more and more connected, so sharing other cultures has become as simple as a click of a button, we can view what different cities look like online and their unique street style and personal culture can be blogged and shared via social media. In sense, despite the distance we have become closer together - the different communities becoming one large global community. This is a plus due to the creative environment it can breed and the sharing of various ideas, however as we all share we all become more alike, merging into one so soon as the world develops there is a lack of distinctive difference between communities. As the difference decreases this is good in terms of branding established products in new companies as the methods of promotion will no longer have to change so drastically however, will this lack of diversity be missed? In order for fashion to sustain momentum and interest it must keep innovating and recreating, and to do so the global community must be aware of the differences and keep them thriving to create a more culturally diverse market.


Consider consumption:
When designing garments designer have to consider the life span of their products. If creating short lived trends it is likely consumer will just purchase the products and throw away by the end of the season, continually doing so is not sustainable for both fashion and the environment.


Use of Resources:
 The world of fashion is faced past and due to high street and economy brands fast fashion is booming.In  the digital age, trends spread quickly and often fizzle out before they have a chance to fully blossom but still many fashionistas are quick to want to jump on the and wagon, that is where the world of fast fashion comes into play. The speed of design to shop floor process is ever decreasing, with high street brands such as Primark able to get clothes onto shop floor from the sketch book in as little as two weeks. With these type of trends they aren't as sustainable as long lasting designs and therefore brands have to think of the resources they use.
Fabrics such as cotton are sustainable and easy to produce however others have a much more damaging effect on the environment. For instance the fur industry is thriving currently and struggling to reach the demand, especially since regulations of what fur is permitted to be used, produced and sold where.


Sustaining brands in new economies:
As new emerging markets are born such as the MINTs and the BRICs, their desire for fashion is increased and with new masses of consumers with large amounts of disposable income available, large fashion brands look to move into these areas. As they establish brands in these new markets, companies have to be aware of what in permitted socially and morally acceptable in terms of products and advertising  and have to adhere to the new markets rules and regulations. When establishing new flagships in the emerging market, fashion houses have ensure hey sustain their brand ethos and identity, so the brand image created in the new markets is fluent to the established image of the brand in the western world.

The new value economy:
In order to stay current and attractive to consumers, brands have to think of new innovative ways to sustain customers loyalty. The new value economy is the idea that consumers no longer look to trade with just monetary values, and frequently use loyalty schemes and other monetary alternatives such as accrued points to pay. This develops a relationship between the brand and the costumer, as they are persuaded to return to the brand if they know if there is a sense of reward, for example free products for continual loyalty. Examples of this are nectar points or Boots reward cards.

Change to sustain:
Brand will have to be more innovative and employ new tactics of promotion in order to sustain. In the digital age, brands  should encompass new technologies in order to saturate the market place. They can do so by creation handles on all social media platforms to ensure consumers are always up to date and aware - sustaining an of moment brand presence.


Collaboration:
Businesses can become more sustainable both environmentally and economically by collaborating. Big brand collaborations such as Apple and Burberry and Alexander Wang and H&M have been successes due to the fact they offer a sense of exclusivity to draw the customer in and the fact that each brand sits of opposing ends of the market allows them to tap into each other's audiences. The collaborations create something new and innovative, allows the success of the brand to be sustained in their own market as well as being generated in a new one.