Wednesday 4 December 2013

Fashion and Sustainable Design


Fashion is in a state of constant flux. What is popular in fashion changes continually. Thus the fashion industry causes strain on natural resources. Typically, Fashion and sustainability do not coincide. However, they need not conflict. Change is something that should be celebrated and not condemned. Changes encourages creativity and new solutions, its what keeps our design world alive. The continually changing fashion industry creates a constant flow of money and employment. Change allows us to adapt to our environment, instead of using out of date ideas and opinions. A design industry without change would not only be dull, but damaging to both the environment and mankind.
However a continuously changing fashion industry can create shallow values. We expect newness and easily bore of garments after just a few months. ‘Clothing sales have increased by 60% in the last ten years.’ (Oakdene Hollins, 2006) One of TED’s 10 strategies is to ‘Design to Replace the Need to Consume.’  The value of garments are usually based on their aesthesis. By taking small evolutionary steps we can shift this value to the quality and ethical construction of products. The idea of sustainable design is much like the fashion industry. Our tries at sustainability will not be perfect initially; instead constant change will perfect our ideas. Sustainability needs constant refinement and therefore needs constant change, much like the fashion industry. 


S. Walker. Sustainable By Design. Earthscan. 2006.

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