Sustainability in fashion is a cause more shoppers are becoming aware of. However, the unavoidable high price point associated with sustainable brands often makes it a niche product available to some, rather than all. Some brands are working on tackling the divide.

Sustainability has stepped into the spotlight as the trend of this year's transformative fashion season. As things continue to shift within the industry, morphing into a new normal, the topic remains at the forefront of the conversation. Yet despite everything sustainability has tackled, there is one major matter that has continuously hindered its growth—affordability. As brands aim to reconstruct environmental and humanitarian practices, making them fair and sustainable, pricing of clothing inevitably goes up. For this reason, sustainable brands often end up becoming trapped in a niche world, rather than an opportunity for everyone to make a positive impact on the future of fashion.

The disconnect between sustainable fashion and its price point, ironically, may be rooted in the very thing that is most important to the public when the topic is discussed. Though consumers care about environmental concerns, it tends to resonate as more of an abstract issue for them. Rather, labour practices and supply chain affairs appear to be a more tangible concern, according to a recent Vogue Business article published on the issue. But paying staff fairly, establishing safe working conditions across the supply chain, and sourcing ethical and sustainable materials doesn’t come at a low cost. The unavoidable makeup in costs is consequently represented in a piece's final price tag.

Morning Consult/IBM conducted a new poll of 4,000 consumers across four European countries, including the UK, Germany, Italy, and Spain in which they inquired about what is most important to them under the umbrella of “textile sustainability”. Number one on the list is fair conditions and wages for workers, a humanitarian issue the greater public can relate to. Falling behind this concern are more environmental interests including the responsible use of raw materials; circular economy practices; low use of chemicals; and the protection of biodiversity.

Such economic tension consequently leads to the dichotomy of continuous growth of fast fashion versus the subsequent burdensome concerns raised for sustainable brands.

A seemingly simple poll on the price of a white tee (basic vs sustainably made) recently revealed a surprising amount of information regarding a [European] consumer’s habits when purchasing sustainably.

The data shows that though consumers uphold sustainable practices, they have yet to incorporate them into their shopping practices in any impactful way. Out of the 1,000 adults surveyed in the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain, Germans appeared to be the most comfortable and content with spending more on sustainable clothing. By contrast, Brits revealed to be the least willing to invest in the higher priced sustainable pieces.

Thepractices may suggest that consumers lack an understanding of all the extraeconomic challenges a brand faces when choosing to be sustainable. The work ofeducating the public on the vast meaning of sustainability therefore may lie inthe responsibility of the brands. “There’s a real need to think about how yousurface that information at the point of engagement with the brand, says LuqNiazi, global managing director of consumer industries at IBM. Yet some brands,like Aligne, have already begun the work.

Launchingamid a pandemic is a bold move, but to CEO and founder, Dalbir Baines, thedecision was one that reveals a glimpse into her own work ethic. “We can onlypower through,” Baines said to Ella Alexander for her recent Harper’s Bazaarinterview. “We just need to make careful, considered decisions and try toembrace the reactive nature of the current climate.”

“Creatingpremium, quality clothing is essential to our brand, but we’ll never be able tomake change if we're too niche or unattainable with our price point,” Bainssaid. “We will always offer collections that are accessible and relevant to awide range of people. Looking ahead, I anticipate that the industry will beable to move sustainably without a huge impact on cost, because - hopefully -there will be huge economies of scale behind it. From here, things can only getbetter.”

Aligneoffers luxury style, premium made clothing at a more affordable price pointthan the average sustainable brand. In order to keep prices lower than the competition,Baines has worked with her connections, as well as her understanding of thefashion industry, gained from nearly two decades of a career as a fashion buyerand product developer. Baines exclusively has chosen to work with factoriesthat focus on sustainability across all their partnerships, in an effort toachieve a good price on eco-friendly fabrics. Additionally, the brand worksdigitally with international factories and creates nearly half its collectionin Europe, where it is based, in order to reduce their carbon footprint.

At itsearliest stage, the brand already boasts of a minimum of 50 per centsustainability in every product and 100 per cent sustainability in nearly halfof its first collection. The brand's goal is to reach full productsustainability, on every level, by 2022. Such ambitions continue to push theboundaries towards the common goal of creating a fully sustainable fashionindustry. The hope is that it will also cause a domino effect for like-mindedbrands. The intentions, moving forward, must be based in not only educating theconsumer, but also working with them to make sustainable garments affordablefor all.

Thisarticle has not been edited by SBS Zipper staff and is re-published withpermission from synzenbe.com

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