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Examples of best practice (in terms of sustainable strategies) can be identified across many sectors of the fashion industry, but in particular there have been a number of highly visible

case studies executed within both the high street retail sector and the performance wear sector. Companies such as Marks and Spencer (UK), Patagonia (USA), and Terra Plana (UK) are all implementing a number of environmental and/or ethical strategies across areas of design and production. As the largest clothing retailer in the UK, Marks and Spencer (M&S) provides an interesting example of a high street company who is taking action towards positive change. As the manufacturer and retailer of a number of own brands the company has been proactive in taking significant steps to improve their sustainability credentials. While M&S has been changing existing manufacturing practices, it is through its “Look Behind the Label” campaign that M&S has been re-educating the consumer in an effort to raise awareness to environmental and ethical issues. For a number of years M&S had been exploring the elimination of harmful dyes and chemicals from its textiles resources, and has developed its own environmental standards and codes of practice. In 2007 the company announced its ‘Plan A’, which outlined the company’s environmental and ethical intentions over a five-year period (Black 2008). In the manufacture of clothing M&S have focused on the use of eco-friendly materials such as organic cotton and recycled polyester. While this in itself is not a radical intervention in the design, production and use of fashion garments, as an example of best practice in the fashion industry it is interesting in relation to the scale of the company. M&S deal in huge volumes of clothing and by 2012 as a company they ambitiously aim to use recycled polyester for all their polyester based products, from clothing to homeware (Black 2008). Moreover, the company has chosen to support a public campaign that aims to raise awareness to the benefits of a changed laundering practice. In their efforts to re-educate the consumer M&S have been at the forefront of the drive in the UK for consumers to launder garments at 30C (rather than the conventionally acceptable 40C). The sheer size of the M&S organization, with over 520 stores across the UK retailing in everything from food to fashion, ensures that the company is heard amongst the buying public (Black 2008).

The USA based company Patagonia, has been at the forefront of developing a closed loop system of production within the apparel industry. This outdoor sportswear company, which produces fleece garments manufactured from post consumer waste such as plastic water bottles, began its Common Threads Recycling Programme in 2005. Using the EcoCircle fibre-to-fibre technology developed by Teijin Fibres in Japan, Patagonia recycles and reuses unwanted polyester garments in the manufacture of a new fleece fibre for new product ranges. The recycling system, according to Patagonia, uses 75% less energy than that which is required for the production of new virgin fibre (Black 2008; Fletcher 2008). In addition what is of particular interest is Patagonia’s attempt to engage the wearer in sharing the responsibility of a garment. By donating used polyester garments the wearer is introduced to the consequences of clothing production and consumption. This in itself provides the wearer with a behind-the-scenes insight and sense of engagement/ownership that is intended to positively influence patterns of consumption and disposal. However, even in such positive

cases the actions of the wearer can inadvertently provide negative results. Fletcher (2008) comments on the way in which the public donations may reach the company, citing the negative impacts associated with driving the products to a drop off point versus the positive low energy savings made when using a postal service to dispatch products. Notwithstanding this issue of collection, the efforts of Patagonia, from an industry perspective, reveal how fashion and clothing producers can employ sustainable strategies that not only lead to improved products but may also direct the company towards new opportunities and initiatives by engaging the consumer in the conversation. Moreover, in terms of a garment life cycle the company has employed strategies that focus on considered and innovative solutions to material selection; energy efficiency during manufacture; and end-of-life schemes (Fletcher 2008). By integrating a variety of sustainable strategies within its model of design and production, the company acts as a role model that could motivate other companies within the fashion industry towards better engagement with environmental issues.

As discussed above, the consumer can have a strong influence on how products are developed within the fashion industry. In the open market the consumer has the choice to purchase a garment or not, therefore understanding the factors that influence a consumer’s decision to buy are critical to the success of the product. In the competitive High Street market sector, the dominant factor affecting the sale (and success) of a garment is considered to be price. This single factor is perceived to be the key influence in determining a sale, however, recent research supports the theory that the consumer’s decision can also be influenced by other factors. An increasing number of consumers are becoming concerned with how fashion clothes are produced and this tends to diminish the issue of price at the point of purchase (Draper et al. 2007). Several reports substantiate the claim in the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report, Let Them Eat Cake: Satisfying New Consumer Appetite For Responsible Brands (Kleanthous & Peck 2005), which stated that in Western markets the interest in environmental and social issues has extended beyond a small, select demographic to include a larger mainstream, ‘brand-conscious’ market. Already, by 2005 a large number of consumers were demanding to buy products that were retailing at an affordable price while performing to environmentally and ethical practices.

However while consumer interest for environmental and ethical fashion has increased, the response to reduce the negative impacts of fashion clothing from within the various sectors of the fashion industry has been slow, this includes the luxury high fashion sector. The 2007 WWF report, Deeper Luxury, argued that it was time for a new type of luxury company to emerge, one where the company’s “…deeper values are fully embodied in the sourcing, manufacture, marketing and distribution of products and services” (Bendell and Kleanthous 2007, p2). The report identified that luxury brands were encountering growth in nations that experienced great wealth and poverty at the same time; ‘…luxury companies must do more to justify their value in an increasingly resource-constrained and unequal world’ (ibid 2007, p3).

While it still appears that most luxury labels and companies are resisting change there are exceptions to the rule. UK high fashion design labels such as Stella McCartney and Katherine E Hamnett have continually responded positively to environmental and ethical ideals through a combination of approaches. In the USA the fashion label, Linda Loudermilk has championed the use of organic and natural fibres for a number of years. Newer USA labels, such as Project Alabama (now trading as Alabama Chanin) produce fashion garments that have been created from natural, and often recycled, fabrics, which have been constructed and embellished by hand by way of a network of locally based seamstresses (Fletcher 2008).

These labels, and many others, often produce smaller craft-related lines in comparison to the large volumes of garments produced for the High Street retail sector. Nevertheless, the labels are essential in that they provide case studies of best practice to which other fashion designers and companies can refer. However, few, if any of the large luxury RTW fashion brands (Stella McCartney aside) are apparently making any positive moves towards incorporating a sustainable approach. Couture houses and luxury companies such as Dior, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, and Lanvin are highly media exposed fashion companies who all compete within the luxury sector. According to Bendell and Kleanthous the well-positioned luxury brands can,

…influence consumer aspiration and behaviour by editing consumer choices through product design, distribution and marketing; and by influencing how, when and for how long consumers use their products. They have both the opportunity and the responsibility to promote sustainable consumption. (Bendell and Kleanthous 2007, p2)

Although there are positive case studies of best practice within the industry, these have not become the catalyst for widespread change. If the fashion industry is to embrace new models of sustainable practice then designers and producers need to step outside of a conventional making paradigm and seek alternate methods and strategies for improved practices. Blendell and Kleanthous (2007) reiterate the need for luxury labels to do more - but without a clear and practical framework for making positive changes it becomes difficult to achieve this.

Throughout the thesis it has been argued that designers are unfamiliar with how to work with sustainability, and this is further evidenced by the diverse range of tools and approaches to sustainable design that have been discussed within this chapter. This research aims to challenge the conventional fashion design methodology and present an alternate model of practice that can assist the designer and producer to engage with sustainable change. In Chapter 2, it was argued that the model of fashion design and production applied in the contemporary industry stems from the origins of the luxury sector that emerged from the Paris-based haute couture industry. A conceptual model of practice for haute couture that demonstrates where and how sustainable strategies could be employed is presented within

Chapter 5. Moreover, it is envisaged that this alternate model of practice could be considered adaptable for use in a range of independent, small and medium sized companies.

The next section then explores the proposition of an alternate model of fashion design practice; one that integrates sustainable design strategies across the design and production process and considers a life cycle approach to fashion clothing. In addition, particular factors that need to be considered when challenging the conventional fashion design methodology are highlighted.