Consumers are not clearly rewarding brands for sustainability. Without such an economic payback, brands lacked incentives to develop and deploy systemic sustainability initiatives and so limited themselves to less expensive short-term changes. To drive investment, industry should track contributions from each company and share the information with consumers. Consumers could then use this information to judge - and reward - brands' commitment to sustainability.
To be sure, a handful of values-driven apparel companies have experimented with technologies such as greener chemistry, waterless dyeing, and natural and organic fibres.To measure and ultimately reduce environmental impact, the Higg Index depends on a vast amount of quantitative data grounded in science. For example, it needs to be able to provide a simple recommendation as to whether a 90 per cent recycled polyester blend or a 50 per cent organic cotton blend is the more sustainable choice. Currently, the Higg Index is not complete enough to make such a recommendation.Brands can have a more impactful role in advancing sustainability by contributing to an industry fund that supports these initiatives. Providing simple information on individual brands' contributions to the fund as a per cent of revenue can drive consumer choices and, consequently, competition between brands on investments
News courtesy: Fibre2Fashion.com
Comments
0 comment