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sustainablecontributions · 4 years

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Weaving A Better Future - Sustainable Contributions

Podcast Reference list

Bradley-Ross, C. (2014). How Is Cotton Biodegradable and Why Is That Good? [online] The Sustainable Fashion Collective. Available at: https://www.the-sustainable-fashion-collective.com/2014/10/09/cotton-biodegradable-good.

BrotherEarthJp (2014). Project for Combating Desertification in Inner Mongolia -full version-. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxcSTU4UtXw&t=81s [Accessed 7 Feb. 2021].

Business Insider (2019). Why Cashmere Is So Expensive | So Expensive. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fy1suDnO3o&t=39s [Accessed 7 Feb. 2021].

Filei, A.A., Slesarenko, L.A., Boroditskaya, A.V. and Mishigdorj, O. (2018). Analysis of Desertification in Mongolia. Russian Meteorology and Hydrology, 43(9), pp.599–606.

Hernández, J.C. (2017). “We Don’t Exist”: Life inside Mongolia’s Swelling Slums. The New York Times. [online] 2 Oct. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/02/world/asia/mongolia-slums-ulan-bator.html [Accessed 7 Feb. 2021].

Johnstons of Elgin. (2021). Cashmere Clothing & Fabrics | Scottish Cashmere. [online] Available at: https://www.johnstonsofelgin.com/ [Accessed 7 Feb. 2021].

JohnstonsofElgin (2012). Our Story - Celebrating 215 Years. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEyeWsoISLM [Accessed 7 Feb. 2021].

PETA. (2019). Brands That Have Banned Cashmere Cruelty. [online] Available at: https://www.peta.org/features/international-brands-that-have-banned-cashmere/ [Accessed 7 Feb. 2021].

Sustainable Fibre Alliance. (2021). SFA | The Sustainable Fibre Alliance. [online] Available at: https://sustainablefibre.org/ [Accessed 7 Feb. 2021].

T, B. (2019). Mongolia Has 70.9 Million Livestock Animals Counted. [online] MONTSAME News Agency. Available at: https://montsame.mn/en/read/211029 [Accessed 7 Feb. 2021].

The Economist (2018). The true cost of fast fashion | The Economist. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLfNUD0-8ts&t=32s [Accessed 7 Feb. 2021].

Timmins, B. (2020). Cashmere and climate change threaten nomadic life. BBC News. [online] 5 Mar. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51315490 [Accessed 6 Feb. 2021].

United Nations (2015). The 17 Goals. [online] United Nations. Available at: https://sdgs.un.org/goals [Accessed 7 Feb. 2021].

Walsh, F. (2008). Partywear and cashmere help Primark beat the gloom. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/jan/17/associatedbritishfoodsbusiness.christmas2007 [Accessed 6 Feb. 2021].

www.eda.admin.ch. (n.d.). National Rangeland Forum: Caring for our homeland and rangelands. [online] Available at: https://www.eda.admin.ch/countries/mongolia/en/home/news/agenda.html/content/countries/mongolia/en/meta/agenda/2017/rangeland_forum [Accessed 7 Feb. 2021].

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sustainablecontributions · 4 years

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The Two Faces of Fashion

In 2007, Angel Gurria, the former Secretary-General of the OECD, gave a speech to the Foreign Relations Commission. He enthusiastically described globalisation as “a major positive force which provides key contributions to global progress and prosperity” (Gurria, 2007). While he acknowledged areas for improvement, the speech was overwhelmingly supportive of globalisation. However, it is becoming increasingly evident in recent years that globalisation has a darker side (Saval, 2018).

In the late 20th and early 21st century, many UK fashion brands, from high street names such as M&S (Adams, 2011), to luxury brands such as Burberry (BBC, 2007), began sourcing garments from the far east and ceasing manufacturing in the UK. Driven by a desire to cut costs and remain competitive, brands were able to benefit from cheap labour in developing nations, and reduced compliance overheads in the UK (Hoskins, 2014). An increased obsession with profitability has encouraged business leaders to turn a blind eye and encourage unsustainable demand, whatever the environmental and social cost. These actions have led to opacity and complexity in supply chains, and it is now difficult for consumers to mentally connect their purchasing decisions with the harm caused by the production of their items.

While supply chains are opaque, the impacts of globalised fashion are deeply understood. Barely a week goes by without a report exposing forced labour, hazardous working conditions, pollution, unsustainable farming practices and animal welfare issues, to name a few (Young, 2020)

Fortunately, not all businesses hold profitability as their sole objective. Johnston’s of Elgin (JoE), a luxury garment manufacturer and retailer in rural Scotland has valued quality and purpose since it was founded in 1797. A dedication to serving the communities in which it operates, both in the UK and abroad, makes them an aspirational model for any brand selling physical goods. Their contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals are evident, and they have also consistently delivered economic growth.

While most UK manufacturing communities have been devastated by job losses following offshoring, JoE has retained all manufacturing in Scotland, preserving jobs in a rural community, nurturing skills, and making production decisions that reduce environmental harm.

The fashion industry is notoriously wasteful, with over 300k tonnes of clothes heading to landfill each year (Ellson, 2018). JoE has not only improved on quality, and therefore lifespan, they also offer a return and repair service, contributing to responsible consumption goals.

Sourcing cashmere is becoming increasingly unsustainable for similar businesses. In 2015, Simon Cotton, the CEO of JoE, jointly founded the Sustainable Fibre Alliance, an NGO dedicated to enabling the supply of sustainable cashmere from China and Mongolia. Since then, JoE has been instrumental in securing herder livelihoods and setting codes of practice that ensure preservation of rangelands, animal welfare, and the environmentally friendly processing of raw materials, and a transparent chain-of-custody process (JoE, 2019).

It is inspiring to see a local Scottish business demonstrating that growth is achievable while embracing sustainable practises and serving communities.

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Reference list

Adams, F. (2011). M&S Switch to Foreign Suppliers Threatens 16,000 UK Textile Jobs. [online] The Independent. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/m-s-switch-to-foreign-suppliers-threatens-16-000-uk-textile-jobs-740621.html [Accessed 31 Jan. 2021].

BBC (2007). Burberry demo despite £1m offer. news.bbc.co.uk. [online] 27 Jan. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/6305703.stm [Accessed 31 Jan. 2021].

Ellson, A. (2018). Clothes Worth £12.5bn Are Thrown in Bin. [online] Thetimes.co.uk. Available at: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/clothes-worth-12-5bn-are-thrown-in-bin-b8rqfrcg2 [Accessed 6 Feb. 2021].

Gurria, A. (2007). Reaping the Benefits of Globalisation: the Importance of Public Policies. [In-Person] Available at: http://www.oecd.org/general/38144150.pdf [Accessed 6 Feb. 2021].

Johnstons of Elgin. (2019). Johnston’s of Elgin - Our Philosophy. [online] Available at: https://www.johnstonsofelgin.com/retail/about-johnstons-of-elgin/our-philosophy/ [Accessed 6 Feb. 2021].

Labour Behind The Label (2020). Boohoo & Covid-19. [online] Labourbehindthelabel.net, p.4. Available at: https://labourbehindthelabel.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/LBL-Boohoo-WEB.pdf [Accessed 6 Feb. 2021].

Robinson, P.K. and Hsieh, L. (2016). Reshoring: a Strategic Renewal of Luxury Clothing Supply Chains. Operations Management Research, [online] 9(3-4), pp.89–101. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12063-016-0116-x [Accessed 6 Feb. 2021].

Saval, N. (2018). Globalisation: the Rise and Fall of an Idea That Swept the World. [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/14/globalisation-the-rise-and-fall-of-an-idea-that-swept-the-world [Accessed 6 Feb. 2021].

Tansy Hoskins (2014). Luxury brands: Higher Standards or Just a Higher mark-up? [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/dec/10/luxury-brands-behind-gloss-same-dirt-ethics-production [Accessed 6 Feb. 2021].

Young, S. (2020). What Was the Rana Plaza Disaster and Why Did It happen? [online] The Independent. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/rana-plaza-factory-disaster-anniversary-what-happened-fashion-a9478126.html [Accessed 6 Feb. 2021].

Image Credits -

1. United Nations (SDG Icons) 2. Johnston’s of Elgin