The era of the consumer activist, long heralded without actually becoming a reality, is now existent, and brands must adapt in response, according to a survey conducted by Lectra and Retviews, a 2017 start-up acquired recently by the former. The proportion of sustainable fashion in collections varies considerably from one retailer to the next, it found.
There is little difference between the fabrics most commonly used in the mass and premium markets. The same is true for eco-friendly compared to standard collections. Cotton, synthetic fabrics such as polyester, elastane and also viscose are the most widely offered and used fabrics, a press release from Paris-based technology company Lectra said citing the survey.The era of the consumer activist, long heralded without actually becoming a reality, is now existent, and brands must adapt in response, according to a survey conducted by Lectra and Retviews, a 2017 start-up acquired recently by the former. The proportion of sustainable fashion in collections varies considerably from one retailer to the next, it found.#
For example, eco-friendly collections constitute only a small portion of the ranges offered by leading retailers Zara and H&M, which signed the Fashion Pact during the G7 Summit in Biarritz.
Zara's Join Life collection represents 14 per cent of its range, whereas C&A's #Wearthechange represents nearly 30 per cent of its total collection. The Conscious collection at H&M, which tops the Fashion Transparency Index created by Fashion Revolution, accounts for less than 10 per cent of its total range, the survey found.
C&A, H&M and Inditex (Zara) are among the top four users of organic cotton. All the brands analysed in the survey present their cotton as sustainable and consider it a priority for 2020 and beyond.
The assumption that sustainable and/or organic garments are more expensive is a misconception, the survey found. H&M's exclusive sustainable collection, Conscious, is a good example. The average price of a dress in the standard collection is €39.90, whereas in the Join Life collection it is €31.70.
“There are currently no international regulations for apparel defining what can be described as sustainable. This means that there is still a long way to go before the standardization of sustainable fashion is achieved," explains Quentin Richelle, chief marketing officer of Retviews.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
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