How ethical fashion is growing in Asia-Pacific and five sustainable clothing brands to watch
From the region’s first eco-fashion week to changing consumer attitudes in China, Asia-Pacific – long known more for its mass-produced clothing – is joining a worldwide movement towards sustainable fashion
It was not your average fashion week. There were no street-style photographers and no snooty front-row attitudes, just an overwhelming sense among participants that fashion could be a force for good and now is the time for the industry to change.
This was the first incarnation of Eco Fashion Week Australia (EFWA), which was held from November 23 to 27 and is the first sustainable fashion week ever to be held in Asia-Pacific. It saw more than 40 brands from Australia, New Zealand, India, Indonesia, Japan and more showing garments made from degradable and recycled materials, highlighting zero-waste manufacturing and traditional, artisanal handicrafting.
Three Hong Kong ethical-fashion start-ups selling clothes with a message and funding needy communities around the world
Although small by the standards of major fashion weeks – even within Asia-Pacific – EFWA reflects a worldwide push for sustainable fashion. Even major corporate players in the fashion industry seem to be acknowledging that the status quo needs to change.
Companies such as H&M and Nike, for example, were on hand at a recent event in London which saw the release of a report on how serious pollution from the fashion industry has become, next to well-known ethical fashion proponents such as Stella McCartney.
The report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, titled “A new textiles economy: Redesigning fashion’s future”, states that the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is wasted every second, while less than 1 per cent of clothing is recycled. By 2050, it says, the fashion industry will consume a quarter of the world’s annual carbon budget.
