The dilemma of the fashion industry: is eco-conscious clothing production a paradox?
The perception of the fashion industry is negative in the eyes of many people due to the highly polluting nature of the garment manufacturing process. Despite this (or precisely because of this), more and more fashion designers are asking the question: how can the fashion industry contribute to sustainability processes and meaningful communication about the climate crisis? Environmental awareness, the importance of changing attitudes, and the importance of interpersonal relationships, which are closely intertwined with the making of clothes, can open up new horizons.
Although the clothing industry is still largely an emblematic area of consumer society, more and more people in the fashion industry engage with trends such as environmental protection, sustainability, efforts go into human rights and safeguarding of interests which are crucial, or at least can be detected in the designer’s work on production as well as marketing just like in customers’ behaviour. In this process, many principles become important, starting with purchasing preferences to the eco-conscious perspective of designers, manufacturers and distributors. It is known that one of the most extensive industries is specialized in the production of textiles and clothing. Every sixth person in the world takes part in one or more parts of the process. The rapid increase in population, the change in social expectations and the exponential growth of consumption have generated problems on a global scale, as the clothing industry is currently the second most polluting sector. This pollution can be put into three main categories: one is the environmental damage caused by the industrial process, the other is the ecological footprint associated with transportation and marketing, and the third is the quantitative surplus resulting from accumulation, the amount of clothes that are not sold or discarded by consumers. On proof of the latter is the fact that since the turn of the millennium, the average consumer’s purchase of clothes has increased by approximately 60%, along with its contribution to the amount of waste.
In contrast to the big trends, albeit on a small scale, “countertrends” also appear, which reinterpret garment making from an environmentally friendly and personal point of view. In the increasingly individualized social structure, the display of self-image, finding one’s own style and, in connection with this, the attitude towards fashion brands gave rise to a new cultural phenomenon. Some designers pay close attention to interactions with their customers, and their personality and design work becomes an important force to form communities. In the activity of any given brand, we must not only see the aesthetic, primarily visual design language, and the design process aimed at the specific product, but also a much more complex, very exciting construction of reality, which includes principles of life, religious convictions, specific issues, which someone is happy to stand up for. So, fashion is by no means limited to clothing and accessories, their production, use or market. In our article, we are going to observe the activities of two Hungarian designers, how the representatives of the Hungarian fashion industry take a significant role in shaping the change of attitude related to the climate crisis, and why the personal relationship between the dressmaker and the customer is important to them in contrast of the impersonal world of fast fashion.
Zsuzsi Csillag and her mother, Zsuzsanna Csillag, who founded the brand Süel, create and sell knitted clothes. In addition to being able to endow sustainable clothing production with new meanings, they are also unique in Hungary in terms of community building. They not only give washing and repair advice for the clothes made by them, but they also take on the responsibility of repairs, because they consider the view important that clothes have timeless value, so if something goes wrong, throwing them out and buying a new one is not the only solution, especially that many of them can be saved. Customers also get a broad insight into the design and production process. They promote the importance of external and internal harmony, they not only try to influence mental health or the strengthening of an environmentally conscious attitude by their clothes, but they also support many important causes, and their customers have now formed a real community that helps each other. The wider community is connected by an online platform, however those interested can take part in a number of niche offline events, which focus on social problems in addition to community building. They also offer informative programs that provide practical knowledge in relation to sustainable living, self-awareness, physical and mental health.
Sustainability is also listed as a separate menu item on Süel’s website, where customers receive meaningful information from where the brand sources its materials, and in which projects it utilizes the scrap or leftover yarn generated during production. Although they also design clothes that can be produced without creating waste, sometimes there are pieces with defective threads or unused pieces for any other reasons. These are collected from time to time as part of the “Trash or treasure” campaign, and creative, make unique pieces from them, and then sell those at workshop fairs or during charity events. The leftover yarn doesn’t end up in the trash either, kindergartens, schools, and jewellery makers receive it, so it becomes a material for further creations. Sustainability and the appreciation of clothes are promoted by the regularly organized “give-buy fairs”, where the brand provides a place in its own showroom for members of the community to exchange or sell their previously bought but no longer used clothes. The Süel website also provides additional advice, i.e. “conscious Süel tips” to develop the right attitude, such as:
- “Buy clothes that you will wear at least 30 times!
- Choose products that can be easily styled with many others!
- Prioritize clothes, which you can wear across seasons! [In the photo above, for example, Zsuzsi shows how a summer lace top can be transformed into an autumn/winter accessory]
- Choose high-quality materials.”
Andrea Zimits is striving for uniqueness with her artistic work, while she also saves value. Items that seem useless or just forgotten, put aside: pieces of lace, discarded clothes, old buttons and household textiles come to life in her wonderful pieces of clothing as wonderful, storytelling compositions. She is one of the most iconic representatives of the idea of environmentally friendly, sustainable fashion, who also draws attention to the personal encounters and relationships that connect people through clothes. She states that if you put a lot of effort in your work that piece will hold a special place in your heart. That’s why it’s worth making and buying clothes that we repair and transform before throwing them away. If there is a lot of something readily available, it can be easily replaced, it is less appreciated, that is how people think. For this reason, it is also important to choose and purchase everyday objects to what you have or can develop an emotional attachment, which later becomes part of your everyday life providing comfort, not to mention they can even function as an outside representation of our identity. Of course, this also requires finding objects that are “created” to last, as opposed to the soap bubbles of current trends.
Andi welcomes her customers at her home (her shop was under renovation for a while), and it is really important for her to have a personal relationship with them. This includes the new owner being able to get to know the history of the creation of the dress, the origin of the unique “treasures” used for the dress, and each defining moment of the design. However, this is a two-way process. Since she tends not to create similar pieces all of her handmade items are unique, and she considers them her “children” and it is important for her to be able to follow the afterlife of the clothes. She gladly undertakes the task of the shaping and repairing of clothes, even years later. In Andi’s ars poetica (Latin), it is also stated that clothes are not merely articles of personal use and should not be viewed only in terms of practicality. Clothing is also a work of art, which is important in displaying personal identity and can connect people. It contains a piece of the designer’s soul and the character of the person who will wear it, since the customer has made the choice of putting the piece in the cross section of their style and worldview. Zimits Andrea clothes therefore provide real motivations and represent many values: the appreciation of old things, the creative energies of updating and reusing, the importance of personal relationships and how much more valuable those things, objects, including clothes, are that we have personal knowledge of consequently memories, thus emotions are also connected to them.
To be able to solve the climate crisis a change in attitude is required, including the way we relate to our objects. The culture of replaceability, accumulation and waste production must be drastically changed, transformed into a horizon of new sophistication, in which things have a unique value and are taken care of. For this, of course, it is essential that the goal of the process itself should be creating quality that stands the test of time. I believe the designers presented in this article and many artists and professionals who dream about and operate similar scale brands serve as outstanding examples.
Ildikó Tamás
HUN-REN BTK NTI Senior researcher,
author of fashion antropology podcast.
Cover photo by Zoltán Adorjáni
Dresses by Süel, Andrea Zimits
This article was published as part of PERSPECTIVES – the new label for independent, constructive and multi-perspective journalism. PERSPECTIVES is co-financed by the EU and implemented by a transnational editorial network from Central-Eastern Europe under the leadership of Goethe-Institut. Find out more about PERSPECTIVES: goethe.de/perspectives_eu.
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible.
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