The emergence of eco fashion in South Africa: fleeting fad or environmental conservation breakthrough?

Abstract

From the iridescent sunny slopes of the Alps to the murkily golden streets of London to heritage rich Kazakhstan and wildly exotic Kenya as well as cosmopolitan upbeat New York, the global fashion industry has a creative vibrancy. The fashion industry reverberates with palpable regional inspiration, drawing global cultural energy and unique local design artistry. The rise of sustainable fashion has been concentrated in the more developed countries but has now seen local designers in South Africa launch eco collections as they focus on sustainability. Eco friendly fashion has the potential to change the landscape of the fashion industry in South Africa. The fast fashion/slow fashion dichotomy has been a central feature of the industry in recent years. The emergence of eco fashion in South Africa is also in line with the growing policy priority of the green economy and the circular economy principles influence on fashion design. There has been very little study on the fashion industry in South Africa and currently only a few researchers are working in this sector providing a gap for the study. This study focuses on small fashion design businesses operating in a formal manner across South Africa and their approach to environmental sustainability as well as their launch of eco collections. While only a few designers participated in the study, findings from the study can be extrapolated to the rest of the small-sector and also give clues to the way medium sized and large players in the sector are dealing with sustainability in their operations. The study investigates to a limited extent sustainability trends across South Africa documenting trends observable in large clothing chains. The study findings indicate a high awareness of sustainability from the garment or apparel maker standpoint yet a very evident lack of engagement by the targeted consumer in the markets surveyed. Eco fashion in South Africa has not been widely studied and this study seeks to fill in the gaps and contribute to current debates by focusing on small designers and how there is an emergent interest and focus on eco fashion. The study presents six cases that are analysed as comparative cases that can provide insight into trends in this sector in response to eco 10 fashion. The study was mainly a qualitative study relying on email surveys, telephonic interviews and other online and social media investigations. The need to interrogate eco fashion in South Africa is apparent and to see how developments in this sector could be an avenue to spread environmental awareness through the sector. Eco fashion has had a slow trajectory in the African market and this study addresses this. The COVID- 19 pandemic has cast a concerning shadow on the fashion industry globally, shifting consumer purchasing patterns, and may significantly impact the values and approach of the industry regarding sustainability. The COVID- 19 pandemic had a devastating impact on many industries globally and even as lockdown restrictions are now being lifted, the future remains uncertain in many localities. The fashion industry has been one of the most industries affected by the ongoing pandemic, with the closure of ‘brick and mortar’ shops at the height of the pandemic fury, and a move to online shopping more discernibly. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for nature and mankind to find a symbiotic balanced relationship safeguarding biomes, ecosystems, and the fragile balance of nature. The pandemic has revealed real fragilities in the way mankind has interacted with and impacted nature. Social justice inequalities in the global fashion value and supply chains have also been revealed by the pandemic in a visible way especially in countries that use cheap labour. When the pandemic suddenly emerged across the world in early 2020 and as the virus shutdowns occurred, countries in the east like Bangladesh where fashion producing factories are located faced devastating financial losses and employee welfare imbalances were exposed almost immediately. Mass cancellations of scheduled fashion orders and scheduled deliveries to regions around the world hit factories in the east with real impact leading to factory closures and job losses particularly in the east (McIntosh, 2020). Eco fashion may have arrived in South Africa to herald a new era in garment making but against the backdrop of a time in history (COVID- 19) that has crippled businesses. The trajectory of sustainability in the South African fashion industry may well be derailed or significantly altered.