Anna Woods’ Post

Get ready to turn heads because transparency is the new black in the fashion world! 🌟 Analysts are all buzzing about it – they say supply chain resilience and transparency are the ultimate style statements for the industry’s future. According to the latest McKinsey & Company State of Fashion 2024 report, a whopping 70% of top procurement officers are on board with boosting transparency! Reflecting on 2023, the fashion scene faced its fair share of drama – from natural disasters to worker protests and sourcing shake-ups. But guess what? Brands are kicking it up a notch by ditching the old playbook and opting for a more transparent supply chain. Out with the old, in with the see-through! And hold onto your hats because 2024 is shaping up to be a rollercoaster ride too! With new legislation in Europe and the US geared towards sustainability and fair labor practices, change is on the runway – and it’s about to make a statement louder than any fashion trend! But why does transparency matter so much, you ask? Well, let‘s spill the tea: It’s all about trust, accountability, and making sure our planet stays runway-ready! From keeping brands in check to empowering you to make savvy shopping choices, transparency is the name of the game. Because when we know better, we can do better! 💪 Ready to be a fashion trailblazer and dive into the world of transparency? Check out Fashion Revolution. They’ve got all the deets you need to strut your stuff in style while making a difference. From sustainable shopping tips to resources for taking action - nothing will making you feel more sexy than knowing YOU can make a difference 🌍✨ #TransparentTrends #FashionForward #vivetha #transparency #Fashionindustry

Can financial goals ever be aligned with sustainability targets in fast fashion? For quoted companies, it is extremely difficult to satisfy investors with high financial expectations, at the same time as the company meets its global sustainability targets. The surprise news that H&M’s President and CEO, Helena Helmersson has resigned, to be replaced by Danier Ervér raises the question of how focused H&M will be on sustainability in the future, especially since H&M’s financial performance has been weak.  H&M’s operating margin has dropped from 20% in 2010 to 6% in 2023. Fourth quarter sales fell 4% year-on-year, whilst full-year sales fell 1%. H&M has aimed to improve its profitability by closing stores and cutting operational costs but has not yet seen a turnaround. An outward commitment to sustainability has been a differentiator for H&M, particularly as it is caught in a difficult position between Shein (with its ultra-low prices) and Zara (with its premium positioning). Helmersson was a rare executive to acknowledge that fashion’s business model needs to separate financial growth from new production to drive sustainability, which drove the group’s investment into circularity and “more sustainable” materials. However, Helmersson also acknowledged that H&M Group’s financial-growth targets (to double sales from 2021 to 2030 — while simultaneously halving its carbon footprint from 2019 to 2030) would make that very challenging to achieve, reflected by sliding sales in a competitive retail environment. Given H&M’s position as the second-largest global fast fashion company, its capacity to keep investing in sustainability after Helmersson’s departure will be a bellwether for the rest of the industry. What do you think? Do you know a company that has managed to balance ambitious financial targets with its sustainability targets?   #sustainability #fastfashion Smith Square Partners Maliha Shoaib https://lnkd.in/e2TksBCn

It's truly disheartening to see how many individuals choose to ignore the distressing truth about modern slavery, all in the pursuit of fashion and affordability. They find solace in the excuse that "other brands are probably no different." But this is more than just ignorance; it's a reflection of a society that has, in some ways, grown selfish. We've become so focused on our convenience and our desire for bargains that we have forgotten the human cost behind those cheap products. It's a moral blind spot that allows us to justify buying that inexpensive jacket without considering where it comes from. The question of why people are becoming more selfish is complex, but it's not irreversible. We can combat this indifference by raising awareness, encouraging ethical consumerism, and holding brands accountable for their supply chains. We send a powerful message when we actively support companies that prioritise human rights. So, even though people might look at you strangely, continue to educate them and make them think about their choices, as the solution lies in our collective actions and our ability to change the culture of consumerism. It starts with empathy and awareness and ends with a world where exploitation has no place. #EndModernSlavery #MoralResponsibility #RaiseAwareness #EthicalConsumerism #HumanRightsMatter #SustainableFashion #StopExploitation

Is there a world where our clothing can be sustainable AND affordable? 🤔 In the newest episode of Inside Retail, Grace Hill sits down with a leader in this space: Lenzing Group’s Senior Commercial Director, Johannes Stefan. Johannes and Grace discuss how retailers can make choices that align with customers' desire for both affordability and sustainability, the challenges of scaling plant-based fabrics, and the dilemma retailers face over quality and cost in a world where profit margins are scrutinized more than ever. Click the link below for the full discussion. 👇 https://bit.ly/3TQteCC #FashionIndustry #SustainableFashion #RetailInnovation

🥁 It's Here: Our 2024 Fashion Accountability Report has just been published.💥 ➡ Get your copy: https://lnkd.in/g5Dzbbne 💡 Remake has been evaluating fashion companies’ corporate accountability efforts since 2016. Taking an intersectional approach to the human rights, environmental, economic, and political issues embedded in fashion supply chains, we have built metrics to measure and inform progress where it matters. Almost ten years on, and with the climate crisis upon us, it is abundantly clear that the era for voluntary, non-binding commitments is over. It’s no surprise that there has been a great stagnation of the industry’s grandiose promises of the past decade to ensure garment makers can live and work in dignity, and to be net positive to our planet. Among the 52 fashion companies we assessed this year which included Patagonia, H&M Group (ARKET, COS, H&M, Monki, Weekday, & Other Stories), SKIMS, Ralph Lauren, Reformation, Fast Retailing (UNIQLO, Theory, HELMUT LANG, J Brand) and Everlane, the average accountability score was 14 out of 150 possible points — the same as last year. The average scores for Traceability, Wages and Wellbeing, Commercial Practices, and Governance all stayed the same. Raw materials and Environmental Justice only improved by one point this year. The report unpacks our research methodology, key findings, and individual company scores within the context of present-day industry issues, and provides a solutions roadmap for how key industry stakeholders, from brands and their employees, to citizens, press, and policymakers, can facilitate systemic change in fashion. How is our report different?   💡 We score companies on progress, not promises 💡 We evaluate companies holistically  💡 We do not separate social from environmental impacts  💡 We take no funding from the fashion industry ➡ Get your copy here: https://lnkd.in/g5Dzbbne #sustainability #sustainablefashion #fashionbusiness #humanrights

time for scorecard for the fashion industry💥💥 the journey is complex due today’s lack of regulations but there are more & more tools available to evaluate the social & environment impact of companies in the industry. Here is one! #sustainableclothing #ethicalfashion #sustainibitymatters remake.world

Sustainability is core to fashion’s business model in terms of resources, attracting talent and winning over consumers, says Ralph Lauren CEO Patrice Louvet. “Timelessness and sustainability go together. You can't expect to be timeless if we've run out of resources,” he says. “So for me, sustainability is not a side activity, it's not a reaction to external pressure. It's core to who we are, what we stand for. And to a very strong extent, it's about future proofing our business.” https://lnkd.in/etHTcsax #sustainability #retail #fashionindustry

The attached report from McKinsey on 2024 Fashion Trends (https://lnkd.in/gEYSzem4) talks about Outdoor Reinvented and the push for brands to move from their technical roots to lifestyle mass market. While this worked in the past, it won't work in the future. Technical outdoor apparel brands transitioning into lifestyle brands has been happening for decades and has been the logical choice for outdoor apparel brands to grow. This strategy is long-in-the-tooth and young brands should not do this.  What has worked for decades in the Old Normal era we are in now is dying and those that follow with this same strategy will be the chumps with disasters on their hands.  The strategy is used because small, technical brands want to grow.  Yet they can't find any more technical customers so they reformat their products to become lifestyle brands that appeal to mass market buyers. As we enter The Reckoning, a period of intense economic hardship, conflict and turmoil (roughly 2026-2035 period), this once-smart strategy will be the albatross that brings brands down. These now big, technical-lifestyle-mix brands will see their lifestyle mass market customers evaporate as the economy hits the skids, because the mass market looks at these reformatted technical-to-lifestyle brands as discretionary spend, which always suffers disproportionately more in a bad economy. The original technical diehard customers have long moved on, so big reformatted technical-to-lifestyle brands have nowhere to go.  Even if they can retain some attraction with diehards, that market is now too small to try and make up for lost sales to the mass market.  Small brands will me much better to stick to their technical roots through The Reckoning period because to their diehard customers, they are more of a staple spend, not a discretionary.  It is better for them to ride out The Reckoning period as a small, technical brand, with a captive customer base, and then post-Reckoning, they can move into lifestyle if they want to capture more growth.  Large, lifestyle brands will be hit very hard and could see sales drop significantly and as brands, be worth orders of magnitude less than they are now. 

Just got the chance to sit down and read remake.world's Fashion Accountability Report 2024 and so inspired by the dedication to hard facts and clear calls to action. Some of my key takeaways: "The fashion industry cannot reform itself in a vacuum" - Sustainable and equitable operations tend to go against the grain of our typical capitalist industry structures - In order to enact structural change needed, binding legislation and policy is required, and that needs to be supported by all players, including the companies themselves The injustice of outsourcing not only production, but all risk onto suppliers cannot continue - Climate change (to which fashion industry is a main contributor) is making production more and more risky in most of these supplier locations - We need enforcement of fairer contracts for all members of the supply chain to protect them from heightened risk Failure to acknowledge "absolute impact" - Many companies are looking solely at their individual garment impact, which while a step in the right direction, means they can still excessively overproduce, ignoring overall or "absolute" impact of operations

Fashion is a $1.53 Trillion industry. Yet the people who make these clothes are often living in poverty and are overwhelmingly women. On International Womens Day let's not forget the hidden women makers and garment workers. While trends vary by region and country, nearly 60% of garment workers globally are women, reaching nearly 80% in some regions such as South Asia. Asia is the largest employer of garment sector workers, accounting for 75% of all workers. An estimated 42 million women garment workers are employed in Asia. Check out Remakes latest report. Some high profile brands score 0 which is more than disappointing, but so many are striving for change and must be held accountable. What can you do? ✓ Know where your garments are produced ✓ Check Remakes report to see if they are adhering to international standards and commitments to human rights ✓ If in doubt, buy pre loved. #iwd2024