ICYMI: fashion has a greenwashing problem. No wonder policy makers, consumer watchdogs and NGOs are taking an interest. According to the UN: “Misinformation and greenwashing are ubiquitous ... As sustainability has grown as a selling point, all manner of vague and inflated claims have appeared across advertising, marketing, media, packaging and beyond.”

Enter the UN's new Sustainable Fashion Communication Playbook, an open-access guide that seeks to change that, while better aligning how the fashion industry talks with the climate goals of the Paris Agreement. This week, we're delighted to welcome the Playbook's lead author, Rachel Arthur, to the show to deep dive into its recommendations.

We're asking: What if marketers, PRs, fashion journalists and photographers used their creative powers to encourage us to live a 1.5 degree lifestyle, instead of endlessly update our consumer goods? (Curious about a “1.5 degree lifestyle”? Listen for the full explainer!) How could professional communicators use their talents to get behind a more sustainable future? Rachel calls them “architects of desire”, and says people who work in advertising, marketing and media play a vital role in persuading us what to want. Which comes with great responsibility…

In our chat, she decodes its messages, shares vital advice for avoiding greenwashing, and talks candidly about the difficulties - and necessity - of the global fashion industry daring to discuss degrowth.

DOWNLOAD THE PLAYBOOK HERE.

Everybody wants to be sustainable these days - but what does it really mean? How can we communicate accurately and effectively about sustainability in the fashion space. Photographer Aldair Nuñez

Before we begin, here’s the SUSTFASHNEWS from the intro: Yes, FRANCE is incentivising REPAIR. The Fashion Revolution Transparency Index is here. Read this for SHEIN’S influencer trip debacle. TEMU is now the biggest shopping app in America. Read the CHANGING MARKETS tracking report here, or if you get the UK Times, here’s a feature (it’s behind a paywall though). Listen back to the WASTE COLONIALISM ep with Liz Ricketts here. Yep it’s bye-bye GABRIELLA HEARST at CHLOE, but (later, in the autumn) hello ATELIER JOLIE.

ABOUT RACHEL

Rachel Arthur is a sustainable fashion communicator and consultant. She focuses on value chain transformation, narrative shift, & political advocacy in order to create a sector that is less harmful to people and planet. Currently, she’s an advocacy lead on sustainable fashion at the UN Environment Programme. Along with contributing writer Katy Zack, with technical input from UNEPs’ Bettina Heller and Atif Ikram Butt, and UN Climate Change’s Lindita Xhaferi-Salihu, Rachel authored the Sustainable Fashion Communication Playbook. Find her on Instagram

THE PLAYBOOK suggests four principles for successful comms on #sustfash:

1) Lead with Science - don’t just wish for what you say to be true! You need to be able to back is up with evidence. Think clear, accurate and verifiable.

2) Change Behaviours and Practices: “If individuals are to change their behaviours and practices, we will also need new visions of what enjoying fashion outside of material wealth can look like, reconnecting emotional values away from new consumption…”

3) Reimagine Values: As “architects of desire” fashion communicators have the power to set the tone for what’s aspirational, so how about we shift away from constant newness, oe keeping up with the Joneses, towards things like items designed for longevity, or the shared wardrobe?

4) Drive Advocacy: According to the Playbook: “This is the leadership level of sustainable fashion communication and is about going beyond your own organisation and practice to support broader sustainable change within the sector.”

NOTES

Find TEXTILE EXCHANGE here.

WGSN is the world’s largest trend forecaster. If you’re interested in this space, check out Episode 178 with Chris Sanderson from The Future Lab. Also, Rachel used to work for WIRED, the tech mag - read it here.

Rachel launched the Sustainable Fashion Communications Playbook on stage with UN Climate’s Danielle Magalhaes at the GLOBAL FASHION SUMMIT in Copenhagen in June (above). The project came out COP26 in Glasgow, where UNEP and UN Climate Change committed to: “Align consumer and industry communication efforts to a 1.5-degree or Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) compatible pathway, as set out by the Paris Agreement Goals, as well as a more just and equitable future.” FASHION CHARTER CLIMATE ACTION signatories include H&M, Nike, Puma, Chanel Kering as well as suppliers. Read it here. However, some BRANDS’ 2030 COMMITMENTS seem to be lagging.

JUST TRANSITION means not leaving anyone behind. Clare mentions the work of fashion academic HAKAN KARAOSMAN - more here and here.

SUKKHA CITTA is an award-winning social enterprise changing lives in rural Indonesia. They says: “100% of our products are made to raise wage standards, from start to finish. Putting women back in the driver’s seat to change their own lives through fair work—not aid, and sustaining Indonesian heritage crafts.” And, “Working directly with mothers in Villages, not factories, going mud deep to stitch positive impact into what you wear.” Discover the label here.

CODE RED FOR HUMANITY! Warned UN in 2021: “We are at imminent risk of hitting 1.5 degrees in the near term. The only way to prevent exceeding this threshold, is by urgently stepping up our efforts, and persuing the most ambitious path. "We must act decisively now, to keep 1.5 alive." This interview was recorded before the catastrophic wild fires in Greece, but these extreme weather events just keep coming don’t they?

GREENWASHING According to the Playbook: “Misinformation and greenwashing are ubiquitous and a significant challenge. As sustainability has grown as a selling point, all manner of vague and inflated claims have appeared across advertising, marketing, media, packaging and beyond.” It details the basics - for example, what is a sustainability claim - then provides clear dos and don’t for effective, transparent communication that avoids greenwashing. There’s even a handy checklist.

Read PURPOSE DISRUPTORS’ fascinating work on ADVERTISED EMISSIONS here.

VOLUMES & OVERPRODUCTION “What is the communicator’s role within the system challenge that is before us?" asks Rachel. “The majority of marketers are KPI’d against driving volume sales.” That’s obviously challenge. “Without addressing that, it’s almost impossible for this industry to hit any of the targets that are before us.” Targets like reducing emissions by 2030. “Fundamentally, it comes down to the way we perceive value.” Oh, and here’s the BoF piece, “UN to Fashion: Stop Pushing Overconsumption”.

It’s not only fashion that’s falling behind. Last but not least, the wonderful Indian writer AMITAV GOSH started talking about novelists exhibiting a “crisis of imagination” when it comes to writing about climate back in 2016. Read his perspective here.

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