Page 149 - Vogue - India (January 2020)

Myth vs truth

Myth: Sustainability is only about
environmental impact.
T ruth: “Sustainability is about social
impact as well, and I would argue that
this is even more important. Think about
the fast fashion system: it only works
(producing so much so fast and so
inexpensively) because of slave labour. If
companies were to pay a living wage to all,
the system would not sustain itself.”

Myth: Changing supply chains is
complicated.
T ruth: “Being in control of your supply
chain is the most e ective way to
guarantee sustainability, both in terms of
economics as well as the environment.”

Myth: As individuals, we don’t have much
power to change things.
T ruth: “We should all be active citizens
and contribute to the change we want to
see. One estimate suggests that in the US
alone, 500 million straws are used every
day. Just think of the e ect it would have
if each one of us stopped using them.”

Myth: Synthetic diamonds are better and
more ecological.
T ruth: “But are they? I am about to go
to Botswana to study the supply chain
of diamonds. I recently came across
a fascinating report that proved that “Fast fashion will be the biggest
diamond mining, when done properly,
contributes positively to the socio- challenge to overcome. Particularly for
economic landscape.”
the younger generation born with this
as their normality”

The greatest lesson

“We started Eco-Age in 2007. T welve years
later, sustainability has become a fashionable
Everyday word and every business is trying to understand
how to move forward, how to still be relevant,
mindfulness successful and profi table in 10 years’ time.

vigilant and demanding more, but we are still
“My motto is co- We are in a good space, where consumers are
dependency or inter- moving too slowly. We don’t have much time
dependency. Everything left to make the fashion industry good.” ■
we consume or do each —As told to Akanksha Kamath
day has been produced or
driven by another human
being. If you respect this
and think about ‘the other’,
then you automatically act
in a sustainable way.”

www.vogue.in VOGUE INDIA JANUARY 149