Hi everyone! I thought it could be nice to start the day with a positive thought about the fashion industry. B-corporations (also known as B-Corps) are slowly but surely taking over the fashion industry. For a bit of background knowledge, B-corp certification is granted to a company if the company demonstrates “high social and environmental performance by achieving”[1]a certain score or above on their B Impact Assessment, if the company makes “a legal commitment by changing their corporate governance structure to be accountable to all stakeholders”[2]and if they “exhibit transparency by allowing information about their performance…to be publicly available”[3].
Chloé is the first luxury fashion maison to gain B-Corp certification. This is exciting, and leading the way in a new fashion trend of sustainability and social responsibility. The CEO of Chloé,Riccardo Bellini, said that “It is our a strong believe that we need to take full accountability for the impact we have on people and planet, injecting purpose across everything we do”[4]. Gabriela Hearst, Chloé’s creative director, has been a catalyst for change within Chloé(and arguably the fashion industry with this B-Corp certification). “Fifty-eight per cent of materials used in the spring/summer 2022 collection are low-impact. Autumn/winter 2021, meanwhile, was described as four times more sustained as the previous year’s collection.”[5]
This leaves me feeling hopeful. Hopeful that the fashion industry is waking up to its social and environmental responsibilities, and that instead of the onus of ethical shopping practices being on the consumer, producers and businesses are making this part of their plans and strategy. A commitment is being shown by the fashion industry to be sustainable, and it is one that we praise, encourage and will hold them to.
Make no mistake, there is still a long way to go. We are still patiently waiting for other luxury fashion maison’s to follow suit, as well as craving radical change in the fast fashion sector of the fashion industry. However, I choose to see this as a glimmer of hope; a ray of sunshine that is lighting up the path to ethical fashion.
On a sunny Tuesday, I was walking through Marylebone in London and spotted a B-Corp sign in the window of a trainer shop Allbirds (which was an early member of the B-Corp community). It put a smile on my face, affirming in me that there is hope for the fashion industry, no matter where a company stands in it. My advice: look out for B-Corps. Keep an acute awareness of these businesses in mind, and perhaps opt to shop from a business that you normally wouldn’t because it is a B-Corp. Let’s clean our shopping habits one step at a time!
Annabelle Dennis xxx
For more info, check out these websites:
[1]https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/certification [2]https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/certification [3]https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/certification [4]https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/chloe-b-corp-fashion [5]https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/chloe-b-corp-fashion
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