Opinion article for Jornal Económico: Fashion on the path to social sustainability

Posted by Gonçalo Chaves on 8 Jul, 2022 8:42 am

In this article for Jornal Económico, Maria Villamizar, the Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova Alumni and CEO of BeMonocromo, reflects on the role social impact has on the fashion industry.

 

Sustainability has become a priority for most companies across sectors, not only for the necessity to follow specific legislation but also to respond to market demand. Consumers and investors have been displaying their preferences for companies that aim to have a lower impact on the environment and take part in inclusive and ethical corporate practices.

 

The sustainability compromises from fashion companies tend only to attenuate their ecological impacts. For example, replacing traditional materials with organic or recycled materials, Maria argues. However, fundamental ethical and security issues are overlooked. As the clothing industry resorts mainly to subcontracting, there is an evident lack of transparency on social responsibility.

 

Sustainability in fashion implies an integrated approach. Efforts in the ecological area are essential, but we must not forget that humans are involved in all processes and that civil rights and liberty are vital for the development and evolution of society. The social and environmental aspects are two sides of the same coin.

 

Maria Villamizar finished with an appeal: it is up to us as consumers to support socially responsible clothing to strengthen good practices in this industry.

 

Read the full article (original) in Portuguese here.

Source: Jornal Económico

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