Enter CEO Featured Comment on FashionRoundTable
October 9, 2024 - October 9, 2024
Published on the 25th February 2019 on FashionRoundTable.co.uk, our very own CEO Jenny Holloway responded to the recent Environmental Audit Committee Report…
The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) Fixing Fashion Report is an excellent start and anything that provides thought-provoking discussion, leading to positive impacts that ‘improve’ the fashion industry must to be applauded. Due to the fragmentation of the fashion industry this was not an easy audit to report upon.
There have been many documentaries and quality articles written by the press that review the ‘dark side of fashion’ over the last few years, resulting in Commons Select Committees and round table discussions. It is clear during these reviews that there is a strong cross section of retailers and etailers that do genuinely have ethical policies. These policies are not only carefully researched and written, but more importantly they are excellently implemented with large (expensive) manpower resources behind them.
It is because of that one of the conclusions regarding a Fast Fashion levy concerns me. The proposed 1p on clothing purchases applies to all retailers – there is no differentiation or recognition for the leading ethical retailers that do exist today.
I find the term “Fast Fashion” and the negativity that has been created by this term totally at odds with how industry is working today and the resulting good work that has been achieved.
“Fast” is the USP for the UK manufacturing base – just because it’s fast it’s not always bad. Having speed to market allows retailers to actually buy less of a style so retailers are not over buying at all; rather they are selling out of styles at full price. There is a seismic shift in buying today – it’s not the intake margin that counts but rather it’s the exit margin and the ability of a line to sell through on low stock turns rather than be discounted. The UK is ideally placed for this new way of buying and this report can harm that fragile recovery by the wording used and the connotation that fast is synonymous with throw away fashion…
To read the full article visit the FashionRoundTable.co.uk website
