Fast fashion is turning to climate adaptable lines as seasons change

Fashion brands embracing versatility amid climate chaos:Fast fashion giants like Mango are turning away from seasonal clothing and moving towards garments that can accommodate rapidly shifting weather patterns, Chief Executive Toni Ruiz told Reuters last week. Light trench coats and breathable “performance” fabrics for men and women are types of transitional clothing suitable for both cool and warm days, Ruiz said. Europe is one of several regions in the world that have experienced the warmest February on record, with European temperatures reaching 3.3°C above average.

Mango is diversifying its supply chain: Mango now sources trend-dependent items from European manufacturers and functional wardrobe pieces from Asian manufacturers, maintaining a flexible supply chain, the newswire writes. This has helped the company avoid losses from the ongoing Red Sea shipping crisis. To further enhance operations, Mango is investing in expanding stores and developing technology, including AI for trend tracking and consumer data analysis.

Why is this important? Clothing that is functional year-round could result in less textile waste from both retailers and consumers, Euro News writes. As shoppers opt towards more versatile pieces, a shift away from the current seasonal model used by the fast fashion industry could occur.

Is it enough to tackle fast fashion’s waste crisis?The EU and the UK government are preparing to follow the lead of Sweden, the Netherlands, and Italy in taxing fashion companies in a bid to crack down on discarded textiles clogging landfills globally. The governments are reportedly preparing to enact legislation to have fashion brands fund textile recycling programs to support countries like Ghana, which receives some 15 mn discarded garments on a weekly basis. Ghanaian clothes traders visited Brussels last June to lobby for EU legislation that would force the European fashion industry to stop dumping tons of textiles in the West African country.

It may be better to overhaul the materials used altogether: Alternative materials used to make garments are growing traction worldwide, such as plastic collected from beaches in Tunisia and biodegradable leather made from shrimp shells by an American startup. US retail corporation Walmart also partnered with California-based startup Rubi Laboratories last August to capture carbon emissions generated by its supply chain and convert it into biodegradable apparel collections. Researchers at Texas A&M University even found that dead black soldier flies could be turned into biodegradable plastic.