ecodesign opportunities in fashion & textiles
Simon O’Rafferty

introduction
• introduction
• what are the issues / opportunities?
• what do companies think?
• what can government / business / civil society do?

opening the conversation - March 06

what had we found?

proliferation of terms
ethical fashion / eco-fashion / sustainable fashion / green-
fashion / non-fashion / recycled fashion / slow-fashion / fast-
fashion / durable-fashion / vintage-fashion / cradle-to-cradle /
cradle-to-grave…

numerous issues
climate change / global warming / fairtrade / ethical
consumerism / waste / GM foods / recycling / organic food /
organic clothes / chemicals / pollution / ecodesign /
composting / sweatshops / belonging / car sharing / well-being
/ health / sustainable this and sustainable that…………

no unified approach / proliferation of tools
standards / codes of conduct / international labour laws /
regional environmental legislation

big hitter issues

big hitter issues

crisis of confidence?

“to be successful, sustainability needs to be fully embedded in our
ways of working, in the organization and company culture, in
manufacturing, in products and R&D, in our relationships with partners and
stakeholders, and above all in the company strategy”
Gerard Kleisterlee, President & CEO, Royal Philips Electronics – 20 June
2006

“climate change is the most severe problem that we are facing today,
more serious even than the threat of terrorism.\"
David King, UK government chief scientific adviser, January 2004

“It’s scientific jargon, isn’t it? So maybe you don’t understand exactly
what point they are getting to because it’s not highlighted in, like, say, our
language – layman’s terms. You don’t take notice of it…and I believe in
recycling and love talking over the environment, but….I don’t seem to
understand what they’re saying”
attendee, NCC Sustainable Consumption Roundtable, May 2006

who will take the lead?

I will if you will?

opportunities?
• growth in ethical consumerism is soaring and is now worth £25.8 billion a year
• ethical fashion spending rose by 17% to £680 million by the end of 2005
• The UK is the fastest growing market for ethical food and beverages, it could
become a leader in ethical fashion and textiles as well
Source: BSI & The Co-op Bank - The Ethical Consumerism Report 2005

business response to sustainability challenge
• sustainability not a business threat / not responding is a business threat
• opportunities to achieve growth and create value through sustainable
solutions
• many companies using ecodesign approach to deliver successful products to
the market

role of design
design constitutes only 5% of the total cost of a product, yet it
can dictate up to 80% of the products financial and
environmental costs
(Graedel and Allenby, 1995)

ecodesign = good design = good business practice

research
aim
• to understand the perceptions of ecodesign in the Welsh fashion and textiles
industry and to explore how this sector can effectively adopt ecodesign
practices in the future

research
objectives
• to explore the current level of understanding of environmental and social
issues within the sector
• to understand the constraints and motivations for the integration of ecodesign
• to define what is needed to provide effective ecodesign support in the future

“We would like to do more goods using materials from UK/Wales but find it hard to find suppliers.”
“Whilst not important to our products directly, I think it is important that in line with the
very high quality of our producrs we are also seen to produce them in an
environmentally friendly way.”
“We all need to be aware of social issues.”
“As I am a small business I find it hard to make the time for research into this.”
“We try to use at least 80% recycled and organic materials in
the making of all our goods.”
“Trends in relation to consumer spending, trends regarding what and who influences my target customer,
my customers purchasing habits and how they are changing i.e. internet are all very important.”
A grant or funding which would help to finance research into using
sustainable materials and methods - this would provide companies with a
foundation on which to build a sustainable policy
“If more environmentally friendly materials were made available at the right
price, I would use them. I need to keep my products competitively priced.”

research
In-depth interviews
• interviews with 4 respondents from Phase 1
• face to face discussions
• to gather further information and ‘stories’ in order to inform WAG what
support the sector needs with regards to ecodesign

“We are very isolated, the information needs to come to us.”
“Advice on business and ecodesign would help us too.”
“A central point for sourcing materials and the dissemination of informtaion regarding
organic/environmentally friendly processes would be very useful.”
“Easy to access information regarding the sourcing of materials is needed.”
“Sourcing ethically sound materials can be expensive on your own.”
“It’s difficult buying anything because equipment is so expensive. We need information on
where to go to get funding.”
“It seems that larger businesses get assistance but there’s nothing for the small company.”
“Maybe there’s an opportunity for a support group maybe through existing groups.”
“There are many industry organisations maybe they could work more collaboratively.”

1. is the sector aware of environmental and social
issues?
• most are aware of the fundamentals
• those that don’t are interested in learning more
• most are already taking small steps to work towards ecodesign

2. what is needed to provide effective ecodesign
support?
• support from existing design support advisors
• support from the WAG through the provision of funding
• support from the existing industry organisations

3. what support is needed?
• information on environmental and social issues
• business support and advice
• funding for small businesses

research
• get existing sectorial organisations to work together on ecodesign
• provide more/better information and guidance on ecodesign
• provide business support to smaller businesses
• establish a channel for ethical/eco material sourcing, bringing down prices
• provide networking opportunities for the small businesses
• run ecodesign competitions in the Welsh fashion and textiles sector
• make funding work for small businesses looking to implement ecodesign

only the beginning?

“it’s not about a season. It’s about an era”

thank you.
Questions?
info@ecodesigncentrewales.org