Sustainability is an increasingly important topic in fashion retail, and one of the least clearly defined. In this episode, Elisabeth Mac Hale cuts through the noise to give fashion buyers a practical understanding of what sustainability actually means across a product and why the label on a garment rarely tells the full story.
Elisabeth breaks down what sustainability covers across the full product lifecycle, from raw material origin through manufacturing process, components and trims, packaging, and factory standards. She shares what an individual buyer can realistically do within their own role, including the questions to ask suppliers, how to direct business toward better sourcing partners, and where packaging and component decisions create direct influence.
If you've been asked to build more sustainability into your range but aren't sure what that actually means in practice, this episode is a good place to start.
In This Episode
• What sustainability covers across five areas of a product's lifecycle
• The questions individual buyers can ask suppliers to raise the standard of the conversation
• Packaging and component decisions that sit within a buyer's direct control
• What a business needs to have in place: vision, defined criteria and buyer education
Resources Mentioned
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Connect With Elisabeth
Website: designdirectiveme.com
Instagram: @thedesigndirective
LinkedIn: Elisabeth Mac Hale
