Global warming is a reality in today’s world which is affecting the spring, summer, fall and winter seasons in both hemispheres. Unstable temperatures are confounding the sales calendars and few know what will be the new way of selling and consuming.
Food production may be the most worrisome, although there are many sectors that are affected by climate change. With respects to the retail textile market, retail buyers are finding it very hard to plan their product stocks with exactitude. In a retail textile market, purchases are made approximately six months in advance in order to provide enough time for production.
©nasaphoto
In Europe, namely in Paris, the month of January is when sales for men’s winter collection take place. Buyers place their orders at that time taking into consideration the ins and outs of the current season, and based on that, they form their future campaign. The orders arrive in August/September having concluded the production and delivery window for the beginning of the new fall-winter season.
Nevertheless, seasons overlap and it has become increasingly complicated to work pending on the weather. Droughts, heatwaves, and intense storms discombobulate the world and the conventional calendar. We could have a very warm winter. How would we know? How would we administrate purchasing with that much time in advance?
Why do we still follow such an antiquated calendar? How can we update it?
Fast fashion, in contrast to retail, has a logistic of production and delivery that is much more agile which can be appropriated more easily to changing temperatures. Nevertheless, the production of the larger chains is the main cause of this environmental unbalance.
The revenue gained by the big names in fast fashion make any discussion over the renovation of the sales calendar very complicated. Many giants in this sector continue to hold such high revenue many reaching millions of euros per year.
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The fashion industry boasts on being cutting-edge and avant-garde but it is actually anchored in an antiquated structure. The restructuring of a calendar in accordance with the effects of global warming and production patterns should be discussed in order to forge a better future in this sector and in society.
What do consumers want? Who has the last word?
With each action as a consumer, we emit a vote of confidence. In a society of hyper-consumerism, shopping constitutes a political act which forms the world we inhabit and chooses the planet and society that fits our needs.
Today, many textile companies are turning to local markets for production as a means of restructuring the social and economic pillars in this sector. Society is forming movements that question its own conventions with the intention of improving and creating a more balanced way of consumerism that is based on social consciousness. Consumers are now realizing that without the support of local production it is impossible to reach economic growth and prosperity and new social values are emerging setting new trends in this sector. Buyers want to know where their clothes were made. Textiles made locally and of natural fibers are now of great relevance at the moment of purchase.
Fashion Revolution and Eco Age are two initiatives created in England (with representation in various countries) that question, through transparency in methods of production, the materials that are used, who manufactures them, and their code of ethics.
The emergence of responsible purchasing, be it conscious or critical, involves our responsibility to debate over various ways of manufacturing and distribution. The world today is debating over an obsolete model and rising alternatives. Kinder options that focus on human beings not only financial benefits.
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Lobao Studio’s work in fashion strives for respectful labor relationships and promotes the return of traditional craftsmanship while continuing to research new trends, textiles and designers. To know more, click here.
(cover photo ©Veeterzy)