CSR puts its best foot forward at London Fashion Week

In an historic development, London Fashion Week has held a sustainable catwalk show for the first time ever. With a few notable exceptions, fashion is not known for its wholehearted commitment to CSR, but London Fashion Week's decision may mark a change in direction.

In previous years ethical fashion has lurked around the edges of London Fashion Week. However, the decision to award a coveted slot in its official schedule to sustainable responsible brands shows that fashion has caught on to a new trend.

Many of the designers showing sustainable collections form part of Esthetica, London Fashion Week's CSR showcase. Esthetica is an exhibition held during the week and showcasing cutting-edge eco designers. It started four years ago with just 13 designers and now has 37 designers exhibiting.

That London Fashion Week should dedicate one of its valuable catwalk spaces to ethical fashion indicates recognition of a growing market for clothes with a conscience. A British Fashion Council report launched earlier this week The Value of Fashion put the value of fashion to the UK economy at £21bn. If you take its wider impact into account - such as tourism and other related businesses - it is worth £37bn. The report recognised, however, the challenge sustainability presented to the industry.

The Value of Fashion does address CSR in its report although not in very much depth. It recommends a series of actions including: a communications campaign encouraging consumers to buy sustainable clothing; the development of a ethical logo or trademark which could be applied to sustainable clothing and potential financial incentives for sustainable brands.

The fashion and design industry faces a multitude of CSR challenges. One of the greatest of these is related to supply chains. The majority of clothes are produced in factories abroad, often in China and India. Rigorous controls are necessary to ensure workers' rights are protected, and that chemicals used in the dyeing process do not harm workers or the environment.

The Value of Fashion report is right in one sense - communication with consumers is key. However, it takes more than just some positive slogans. We need to see behaviour change in the fashion industry, not just from consumers but from businesses as well. It is not a human right to be able to buy a t-shirt for £1. The cheap, fast fashion of brands like Primark is the enemy of sustainable production. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to realise that if a store is selling an intricately beaded garment for £2 or £3 then someone, somewhere is paying for it.

Fashion is big business, but there is also room for it to be fair business. CSR is now an integral part of so many industries' operations that it seems ironic that fashion which wins by being ahead of the game is so far behind.

London Fashion Week's sustainable show is a really positive step. Let's hope it doesn't stop there.

Photo credit: Terry Russell