Is repeating outfits a sustainability cop-out?
The fashion industry is responsible for 10 per cent of annual global carbon emissions, something those appearing in Glasgow for COP26 this week had to take into consideration. Carrie Johnson and Kate Middleton have set the agenda, with the Daily Mail tracking their outfits daily, detailing how many times they have worn every item. “Carrie wore the same blazer earlier this month to the Manchester Central Convention Complex in a nod to sustainable fashion,” detailed one article. “Proving her eco-credentials, Kate wore a recycled number” (boots she has been spotted in three times before), said another.
Whilst it is commendable to have considered the sustainability of their outfits ahead of the event, when we are talking about an industry that emits around the same quantity of greenhouse gasses per year as the entire economies of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom combined, can we really afford to describe wearing a blazer twice and a pair of £250 boots four times as nod to sustainable fashion?
Although our textile consumption is a global issue, the average person will wear their clothes more than twice, especially a pair of shoes – a good rule touted among the climate-conscious is never to buy a piece of clothing you won’t wear at least 30 times. The media praise for those re-wearing expensive clothing once or twice mocks both the reader and creates a gaping divide between the expectation and reality of living a sustainable life. If these are the standards we are holding our world leaders to, the future of the planet is doomed.
Despite her empowering speech at COP26, the Queen still upholds a rule that she must never wear the same outfit in public more than twice, so this is not to say the efforts of Middleton and Johnson to promote outfit repeating aren’t commendable, or necessary. Thanks to fast fashion and next-day delivery initiatives, our casual consumption and desire for instant gratification have spiralled out of control. The Queen isn’t the only one who purchases new clothes for every occasion; 1 in 10 shoppers have bought an outfit on Instagram only to return the item to the shop the next day.The solution, however, is not to count how many times Carrie Johnson sports a red blazer, but to start preparing the public for the lifestyle changes needed to support the pledges made by our leaders.
By labelling those with high influence “eco-conscious” for wearing the same item once or twice we both send the wrong message to their fans and followers and run the risk of this easy action becoming a “stunt” without any follow-through.
Many celebrities, however, are becoming more conscious of their influence when it comes to sustainable fashion, says Alex Silver, founder of Alex Silver PR and Joan Collins’ publicist. “The shift is happening organically,” she says, “the people I am working with are doing this on their own; they know that every time they do something their fans and the public follow suit so they don’t need guidance.”
In a strange turn of events, Boris Johnson has done something right for once, wearing a rented suit to Glasgow, rather than buying one. The global clothing rental market is expected to hit over $2 billion by 2025 and is an innovative solution for those who attend many events or are in the public eye (though celebrities have long been “loaned” outfits by designers). Whilst less has been said about the male outfits at COP26, a surprising study by Barclaycard found that 10 per cent of men would be embarrassed to repeat outfits compared to seven per cent of women. Perhaps the Daily Mail would have more impact covering Boris’ outfits over his wife’s.
Either way, unless he’s renting a superman suit, it is unfortunately going to take Boris Johnson a lot more than that to save the world from the climate crisis.