Livia Firth bristles a little at the word “conscious”. The Eco-Age creative director and Green Carpet Challenge founder has been championing sustainability in the fashion industry for over a decade, but she is wary of the buzzwords that come with the territory. “Fast fashion has appropriated those terms with all their conscious collections and sustainability drives,” she tells Vogue. “But if you look up sustainability in the dictionary, it’s about something that lasts. When you buy fast fashion on an impulse, it’s not sustainable because you know that you’re only going to wear it a couple of times.”
With Eco-Age’s latest designer collaboration, Firth hopes she has created something that will last: a capsule collection designed by Alberta Ferretti. It includes shimmery mini-skirts, organic cotton T-shirts and sweaters crafted from recycled cashmere, embroidered with the phrase “It’s a Wonderful World”. Ferretti named the collection “Love Me” – a direct appeal for us to care for our planet. “This collection is a cry for help,” the designer explains to Vogue. “One that the world is sending out to its inhabitants. Sustainability is not something you can ignore.”
The issue has long been close to Ferretti’s heart – she worked with Emma Watson on an eco-friendly capsule collection in 2011 – and she is keen to demonstrate how ethical practices can inform every step of the design process. On this occasion, the thread for the embroidery is Oeko-Tex certified, the garment label and paper price tags are recyclable, and even the packaging is compostable. “Everything was sourced carefully,” says Firth. “Alberta studied all aspects of the supply chain.”
Their new project is a product of their long-time friendship and Firth sees a certain symmetry in their journeys towards sustainability. “I’ve known Alberta for many years. She was one of the first big fashion houses to focus on sustainability. She started working on it in 2010 and that was the second year of the Green Carpet Challenge and Eco-Age. Back then, sustainability was seen as this big effort. I’ve always had a soft spot for her because she’s very committed. So when she approached us about doing something after Christmas last year, I said, let’s do it together.”
Ferretti’s motivation for reaching out was what she perceives as an imminent threat to our planet. “The urgency of the ecological problems all over the world compelled me to find a green path for my company,” she says. “I know the importance of safeguarding our natural resources and promoting the use of products that have the smallest environmental impact.” With this capsule collection, she hopes to show fellow designers that it is possible to create luxurious products without compromising your ideals. “Fashion is a great way to send a message. Everything we can do, every initiative, every signal, even the smallest thing, is important.”
Both women have been at the forefront of this movement, which has swept the fashion industry in the past few years, prompting the rise of upcycling, closed-loop processes, impact measurement and greater accountability. “Sustainability used to be a box to tick in a company’s corporate social responsibility report,” adds Firth. “But business leaders like François-Henri Pinault from Kering are very vocal about the fact that sustainability makes financial sense. It’s interesting to see how things are changing.”
Call-out culture has also accelerated this change. Firth cites the controversy surrounding the Spice Girls’ T-shirts created for British charity Comic Relief, which were produced in a Bangladeshi factory where workers earn the equivalent of 35p per hour, as one recent example. “There’s so much to lose if you get it wrong. Those T-shirts were raising money for women [and gender justice], but then you discover that they’re made using cheap labour. Today, things get out much more quickly and people are aware of the huge repercussions a story like that can have on a brand.”
But there have been extraordinary success stories too, including heritage houses that have worked with Eco-Age to improve their practices over time. “Last year, Chopard became the first-ever luxury jewellery brand to announce that there would be 100 percent ethical gold in its supply chain,” explains Firth. “It was a huge milestone and a perfect example of how a company can move towards sustainability.”
If the luxury sector is willing to change, will the high street follow? “There’s so much awareness now among consumers about the repercussions of fast fashion,” replies Firth. “The most important choice people can make is just to buy less. There’s been this voracious appetite for shopping, fed by the availability of super-cheap clothes and the fact that there’s pressure on women to always be seen in a different dress – not only on the red carpet, but also on social media. You read statistics that say 70 per cent of teenage girls are ashamed to be seen wearing the same thing twice on Instagram and you think, ‘What’s wrong?’ Fashion shouldn’t be disposable.”
While Firth is buoyed by the growth of alternative business models, especially vintage clothing and fashion rental sites, she is sceptical of some sustainability trends. “There are things that we know are bad, things that ignite huge debates: fur, plastic, microfibres. But even with things like vegan leather, sometimes those products are made with synthetic fibres. Does that make them better? When you have to put things on a scale then I think you really need to study the issue properly.”
She and Ferretti certainly have, and the designer insists that this collaboration is only the beginning of the work they will do together. “Fashion can inspire change and right now, we all need to use our businesses, platforms and voices to make better decisions,” says Ferretti. “This capsule showcases the work we’ve done so far, but we’ve already started working on expanding the collection with other items that will follow later this year. I have lots of ideas and would love to do something that supports endangered species.” Firth agrees that there is more to come. “When two like-minded women meet,” she says, “they rarely leave each other.”
The issue has long been close to Ferretti’s heart – she worked with Emma Watson on an eco-friendly capsule collection in 2011 – and she is keen to demonstrate how ethical practices can inform every step of the design process. On this occasion, the thread for the embroidery is Oeko-Tex certified, the garment label and paper price tags are recyclable, and even the packaging is compostable. “Everything was sourced carefully,” says Firth. “Alberta studied all aspects of the supply chain.”
Their new project is a product of their long-time friendship and Firth sees a certain symmetry in their journeys towards sustainability. “I’ve known Alberta for many years. She was one of the first big fashion houses to focus on sustainability. She started working on it in 2010 and that was the second year of the Green Carpet Challenge and Eco-Age. Back then, sustainability was seen as this big effort. I’ve always had a soft spot for her because she’s very committed. So when she approached us about doing something after Christmas last year, I said, let’s do it together.”
Ferretti’s motivation for reaching out was what she perceives as an imminent threat to our planet. “The urgency of the ecological problems all over the world compelled me to find a green path for my company,” she says. “I know the importance of safeguarding our natural resources and promoting the use of products that have the smallest environmental impact.” With this capsule collection, she hopes to show fellow designers that it is possible to create luxurious products without compromising your ideals. “Fashion is a great way to send a message. Everything we can do, every initiative, every signal, even the smallest thing, is important.”
Both women have been at the forefront of this movement, which has swept the fashion industry in the past few years, prompting the rise of upcycling, closed-loop processes, impact measurement and greater accountability. “Sustainability used to be a box to tick in a company’s corporate social responsibility report,” adds Firth. “But business leaders like François-Henri Pinault from Kering are very vocal about the fact that sustainability makes financial sense. It’s interesting to see how things are changing.”
Call-out culture has also accelerated this change. Firth cites the controversy surrounding the Spice Girls’ T-shirts created for British charity Comic Relief, which were produced in a Bangladeshi factory where workers earn the equivalent of 35p per hour, as one recent example. “There’s so much to lose if you get it wrong. Those T-shirts were raising money for women [and gender justice], but then you discover that they’re made using cheap labour. Today, things get out much more quickly and people are aware of the huge repercussions a story like that can have on a brand.”
But there have been extraordinary success stories too, including heritage houses that have worked with Eco-Age to improve their practices over time. “Last year, Chopard became the first-ever luxury jewellery brand to announce that there would be 100 percent ethical gold in its supply chain,” explains Firth. “It was a huge milestone and a perfect example of how a company can move towards sustainability.”
If the luxury sector is willing to change, will the high street follow? “There’s so much awareness now among consumers about the repercussions of fast fashion,” replies Firth. “The most important choice people can make is just to buy less. There’s been this voracious appetite for shopping, fed by the availability of super-cheap clothes and the fact that there’s pressure on women to always be seen in a different dress – not only on the red carpet, but also on social media. You read statistics that say 70 per cent of teenage girls are ashamed to be seen wearing the same thing twice on Instagram and you think, ‘What’s wrong?’ Fashion shouldn’t be disposable.”
While Firth is buoyed by the growth of alternative business models, especially vintage clothing and fashion rental sites, she is sceptical of some sustainability trends. “There are things that we know are bad, things that ignite huge debates: fur, plastic, microfibres. But even with things like vegan leather, sometimes those products are made with synthetic fibres. Does that make them better? When you have to put things on a scale then I think you really need to study the issue properly.”
She and Ferretti certainly have, and the designer insists that this collaboration is only the beginning of the work they will do together. “Fashion can inspire change and right now, we all need to use our businesses, platforms and voices to make better decisions,” says Ferretti. “This capsule showcases the work we’ve done so far, but we’ve already started working on expanding the collection with other items that will follow later this year. I have lots of ideas and would love to do something that supports endangered species.” Firth agrees that there is more to come. “When two like-minded women meet,” she says, “they rarely leave each other.”
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