Stella McCartney is currently spending the UK’s third lockdown at her home in the English countryside, where she’s watched “a whole set of seasons go by” since the pandemic first hit. It was during the country’s first lockdown, in March 2020, that she took time to reflect on her role in the fashion industry, and in particular her long-standing sustainable practices—leading to her launching her A-Z manifesto, which highlights her brand’s key values, in October.
“I found myself asking questions as to why I do what I do and why would people care about what I do in fashion,” the designer told Vogue critic and sustainability director Sarah Mower, during a talk for students at the Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design, via Zoom. “I thought if ever there’s been a moment to do what I do in my industry, and come at it in the way that I do, it’s now.”
While the pandemic has underlined the changes needed in the fashion industry to achieve a greener future, McCartney—who is celebrating her brand’s 20th anniversary this year—has long been a pioneer in the industry. “[Working in a sustainable way] is not what you learn at school,” she explained. “I went to Central Saint Martins—this was not on the agenda. It is now, luckily.”
From the need to find planet-positive solutions to the power of young people to create change, here are McCartney’s key sustainability lessons that she shared with the next generation.
1. Accountability is essential
“Accountability is about personal responsibility: asking yourself what’s important to you; what can you do, whether tiny or huge. As a brand, we like to think of ourselves as being accountable and responsible for everything we do and sell, and its impact. And also accountable for when there’s more we can do — you have to be accountable for the bits you know aren’t perfect and you can make better […] and it’s about following through on your promises.”
2. Look for solutions
“If we see a problem that we need fixing and [the solution] is not there, which is the majority of the time, we have to create it ourselves with our suppliers. We’ve had to do that for example with fake fur—we have a really amazing KOBA faux fur that we developed exclusively with that supplier, which is the most sustainable fake-fur fibre anywhere in the world.”
3. Avoid greenwashing
“There’s so much greenwashing; there’s so much talk. The more people who know the facts and have real knowledge on the subject, I think it’s really valuable.”
4. Industry-wide policies are needed
“I can’t believe that there aren’t stringent rules, parameters for our industry to follow. There are very few policies in place to police the fashion industry […] I wish [reporting on ecological impact] was almost like an ingredient label on food [that all brands have].”
5. Fashion has to be regenerative
“At Stella, we start at the source—more than 60 per cent of the positive impact we have is working methodically in the way in which we source. One thing we’re looking at a lot is being regenerative in our cotton sourcing—how we put back in what we’re taking out. A huge amount of CO2 emissions are trapped within soil, and if you disturb that in any farming method, it is released into the atmosphere […] Regenerative farming is going back to the soil, putting the nutrients back in; it’s trying to work in a more circular way.”
6. Be optimistic about a better future
“I’m definitely a glass half-full type. If I didn’t feel that this is solvable, that there’s a positive outcome from this, I’d probably do something else. You have to believe that we can win. It’s our responsibility to try and solve these problems.”
7. Consumers have a role to play
“The more demand there is from consumers to consume in [a more sustainable] way, the more questions they ask — the people with the power to make change can’t just brush it under the carpet. That’s why I find it hopeful. When the demand increases, the price points are lower.”
8. Young people want change
“Tomorrow’s generation has a huge voice and a massive power for change. They’re consuming in a very different way — reselling and renting. It’s mostly young people that understand this urgency for change.”
9. Sustainability doesn’t mean sacrificing style
“My main mission from day one hasn’t changed: you shouldn’t sacrifice style, fashionability or quality just because you’re working in this way. You’ve got to stand shoulder to shoulder [with other brands]. [The item] should just look great and be wonderful to have in your life.”
