Rachel Arthur: How the UN Wants Brands to Sell Sustainability

In June 2023, the United Nations printed a report with a radical message for style manufacturers: cease pushing overconsumption.

“The Sustainable Trend Communication Playbook” printed by the United Nations Setting Programme and UN-backed Trend Trade Constitution for Local weather Motion took purpose on the core of style’s enterprise, inspecting the function advertising performs in driving the cycle of overproduction and overconsumption that underpins the business’s environmental impression.

It’s a problem signatories to the UN Trend Constitution, who embrace most of the world’s largest manufacturers, have pledged to deal with. However it additionally strikes on the coronary heart of one in all style’s largest sustainability hurdles: companies geared in direction of driving extra consumption will at all times be a part of the issue.

More and more, regulators wish to deal with the problem from numerous angles, methods to make manufacturers accountable for textile waste and incentivise designing for lengthy life and circularity. However the function advertising performs has been missed, mentioned Rachel Arthur, a sustainability strategist and sustainable style advocacy lead at UNEP.

That should change, however that doesn’t imply the tip of style, it simply means a brand new focus, she mentioned.

BoF: Rachel, you spearheaded the playbook challenge. Why did you are feeling like this was the factor to concentrate on?

Rachel Arthur: This began on the UNEP aspect with a chunk of labor that was trying on the function of communication to assist drive change and encourage motion inside the business.

Sometimes, a chunk of labor like that will result in a consumer-facing marketing campaign on the necessity for better sustainability inside the style sector [or] extra sustainable consumption. Really, the result from technique was that whereas that type of work was doable and viable and may very well be thought-about crucial, there appeared to be a way more highly effective lever to contemplate, not simply what shoppers might do, however why shoppers had been consuming in the best way that they had been.

That comes right down to primarily the manufacturers after which the media, and the ecosystem that surrounds them. The business is so good at creating need. However we’re making individuals fall in love with one thing that isn’t serving us on a planetary foundation. The first message put ahead is predicated on a linear financial mannequin and on messages essentially of overconsumption.

These job capabilities have to be a part of this dialog. Communication must be aligned to sustainability. The playbook mainly is the “how.”

BoF: What are the important thing suggestions?

RA: Mainly, there’s a job for advertising, there’s a job for storytelling. Manufacturers have to be sure that every part they’re doing in sustainability is matched by what they’re placing out on the planet. Throughout the playbook, we spell that out, with [a set of] pillars of labor.

First, how will we guarantee we’re not greenwashing or placing ahead something in the best way of misinformation? I’d say that’s type of desk stakes. This isn’t new to the business, however unpacking it’s fairly advanced and it’s evolving quick as extra coverage is available in.

Then we begin shifting into areas which are newer, and I feel sometimes the place the communication skilled has extra of a forte or talent set that may be delivered to the desk that hasn’t existed right here beforehand. That is the place we’re tradition change.

We clearly name out that we have to eradicate messages of overconsumption. That is most likely the heaviest space [of what we are outlining] by way of complexity in follow. Entrepreneurs are ‘KPI’d’ on how a lot they will promote, so that is going in opposition to that logic.

However we actually current optimistic options. We’re not making an attempt to dispose of style because it exists, however change the main target of it. From a marketer’s standpoint, it’s about saying, how can we put extra of our effort, vitality, creativity, price range in direction of round options?

BoF: Are you able to define what you imply by round options?

RA: Finally, you’ve obtained to start out with individuals shopping for much less, however you then would possibly have a look at different methods of consumption — resale, rental, holding what you’ve obtained for longer, so the restore market, with the very last thing on the record being recycling before you purchase one thing that’s utterly new and unsustainable. There’s loads of room inside that for exploration, creativity.

And it’s important right here to recognise that there isn’t one dimension matches all. Sustainable consumption seems to be totally different in several markets. In some markets, we all know that fundamental wants nonetheless have to be met, so we’re not asking for discount in consumption as a blanket international view.

[But] the third part is about ‘reimagine values,’ and this part might underpin all of it. We’re making an attempt to encourage individuals to suppose and aspire to one thing totally different. We name [fashion marketers] ‘architects of need,’ so how can we redirect aspiration in direction of sustainable life?

BoF: You’ve already alluded to the strain underlying this work: you’re basically making an attempt to encourage entrepreneurs to start out promoting one thing that’s at odds with their present KPIs and the place it’s not clear what the enterprise mannequin is. How does this match with broader conversations round sustainability?

RA: It’s the elephant within the room. I feel most companies alongside that sustainability journey now recognise that, however that doesn’t imply they’re but keen to handle it on the board degree or the senior government degree. That is new, not within the sense that no person is aware of about it, but it surely’s not but been a real dialog. What we now have been making an attempt to do with the playbook is to say this must be on the desk.

It’s not on the shoulders of those that work in a communication capability, after all, however in the event you have a look at the larger image of what the playbook is speaking about, it’s addressing the system’s problem, which is to say that we will push as arduous as we probably need with the entire evolution that’s wanted, however we gained’t get anyplace inside that if we don’t additionally have a look at quantity.

BoF: After we discuss methods, regulation usually comes up as a lever for change. What function ought to coverage play?

RA: We’re seeing coverage come down the road that’s centered on the inexperienced declare aspect of issues, however it’s attention-grabbing beginning to consider what that would appear to be from a sustainable consumption standpoint and what is likely to be certainly doable inside all of that.

The fourth part of the [playbook’s] ideas is known as ‘drive advocacy.’ It seems to be at a few lenses. Clearly, how will we push for better schooling from a broad consumer-based standpoint? Inside that, we discuss concerning the inside lever that communicators might help play to assist be certain that there’s accountability for change inside the enterprise. Additionally [they can] assist play a job inside the coverage panorama, recognising that loads of these companies are extremely highly effective and that there may very well be a possibility from a really aggressive standpoint to advocate for wider change that facilitates sustainability in a wider sense.

BoF: How do you see the regulatory panorama in the mean time?

RA: There’s so many issues occurring inside the coverage panorama, that are attention-grabbing, probably thrilling, extremely advanced and bewildering for lots of the business to get their head round.

The inexperienced claims aspect of issues, the business is type of prepared for it. Everyone simply needs that steering. Sure, there are going to be hurdles to really get individuals on the suitable web page, however simply having black and white, ‘that is what you may and that is what you may’t do,’ it’s going to be actually useful for everyone. And it additionally helps degree the enjoying discipline.

In a wider sense, I feel we’re at an attention-grabbing juncture by way of policymakers recognising this function of consumption on account of unsustainable manufacturing. The waste aspect of issues is a really attention-grabbing lever. We have now to recognise on this dialog round overconsumption simply how a lot waste there’s by way of the stuff that was [never sold].

What we additionally really want to see is incentives for companies round doing ‘the suitable factor.’ On the one hand, that’s [encouraging the use of] sustainable most well-liked supplies so consumption that’s taking place is much less impactful, but in addition will we push for round options to be extra simply facilitated or incentivised?

I’m unsure that we’re seeing that play out absolutely as but however I feel all of these issues mixed — which we all know just isn’t going to occur in a single day — can be extremely helpful.

BoF: Are issues lacking from the dialog, and specifically the coverage dialog?

RA: This elephant within the room round manufacturing ranges and quantity. It’s actually attention-grabbing to consider what that appears like at a coverage degree. Whereas we see sure areas decreasing, for example, fast fashion, I feel there’s a a lot greater image that isn’t essentially in there, which is consumption behaviour, and the way that’s perpetuated by an overproduction mannequin and the way we have a look at that holistically by way of the best way that companies are measured on success.

Lastly, the realm that we don’t embrace as a lot as we must always is across the employee aspect. How will we be certain that garment employees are being paid a residing wage or the correct amount for what they’re creating. What does that appear to be in a world of making much less?

This interview has been edited and condensed.

This text first appeared in The State of Fashion 2024, an in-depth report on the worldwide style business, co-published by BoF and McKinsey & Firm.