Less but Better

I published my first blog post for Is Green the New Black on January 14th, 2020. Isn’t that wild? At the end of the post, I wrote:

My name is McGee Bosworth and through Is Green the New Black? I will be discussing the tumultuous relationship between fashion, the fashion industry, its consumers, and the new, hot-button topic – sustainability. Every Tuesday, we will dive into a different aspect of sustainability in fashion – whether it’s a new development within the industry itself, a look into a new, so-called “sustainable” collection, or attempting to understand the role of consumers in this complicated relationship – there will always be much to discuss.

Man, oh man, there has certainly been much to discuss, hasn’t there? Over the past year and three or so months, quite a lot has happened. I mean a pandemic literally shut down the world two months after this post was published. I decided to focus my entire thesis and its original research on these very topics. To be quite honest, my life has revolved around fashion, sustainability and its tumultuous relationship for the past year. Who knew that a class assignment to write a blog on something that interested me would turn into the majority of my academic studies?

Unintentionally, this blog has closely chronicled the relationship between sustainability and fashion throughout an [you guessed it] unprecedented year. Prior to the pandemic, sustainability was a major topic of conversation within the fashion industry; but it really seemed as if it was something that the industry discussed but failed to truly act upon. Throughout my thesis research, however, I discovered that sustainability skyrocketed to the fashion industry’s number one action item. So, why was 2020 the year that catapulted sustainability to the top of the industry’s mind? During my research, a representative of American luxury label Ralph Lauren stated, “this past year has been really unique where consumers don’t have much to do except for listen, so you’ve seen a lot of causes come to a head…sustainability has been something top of mind and now, enough is enough and it’s time to take action.” A representative of Italian luxury label Versace echoed that point: “everyone’s been given a unique opportunity to take a moment…people have been given more time to rethink their ways of working. Sustainability has catapulted to the forefront…[and] you don’t want to be on the wrong side of history.” Each luxury brand representative reiterated this idea about a forced pause. The fashion industry has been operating at such a high-speed for so long that it’s never had a minute to stop and catch its breath.

Every other week or so, I speak to a holistic health coach. She and I often talk about how I struggle to manage all the things I’ve put on my plate each week. I’m not talking about the literal food I put on my plate. I’m talking about the things I put on my plate – schoolwork, internships, part-time jobs, exercising, socializing, relaxation, etc. My health coach cautions me about putting so many things onto my plate that I’m unable to do any of them very well. I wonder if, until the forced pause brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, the fashion industry was operating similarly to how I sometimes live my life – doing so many things that it failed to do anything exceptionally well.

It seems as if we often think that more automatically equals better. Doing more activities means you’re more successful. Buying more things makes us feel more validated. Producing more products increases the odds that something will ultimately get purchased. What I’ve learned throughout this pandemic is that more does not necessarily mean better. Sometimes, the best thing that we can do is to do fewer things more intentionally. As the light at the end of the tunnel grows brighter and we near the other side of this pandemic, my hope for the fashion industry is that sustainability is not just a hot-button topic – that enough truly is enough and it’s time to take action. Rather than producing more and more, we produce less product but better quality.

If we can learn anything from this pandemic, I think it’s that slowing down does not have to be a weakness – it can be a gift.

Bye for now,

McGee