Is sustainability being seen as a trend rather than a crisis?

The word sustainability is thrown around commonly in the industry we know today. But what does it actually mean for a brand to be sustainable? and how seriously do companies actually take it? One thing I have really noticed in the last year is just how many brands make a collection alongside their other much larger collections and label them as “eco” or “conscious” and then the use of sustainable practices in their business models. But what is the real effect of doing this and is it misleading? It comes across as the brand is doing this in simply to cater for ethical shoppers in fear that they may lose custom. However, it should be that the company wants to be sustainable throughout the business not just a small inner brand on the side and not just because they feel they have to. The consumers can view this and think that it is a better option than one of their regular products from another collection. It has become common to say that something partially made from recycled material is “sustainable” but what consumers don’t see is that this isn’t hugely better for the planet at all. Many would argue that some change is better than no change however, it is likely that the garment worker that made this was young, underpaid and working 60hour weeks to provide for their families. The garment material is only 50% recycled material, so what does that mean for the other 50%? What isn’t made transparent is that the brand made 10’000 units of that item and dyed it using harmful chemicals. What we should be questioning is how clothing can cost so little to buy, even when partially sustainable? And that, even though we know plastic is piling up in oceans, we still buy from companies that post parcels in packaging that cannot be recycled. The fashion industry is the second largest contributor to global warming. And yet we still buy from companies that have no morals at all. But why? We know the planet is dying and yet there is no sense of urgencies to pressure businesses enough into making changes.