Consumers turn against ‘fast fashion’ — but government and clothing industry must make this last post-lockdown

The lockdown has forced changes in that way that we buy fashion - 35% of women stating that they intend to purchase fewer items of clothing in future, and 28% of us are finding that we’re reusing or recycling clothing more than usual. The public want more opportunities for repair and reuse (68%) and less pressure from advertising (62%) and social media (65%) to buy clothing. 58% of the public report having bought less clothing during the lockdown.  

There is a strong appetite for change in the fashion industry after the pandemic. Fewer than 1 in 5 (19%) of people believe that the industry should return to business as usual and 50% think that industry should do whatever it takes to become more environmentally sustainable. 

Consumers haven’t simply raced from shopping on the high street to online – around half have adopted different activities as an explicit alternative to ‘shopping’, such as spending more time with ‘themselves’ (24%), exercise (20%), cooking (20%), and phoning friends/family (18%). 

Leading the charge towards sustainability are ‘generation Z’, many of whom are planning on making changes to their purchasing habits as a result of the lockdown. Young people between the ages of 18 and 24 (27%) are particularly committed to supporting brands with strong social and environmental policies. 35% of 18-24 year olds intend to buy fewer items of clothing after the lockdown has ended. This group is critical to fashion marketing and for fashion companies to attract new talent to the industry. 

The government to invest in sustainable fashion. The RSA calls for the creation of a dedicated green ‘Beyond GDP’ resilience fund to support burgeoning circular economy innovation within clothing and textiles (and other sectors) in order to enable greater regional resilience, to stimulate local demand and create high skilled local employment. This should also ensure that any job and training support programme announced later this year supports growing circular economy jobs within fashion. 

In addition, government should introduce stronger environmental standards on the industry including an Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme to incentivise waste reduction and improved design for durability and repair, and a reduction in VAT on repair services.  

The industry itself must take action. There’s an incentive for industries to adapt – for instance, sustainability is a key value for their Gen Z target customers as well as new industry intake of talent. Firms should therefore develop circular economy models which ensure that they use safe, sustainable materials, design their garments for durability, and explore reuse and repair services to keep clothing in use for longer. There should also be investment in upskilling marketing, advertising and journalism creatives on the impacts of fashion, in order that they can better inform the public’s choices. 

Consumers also need to be encouraged to keep up changes in their behaviour. The RSA is launching the poll as part of its Regenerative Futures programme, one of the five Bridges to a better future post-lockdown. Part of this programme involves working with communities to develop interventions which change our relationship with fashion, from new ways of manufacturing to repair services and reuse networks.