The article in the url link below highlights the prominence of sustainability and recycling in fashion and luxury brands this year (Issues: Advertising, p151; Brands, p153):
“This spring, the list of designers using recycled materials in their collections could go on for pages. … Less is not just more, it's "in". But is it authentic? Or is it just all about image?”
The article questions the commitment of various brands to the cause and suggests, instead, that many are merely jumping on the bandwagon for short term gain:
“… the recycling logo appeals to fashion in the same way as the peace symbol did in the 1960s. … just as it was easier to wear a symbol than take a stance on war, so it is with recycling.”
The article’s conclusion is a valid one—that concern with the environment, as with all issues related to CSR, is positively correlated with economic development (Chapter 1: The Cultural and Contextual Assumptions, p13):
“… the issue of recycled luxury goods is actually one of luxury. … There is a hierarchy of needs; those struggling are not thinking about what happens to their trash."”
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
http://www.sagepub.com/Werther
Sign of the times - The issue of eco-friendly fashion may be more grey than green
By SYL TANG
698 words
8 March 2008
Financial Times
London Ed1
Page 6
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a0fb5c96-ebf6-11dc-9493-0000779fd2ac.html
