By Priydarshini Gouthi
October 31, 2024
This article is a contribution from Next Gen Assembly 2024 Member, Priydarshini Gouthi.
As 2024’s Next Gen Assembly, the question that has been at the top of our minds is: how do we centre wellbeing into the fashion economy? A deceivingly simple question that the fashion ecosystem has been trying to answer for more than a decade and yet we are still seeking solutions. There has, undoubtedly, been tremendous progress in bringing to forefront the criticality of sustainability (social and environmental) whether through forums like the Global Fashion Summit or coalitions working to demystify the complex web of interconnected factors like policy, supply chain due diligence, financial viability and even, simply, awareness raising. However, while we have found alignment around the scope of the challenge, we haven’t yet been able to establish industry wide buy-in on actionable steps that can be sustained into the future rather than being transient practices. For solutions to be adopted and then be effective, they need to be integrated into the everyday functioning of the machine, rather than add-ons.
To centre something requires us to weave it into all elements within the space. It doesn’t mean that it is the element that drives action for all others but is arguably the element that becomes the common thread across all. For this to happen, it is likely that the centre also needs to be something that is highly valued and is weighted accordingly. So let’s take a step back and ask what it is that the fashion ecosystem values? Ideas that come to the forefront are innovation, creativity, financial success, efficiency, globalisation, trends, and brand legacy. The list can be endless but overarchingly the fashion ecosystem tends to value elements that either contribute to the growth of the industry, its resilience to economic pressures, and its ability to either set consumer trends or respond to them.
I believe that the barrier to fully integrating wellbeing into the fashion economy lies in the seeming and deceptive dissonance between wellbeing and the other ecosystem values, namely, the elephant in the room – business outcomes. To redress this misbelief of a gap between the two, we need to reposition wellbeing as a solution, an enabler. This comes with the acknowledgement that there will always be times where sustainability and fiduciary goals might not align in the short term but that’s where we need to challenge our current thinking. The temporary misalignment often results in wellbeing being deprioritised without being cognisant of the long term ramifications. This arguably impulsive deprioritisation comes from our narrowed definition of value generation.
Why is value generation interchangeably used with fiscal value? Fiscal value can be the outcome of optimising synergies and broader priorities like responsible decision making rather than the driver. Organisations should be a reflection of our societies and if that’s the case then how can fiscal value be the only metric of success?
For values and goals to be reframed, they need to be well defined and well-measured. Cost savings are valued because the impact is visible and linked to clear, trackable metrics that instil accountability into the business. But how do we define wellbeing and sustainability? Moreover, how can we measure the ambiguous parts of these goals?
Across the multiple Next Gen Assembly engagements over the past six months, I am beginning to understand that a part of the puzzle lies in breaking down ‘wellbeing’ into tangible, identifiable elements and to understand how these elements can potentially solve challenges that affect different stakeholders. When wellbeing is framed as a valuable solution and not a hurdle, especially in the long run, that is when responsible decision making becomes the norm and not an add or ‘nice to have’.
We also need to challenge the idea that sustainability is the antithesis to the current narrow definition of value generation. More often than not, what is good for all actors is also good for the business because the business only works when all actors coordinate successfully.
Let’s delve into a concrete example – a part of wellbeing involves ensuring every worker across the fashion supply chain has a medium to channel their voice. A lack of worker voice and regard for worker wellbeing results in burnout and poor productivity and high attrition is a problem to solve for multiple stakeholders – the worker, supplier, and indirectly the brand. It’s not just a worker issue anymore, it’s an issue for all those impacted. However, the piece that ends up getting overlooked is how investing in worker wellbeing can not only improve lives for vulnerable and historically marginalised communities but can address challenges faced in the ecosystem such as high attrition cost and frequent production disruptions. Investing in one piece of sustainability can create a butterfly effect where the net benefit outweighs the net costs.
More information and data is only helpful when expressed in the language that the audience relates to. This is where we so often falter. To communicate on the same wavelength, we need empathy and cognisance of another person’s framing, their challenges, and their values. Once this is recognised, we must make the effort to find synergies between the varying frames in the room and identifying the common thread that can enable everyone to move together in the same direction rather than be pulled in different paths resulting in inertia. Breaking this said inertia is the key to expanding our value system and finding interlinkages between sustainability, business, and creative arms that would centre wellbeing.
Centring wellbeing cannot be an ‘us vs them’ problem, it cannot involve transferring all accountability to a single stakeholder or expecting magnanimous strides to be made overnight. It has to be measured, consistent, and the result of co-creation across the ecosystem.
Today, on the occasion of Global Fashion Summit: Shanghai Gala 2024, Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) announced the 2024 edition of The GFA Monitor.
Global Fashion Agenda appoints Lennart Bernhoft as COO
For the first time, Global Fashion Agenda is heading to Shanghai
