By Luis Miranda
"To the extent that we understand that moving towards sustainability is an exercise that is done yes or yes in an interdisciplinary and collaborative way, we will be able to move forward"
I would say that Sofía Calvo hardly needs an introduction. Anyone who follows the evolution of local fashion knows the capital importance of Sofia for the development of our fledgling industry, of her tireless work to publicize the proposal of Chilean and Latin American designers and of her vocation to always contribute from a sidewalk. constructive. This journalist by profession is the author of Quintatrends.com , one of the longest running fashion sites in the Chilean and Latin American context, university professor and author of four books where fashion is the main leitmotiv.
About his fourth book "Changing the Word" is what this interview deals with. The text, recently launched under the auspices of Ril Editores, is a "Journey through the hidden side of our clothes", as its cover says; a work where Sofía gives us concrete recommendations on how to make our relationship with clothing a more sustainable dynamic, which minimizes the environmental and social impact of an industry that has done a lot of damage to the planet for a long time. “The truth is that I had not considered writing a book on these topics, but in June of last year I was invited to take part in the training of the 'Climate Reality Project', which is the Al Gore Foundation, former Vice President of the United States and pioneer in the discussion of the climate emergency. In that process, I realized that it was necessary to do it, that I couldn't sit idly by waiting for the person next to me to do something. I decided to develop a text in a citizen language, clear, entertaining, that would invite action, that would not pontificate and that would provide concrete tools. The actual process of writing and collecting the material took about six months. It wasn't something programmed, unlike the other books. I was literally motivated by the climate emergency and by what the training and motivation that Al Gore and his team give you."
On your site and in previous books you already addressed the issue of sustainability in fashion. When did this issue resonate with you and when did activism begin from your part on the matter? Would you say that today is the main topic that you are interested in promoting?
My interest in environmental issues comes from childhood. The fact of having lived in a country house, with a farm in front and where nature was part of everyday life, not an addition, marked me. On the other hand, I come from a family very committed to different political and social causes, my father was a lawyer, he was in the Vicaría de la Esperanza. On my maternal side, I have a family with a long political tradition. There is something that runs through my blood that makes the world ache, physically. That pain forces me to commit myself to social causes, to crusades that make sense to me, it is the only way to silence that feeling that seeing injustice in all spheres causes me.
When I started to get into fashion, I did it from a Latin American perspective. Unlike other girls who have meddled in fashion due to their interest in clothing in general, I have always been interested in the phenomenon of what the industry communicates and my approach was from the local, from creating with a concept established in the territory . Inevitably, that makes you think about where you stand and the environment and ecosystem in which you are researching these issues.
I would tell you that in 2010 or 2011, when Greenpeace's 'Detox' campaign began, I became truly aware of the environmental impact of fashion. I had an intuition that told me that things were not adding up, there were signs that the marvel - well in quotes - of the 'democratization of fashion' had a double face. Greenpeace demonstrated it to me with the campaign that I mentioned to you and everything that began to emerge from there in terms of research in the field of environmental and social sustainability. That made me a greater sense of being involved in the world of fashion, because from an aesthetic point of view I have no contribution to make; I am not a designer, I have zero manual skills. My contribution has to do with the ways of communicating, with how you empower yourself by understanding your reality and making style a political act.
Has that initial motivation in relation to Latin American fashion been surpassed today by the theme of sustainability as the main topic you address?
I believe that this approach from sustainability in all its vertices -from the environmental, social and economic aspects- is the transversal approach of everything I do and Latin America intersects there, without a doubt. I do not speak from the air, but from the territory in which I stand and that I really believe can be a pioneer in these issues; precisely because we still have pristine nature and there is a Latin American potential in terms of nature, communities, trades and native peoples, who have knowledge that contributes to the construction of a new fashion paradigm. For me, Latin American fashion will always be a base, but based on a focus permeated by a focus on sustainability.
In the book, you point out that there are fashion brands and companies that misuse the terms associated with sustainability; Based on your diagnosis, why do they do it: unknowingly or deliberately, with a hidden agenda? How serious do you think this practice?
What I am going to tell you is going to sound naïve, but I believe that in most cases there is no bad faith. I want to believe that it is not bad faith, but ignorance; a somewhat desperate need to get in tune with the social discourse, with the issues that are being the mainstay of the citizen agenda, of the States and international organizations. That trying to get in tune in a very dazed way, makes them make these mistakes, because they simply acquire the concept, but they do not understand what is behind it, they do not process what it means for the business model, for the strategy. All this is produced by ignorance and haste.
This process has been quite dizzying, and despite the fact that these concepts have been announced by agencies such as the WGSN for some time, we know how the business world works; Not all of them have the vision to effectively transform or create their company from a more committed perspective. Obviously, there are some who do it in bad faith, because they know that they have no commitment to what they say they are doing in terms of sustainability. They continue generating attacks against human rights, they continue to produce a brutal environmental impact despite the climate emergency, but they communicate that they are doing it royally, that they have sustainable lines, etc, etc.
The downside of using the wrong terms is that they not only prevent the structural changes that are needed within the industry from happening, but they also confuse people. I think that is the most serious thing, because consumers are willing to buy clothes that are moving towards sustainability, there are studies that say so, but they have no idea what that means, where to buy it, what are the attributes that has, what to take into account and what not. There is a loss of opportunity for everyone, for the necessary changes and transformations to take place.
“Fashion will be sustainable or it will not be” is one of the phrases that I highlighted in your book. How realistic is that premise, considering that a paradigm shift and business models are needed? In what timeframe do you think we can reach an industry that is mostly sustainable?
We are indeed at a turning point on a planetary level, which forces us in all areas in which we develop to make substantial changes if we want to survive. That's how hard it is. From this perspective, the fashion industry has to make a paradigm shift, because otherwise it will run out of resources. Without resources and without energy there is no way to create new products, therefore there is no business. I assure you that there are many brands that began to integrate sustainable edges under that premise: that they were going to run out of business. The phrase is super ambitious, but if you don't set goals, it's cheating, it's not moving the needle and nonsense.
The horizon outlined by the UN through the 2030 Agenda is for that year, but we are in 2022 and it would be very delusional to think that in eight years we will have a largely sustainable industry. I do not dare to venture a time, but if we analyze the projections in terms of countries' carbon neutrality, I would expect that by 2060 we can have an industry that, at least, only uses clean energy. That's possible. I insist, here it is not only about changing technologies, changing materials, but also about a transformation of our ways of relating to clothing and understanding that the verbs buy and sell cannot be the ones that rule the equation.
Who is better prepared for this transition: fashion suppliers or demanders?
Fashion demanders are increasingly willing to listen, which puts them on a very good footing to start taking action, but since the challenge of sustainability is not individual, we cannot only do it as consumer citizens, but rather it has to do the ecosystem as a whole. I think there is a real commitment -at the national level and in terms of retail- and not for the photo to make a transformation. Sometimes, that commitment is lost a bit in the language, in the form of communication, in the ways of implementing them, but there is a real predisposition and not a cynical one to make transformations. The point is that we do not get anything out of making transformations at the local level, this has to be a change at the global level and I think that the pressure of the same citizens industry is producing that turning point. However, I think that what is missing now are legislative changes that begin to put a stick on these industries, because all the analysis that is done at the international level points to changes in the regulatory frameworks within which the fashion system develops. In Europe we are already seeing stricter rules, from the Green Deal, for example.
What negative side effects do you envision this paradigm shift could have, for example, in a sub-industry such as fashion production and photography, which works based on planned obsolescence and will see its work diminished if there are no set seasons?
As is happening with the process of automation and robotization of the labor market, what needs to be done in this regard is to start thinking about ways to use human resources in such a way as to be able to communicate these new forms and paradigms, because -for more that there are no collections or marked seasons- those clothes that are fixed, that are personalized or are super-recycled, the one that is exchanged, must be shown. That requires a visual code that is in the sector, that human capital specialized in that matter is needed. That human capital does not have to wait for the wave to break in its face, it has to start preparing itself and understanding how important it is to communicate these new forms and products. This is going to be a challenge in terms of aesthetics, visual codes, looks, reinventing within the framework of this new paradigm. In addition, the fashion industry is increasingly challenged to show its offer of services and products on different platforms, which is an exercise in creativity. There are many job options, what happens is that these possibilities will not be the traditional or typical ones and will require other types of skills, qualifications and abilities, but they are there on the table. Those who connect with these new realities will do very well.
As you can see in your book and as the facts show, the vast majority of those who advocate sustainability in fashion are women. Why do you think this phenomenon occurs?
It has to do with several factors. First, with the fact that many of us have realized that the fashion industry, from its production chain, is dominated by women. About 80% of the people who work in clothing are women. That already gives an incentive as to why so many abuses are caused. If you look at it from a historical point of view, those who put issues related to poor working conditions on the table are women. We also have to realize the symbolic violence that fashion has exerted on us, through impossible hegemonic references, forcing us to have certain bodies that we will not be able to reach and generating a series of situations that threaten self-perception and even against our human rights, makes many of us aware that this industry must be intervened and that cannot be done by anyone. Those of us who want to stop being objects and want to start being subjects have to lead it. We want to show the industry that things can be done differently, because we also have an awareness of the territory: we are the first to receive the harshest effects of climate change. In many countries, women are responsible for fetching water for their communities. In general, we are responsible for worrying about the food of our families, therefore there is an awareness of nature, of its resources. These different variables and their understanding have made us want to commit to making transformations.
Finally, who has more responsibility for sustainable brand development: a designer or small brand that can control the vertical integration of its business or a large fashion company that has the human and financial resources to audit its processes?
We all have responsibility. I would not dare to say who has more or less. A local brand, as you rightly say, has a better chance of having control of certain aspects of its value chain, but it does not necessarily have the resources to make these processes economically sustainable, so that it can grow as a brand and maintain itself over time. . On the other hand, the big brands have a tremendous responsibility, without a doubt, because to the extent that they invest money in research and development and begin to produce on a larger scale with certain materials or work with clean energy, what they do is reduce costs. prices and that smaller designers can access more sustainable materials, with less impact, incorporating them into their productions and production chains. Here everyone has a responsibility, to different degrees, I would say, but if each one does not assume their own, things don't work. This is a gear, an ecosystem. To the extent that we understand that moving towards sustainability is an exercise that is done yes or yes in an interdisciplinary and collaborative way, we will be able to move forward.
