Is it enough for a brand to be sustainable?
The answer, according to the experts, is no. Not even close.
Sustainability has been fashion’s favourite word for the last decade—dominating conversations, panels, pitches, and promises. You can’t scroll through Instagram or sit in front row at fashion week without encountering the S-word. It's whispered into the folds of organic cotton, shouted across Instagram infographics, and stamped on every swing tag, hoping for approval. But as Zara drops another 300-piece collection, Shein continues to creep its way into Gen Z wardrobes via TikTok hauls, the question remains: is it enough for a brand to just be sustainable? The answer, according to the experts, is no. Not even close.
“I think it all comes down to education,” says fashion commentator Viren Shah. “Even when people do buy fast fashion, once they realise how poorly it holds up, how little it lasts, they’re more likely to look for alternatives.” But while awareness is growing, so is the greenwashing. A buzzword slapped onto a tag doesn’t mean much if it isn’t backed by action, because even H&M tags boast words like “conscious” and “recycled”. “There needs to be tangible transparency,” Shah adds. “Reports, audits, fair pay. If a brand claims to be sustainable, it should be able to trace every step of its production process.” Neeti Mehra, founder of BeejLiving, agrees, stressing that brands must go beyond optics. “We need a clear framework. Sustainability isn’t just about organic cotton. It’s about impact, intent, and implementation.”
Yet even when intent is sincere, reality bites. For designers like Ruchika Sachdeva, founder of Bodice, the struggle lies in scale. “To design consciously is to design slower,” she says. “But the industry is still built for speed. The demand is constant and exhausting. The pressure to stay relevant makes slow fashion a hard sell.” It’s a sentiment echoed by Aneeth Arora of péro, whose label has become a quiet anthem for mindful design. “At péro, staying rooted in slow fashion isn’t a challenge—it’s our conviction,” she shares. “We draw strength from the hands that craft each piece.” While trends come and go, the beauty of handmade, thoughtful clothing endures.
But even beauty needs a buy-in. The average consumer is still swayed by novelty and affordability. “Fast fashion offers instant gratification,” Arora admits. “It’s a hard combination to resist. Awareness is a start, but until sustainable choices are made aspirational and accessible, fast fashion will keep its hold.” This duality—between intent and access—is perhaps the most difficult needle to thread. For many homegrown designers, the road to sustainability is paved with compromise. “We can’t just rely on ethics to sell,” says Sayukta Chawla, founder of Label Sugar, a slow fashion brand. “We have to make desirable clothes that just happen to be sustainable. People will choose aesthetics first, always.”
So where does that leave us?
Phyllida Jay, anthropologist and fashion researcher, points to the need for deeper systemic change. “We have to dismantle the myth of endless growth. The entire fashion economy is designed around disposability,” she says. “True sustainability will require new business models—not just better materials.” It will also require cultural rewiring. As Shah puts it, “Influencers and commentators play a big role in bridging the education gap. We have to be more transparent about the brands we endorse. It’s our responsibility not to glamourise what we know is unethical.”
There’s hope in slow storytelling. Brands like Kartik Research are crafting clothing meant to last generations, partnering with artisans to create community-first designs. Arora adds, “When someone forms an emotional bond with what they wear, they’re less likely to discard it. That kind of connection is the antidote to throwaway fashion.” But perhaps the most powerful tool isn’t product, it’s policy. “If I could change one thing,” Arora says, “I’d integrate sustainability education into design curriculums. Fast fashion thrives on disconnection. Education can bridge that.”
So, is being sustainable enough? Not anymore. Not when virality trumps values. Not when ethical pieces are priced out of reach. And not when fashion’s cultural currency still lies in a nascent stage for the average consumer. It’ll certainly take more than just good intentions to undo decades of fast fashion dominance. Collaborations between designers, educators, media, and consumers will play an instrumental role in building a slower, more circular fashion system. As Arora puts it best, “Sustainability isn’t a trend. It’s the baseline. But add meaning—meaning will make it matter.”
Feature image: @ilovepero/Instagram
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