What Swedish ELLE got right and wrong about sustainability
Were you also looking forward to the spring issue of Swedish ELLE with the theme on sustainability? Did you also wonder how much of it would truly be fair and honest towards the fashion industry or how much of it would look more like a greenwashing campaign?
It’s not easy for a traditional women’s magazine to move away from tips on where to buy the latest trendy outfit, when they are dependent on advertisement. Despite my understanding of the business sector they’re operating in, it’s also my responsibility as a sustainability consultant to share my perspectives. To be honest, it wasn’t as bad as I had expected. There were several pages I really liked! I will list them below but also give constructive criticism on what I missed and areas of improvement:
Well done:
The interview with the actress Alicia Agneson! It’s good with role models who’ve stopped buying news clothes!
The interview with Klimatklubben (Climate Club) and the tip of David Attenborough latest film! Good ways for the readers to keep on educating themselves.
The portrait of Jane Fonda! She’s a true role model when it comes to being a Change Maker! Of course she’s also been covered on A Sustainable Closet.
The interview with Bite. Just like my Brand-interview series! It’s very good for the readers to get to know the people behind the brand and their perspectives on sustainability.
The pages about Swedish fashion brands! Several of the brands mention are really doing a good job trying to change the industry and it’s great to be able to know what they are doing.
The interview with Jonathan Anderson. A person who definitely knows what he’s talking about and a great idea to let him share things happening among big international brands. It gives a sense of hope.
The article about Earth Day - YES! One of my favourites. To inspire people to make a difference beyond as a consumer is really needed!
The phenomena about the longing for a greener lifestyle closet to nature on page 77. In Sweden these lifestyle TV-programs have become very popular and honestly even I feel inspired to buy a farm.
About the research minister Matilda Ernkrans on the topic of innovation, textiles and making them climate friendly. The fashion industry needs innovation (even though I believe behaviour needs to change more).
Vintage closet interviews on page 125-129. Very inspiring and even though it’s not economically possible for everyone (but one can always dream of a YSL vintage costume right?).
The Beauty pages on page 133-147 are good! More organic brands are mentioned and reviewed and this is how I would like the beauty pages to be all the time (please?). Several magazines have already started to exclude non-organic beauty brands, when will ELLE do it?
The recipes of vegan dishes! It’s among the best things you can do for the climate - to eat a vegan diet and this goes very much hand in hand with the theme of sustainable fashion.
Weekend trips - I would say yes and no on this one! Good with weekend travels within Scandinavia but they should have added how to get there without flying. Further, I was looking forward to know more about the vintage and second hand stores in each city and there are several restaurants working with zero food waste, organic and local products and being vegetarian/vegan - they deserve their recognition. There are also so many amazing stores and restaurants in Stockholm like Ecosphere, Adisgladis, Friends’ Table, Kalf & Hansen and so on really are making a huge effort to provide more sustainable options - but they’re not mentioned!
Critics:
Several pages wasn’t related to sustainability. I’ll give you a few examples:
page 29-30, 32, just because it’s about Retro it doesn’t mean sustainable. The fashion brands mentioned don’t have a serious sustainability work, from what I know.
page 36, about the most useful clothes (getting the basics) in your closet is an old idea I hope we can abandon. Not everyone likes to wear black and white and there is no such thing as universal basics, that’s individual. Further, if you do want to suggest some useful basics, do that from more ethical brands. Veja, House of Dagmar, Filippa K, H&M Conscious and the ones mentioned, are all on very different levels when it comes to their sustainability work. I would use the same arguments for the lifestyle page 47!
The fashion pages 38, 42, 44, a colour/theme/item on/in your clothes/closet it’s about style not sustainability so here the pages remains the same as other issues.
The fashion pages on page 87-125 was a little bit disappointing. I was really hoping for beautiful images of diverse women wearing a mix of second hand, vintage and ethical brands. I was looking forward to finally read a list of materials, certification and more information of the clothes the women was wearing. Hiking in nature has nothing to do with sustainable fashion.
What I would have included:
An introduction to the terminology of sustainability - what is it and what does it mean?
An introduction to why the fashion industry is not sustainable! The over consumption, the problem with almost no existing recycling, the climate and environmental impact of production, the dilemma with workers and less developed countries and so on. They really could have given their readers a crash-course about the whole issue.
It’s not about materials - it’s about behaviour! This is something big brands and mainstream media is not handling very well. Mostly a “better” alternative is provided without any discussion about changing our behaviour! It’s not about buying organic cotton, it’s more complex than that. It’s mostly about not buying new clothes at all!
LCA - Life Cycle Assessment! An introduction to the method with an example of the climate impact. This would give readers the understanding of why second hand is the most sustainable option!
Guide of second hand stores! There are so many of them and they could have provided the readers not only a list of them, but also who sells what to make it easier! Further, the differences between charity work and the commercial ones.
The online alternatives! Yes, Gemme Collective is mentioned but a whole page could have been written on the subject. There are so many of them out there!
Proper fashion pictures with only second hand and ethical brands. It’s time to change the norm! Second Hand can be fashionable and maybe we need to admire beautiful items we can’t just get by a click a way on our phones!
Of course it’s easy to be critical and I should be careful to judge, I know it takes more to change an industry and a media platform since the economic models of these businesses are not circular in the first place. However, we should then ask ourselves if they will survive? Because doing business as usual with a greener profile is not going to last in the long run. It’s the media platforms and businesses that puts sustainability at the core of their work that’s going to last.
Will Swedish ELLE lead the change (with the risk of having readers who can’t relate) or will they stay safe, do business as usual and miss the train to the new sustainable world?