Fashion, Fast and Slow

The Power of Sustainability

Fast-fashion giant ASOS is launching a sustainable fashion training program. The course will teach members of the company’s design team to apply circular design techniques and to minimize waste. ASOS is tapping into growing demand among shoppers for sustainable fashion, which has boosted not only “slow-fashion” ethics but also secondhand and resale options like thrift stores.

Interest in sustainable fashion is rippling out across the industry in several ways. Brands that emphasize social and environmental responsibility are flourishing. Profits at Patagonia, perhaps the best-known embodiment of sustainability, tripled from 2008 to 2016. At Everlane, whose brand tagline touts “radical transparency,” sales have doubled annually for the past three years. Up-and-coming brands like Reformation, Amour Vert, and Rothy’s tout their use of low-impact materials and other environmentally friendly practices. Popping up alongside them are dozens of higher-end retailers, such as Elizabeth Suzann and Pyne & Smith, whose garments are all made to order to eliminate…