LIVE interview: Change-Makers in Sustainability
Riikka from the circular fashion startup Style Uncoded invited Karoliina to an Instagram Live. Read the whole blog post here.
We kicked off our LIVE interview series ‘Change-Makers in Sustainability’ this week with Karoliina Hovi, who is head of Hovi Creative, a sustainability agency in Helsinki. Karoliina works with businesses intending to create a bold vision for sustainability and that see sustainability as a strategic priority.
We set ourselves off to discuss 2 main themes: Sustainability Trends and practices for businesses and the role of key stakeholders like Consumers, Businesses, and Governments in driving the change. With Focus on Fashion. This is an adapted version of the discussion:
Karoliina: Sustainability – is more than a trend, it is an urgent necessity. And we start to see the changes at the governmental level and in legislation*.
Indeed, the pandemic has perhaps allowed more consumers to become more conscious about sustainability, and some aspects of it. But people do not necessarily see and understand the complex issues that need to be set in motion when we speak about sustainable development. There are many processes, actors, and systems that are tight together and one must juggle them to make progress.
When I work with businesses, and fashion brands, in particular, we start by setting a guiding vision for sustainability. Next, we set objectives and goals and start looking at materials and production and social sustainability, and human rights. Transparency and tracing are clear necessities for all fashion brands in 2021, but the complexity of the scattered supply chain creates challenges to overcome.
After the hard work of creating a sustainability strategy is achieved, the logical next step is to communicate the brand’s vision to inspire consumers. Sustainability is a fuzzy and complex entity, making it It is sometimes difficult for consumers to navigate the information, facts, and claims. So there is still a lot to be done, but we are always on the look to find the right actions to serve the vision that was set initially.
Personally, I don’t think we should shame or blame consumers, Karoliina continues, as all of the stakeholders should share the responsibility and act for the common sustainability goals.
While I think the regulatory changes are necessary, I am a big believer in Circular business models. As many brands start to adopt them now, we will see results in a few years. We see the challenges for example for luxury brands to fully embrace the value of the second-hand market but the change is already on its way. I’m glad that we are starting to see a mindset shift both from consumers and brands to value longer lifespans for clothes.
And finally, Karoliina shares her personal sustainability hack: What would your granny do? The world where we used to repair, mend and use our clothes for their full potential is not that far away!
Head to @styleuncoded.official Instagram profile to see the discussion in full.
*For example the recent Right to Repair for appliances coming in to force both in the EU and in the UK and the EU has set legislation for all textile waste to be separately collected for recycling by 2025.