What if the denim industry prioritized happiness, creativity and business relationships as much as it did as conserving natural resources or cutting costs?
That was the topic of a discussion hosted by Sinem Celik, founder of the consultancy Blu Projects, last week at Kingpins Amsterdam.
Sustainability is a popular topic in the industry but mainly through the angle of products and innovations, materials processes and technology. “What I feel is that we often overlook the values of respect, collaboration, kindness, and the value of personal efforts or abilities. Human abilities are frequently disregarded,” Celik said.
Happiness and quality of life are rarely considerations, said Piero Turk, founder of Envelope Srl, an Italian design consultancy.
“We never consider how the happiness of workers can benefit the planet,” he said. “We must consider also what is happening after work, what they do after work, how they live after work, and that is never considered. We cannot make big changes until we think about that. The happiness of the people is a much bigger benefit for the planet than saving some liters of water.”
A living wage is one part of the solution. Changing consumers’ mindsets about price is another, as cheap products are often produced at the expense of workers’ wages.
“I visit a lot of different suppliers in different kinds of countries, and you see the change between all the countries I visit. In Tunisia, you can see they pay a little bit more attention to people being happy. They’re smiling. They get good food. They get paid a little bit more,” Vera Kasius, Samsøe Samsøe buyer and product developer. “Of course, the customer pays a little bit more money, but I really believe that it’s very important that we give the people that work in the factories a bit more, a little bit extra.”
Model Scandinavia
The desire for happiness is universal but lifestyles and cultures are not. Kasius pointed out the importance for brands to understand the cultures of their sourcing countries, to learn about their bank holidays and when communication is acceptable.
Before joining H&M in Sweden 15 years ago, Victoria Allen, H&M concept designer – denim material and trend forecasting, worked for small and large brands in the U.S. where the herd mentality was to work beyond normal office hours, to stay later than the boss and never take sick days or vacation. “It was not the culture,” she said, adding that she often felt like she was letting her team down by calling out sick.
While awareness about mental health, Gen Z values and the pandemic have softened this mindset in the U.S., work-life balance has been the rule in Scandinavia. “Being able to have a family or a life outside of work, an identity outside of work, where you’re not only a company commodity” has a positive effect on work, Allen said, adding that employees have more energy and creativity to share.
This helps teams keep up with the rapid pace of seasons, as well as maintain expectations. “In my company, we work really fast. We do have a lot of trends. We have parallel actions that we’re working on all the time, and I actually get quite energized by that. I think it’s fun. I think it’s really cool to be able to explore a lot of ideas—that actually gives me energy. But it’s not constantly giving me energy. And I think something that’s very important as a creative is to build up a resilient and confident core so that you really trust yourself in the process and understand the things your genuine point of view on things so that can kind of be a compass throughout,” she said.
A fundamental part of the Scandinavian framework, she said, is being able to trust that people will meet deadlines and goals and follow consistent strategies. “That’s your responsibility if you want to create that environment where you can kind of tailor it to your own needs,” Allen said. “It’s very important that you still have clear expectations and communication on what you need to deliver.”
Harvest creativity
The fashion industry moves quickly. There are times when employees feel empowered and energized to take on challenges. Other times, there is a lull of ideas and employees may feel stagnant. In those instances, Allen said it’s important to know your resources. “For me, it’s the team that I work with, and being able to come back to them and bounce ideas recharge,” she said.
Building trust amongst a team is key. “It’s about creating a space where a lot of different ideas are very valued, and that comes from culture—the company culture, the team culture and what you bring to that with your personal values. Those are the things that help keep me more balanced as everything is moving very quickly around us.”
There are benefits to taking a step back, carving away the noise and keeping ideas simple as well. Every idea, Allen added, doesn’t have to be big and industry scale. “It can be quite simple, and it can be an evolution of ideas. It doesn’t have to always be a revolution of ideas. That’s kind of the foundation for me,” she said.
Be a dog
Celik said she is hopeful that new regulations will foster business relationships and new sustainable business standards.
Turk, who is also a professional dog trainer, likened the ideal supply chain/brand relationship to the bond between humans and dogs.
There are two ways to force a dog to act a certain way, he said, to instill fear through punishments or to build a collaborative partnership. “Dogs are sophisticated animals, even more than us but they need to collaborate for everything…They find the pleasure of collaborating with you,” he said. For example, a dog may locate a food source but go to a human to help access it. This action, Turk explained, strengthens their bond and benefits both parties.
Like dogs, humans need to find joy in helping and collaborating with one another instead of skimping on wages and slinging threats to take their business elsewhere for cheaper. That fear-based approach does not work for dogs, nor will it create a more sustainable and compassionate apparel industry, he said.
“We have to do things together,” he said. “We have to redefine sustainability, but also redefine collaboration.”
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