Next Gen Reflections: Where Do We Start? – Global Fashion Agenda

Across the multiple Next Gen Assembly engagements over the past six months, I am beginning to understand that a part of the puzzle lies in breaking down ‘wellbeing’ into tangible, identifiable elements and to understand how these elements can potentially solve challenges that affect different stakeholders. When wellbeing is framed as a valuable solution and not a hurdle, especially in the long run, that is when responsible decision making becomes the norm and not an add or ‘nice to have’.

We also need to challenge the idea that sustainability is the antithesis to the current narrow definition of value generation. More often than not, what is good for all actors is also good for the business because the business only works when all actors coordinate successfully.

Let’s delve into a concrete example – a part of wellbeing involves ensuring every worker across the fashion supply chain has a medium to channel their voice. A lack of worker voice and regard for worker wellbeing results in burnout and poor productivity and high attrition is a problem to solve for multiple stakeholders – the worker, supplier, and indirectly the brand. It’s not just a worker issue anymore, it’s an issue for all those impacted. However, the piece that ends up getting overlooked is how investing in worker wellbeing can not only improve lives for vulnerable and historically marginalised communities but can address challenges faced in the ecosystem such as high attrition cost and frequent production disruptions. Investing in one piece of sustainability can create a butterfly effect where the net benefit outweighs the net costs.