Harm in The Guise of Doing Good / Written by Veronica Kassatly

In a recent Fibershed post, the flaws in the fashion industry’s approach to sustainability were explored, highlighting the failure to address the socio-economic impacts on fiber farming communities. While sustainability is often equated with environmental impact, the livelihoods of farmers, particularly in both the global north and south, are overlooked. The MII’s vegan-focused agenda and the use of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition’s Higg MSI lead to misleading claims about wool’s unsustainability, without considering its cultural and economic value. Similarly, Kering’s sustainability strategy, despite aligning with the SDGs, fails to prioritize the human development impact of fibers, harming farming communities and their economies.