Stella McCartney on the Business of Sustainable Design |

The pioneering designer spoke to BoF's Imran Amed about continuing to push the envelope for sustainable luxury at the BoF Professional Summit: Closing Fashion’s Sustainability Gap.
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British designer Stella McCartney has been an advocate and pioneer for sustainability long before it became an industry buzzword. But she is still developing new ways to work. More recently that’s included experiments with leather-like material made with mycelium - or mushroom root structures - and efforts to use cotton and wool sourced from regenerative farms, which restore the health and biodiversity of the land instead of purely extracting from it.
“It’s very simple but today it seems very radical, and really it could be the future of fashion,” she told BoF editor in chief Imran Amed in a keynote address at the BoF Professional Summit: Closing Fashion’s Sustainability Gap. McCartney also shared the compromises she has to make as a designer to work within the parameters of sustainable materials and low-waste production methods and what it will take for the wider industry to wake up to its imperative to change:
Consumer pressure and better regulation will be key for the fashion industry to make changes that are urgently needed. “I don’t think we can rely on our industry to commit to this, as much as we can rely on tomorrow’s customers insisting that this is the only thing they’re going to invest in,” she said. “The only way truly to have significant change in the timeline that we have is for policies to be set into place, for there to be legislation.”
When LVMH took a minority stake in her brand in 2019, McCartney took on a role advising the luxury conglomerate’s CEO Bernard Arnault on sustainability. "The reality with Monsieur Arnault is that he would never have invested in a brand like mine if he didn’t think that this was the future,” she said. “I think it gives off a huge message of positivity for the industry.”
For the crop of young designers looking to work sustainably, McCartney has some sage advice: value collaboration and mutual learning over competition; “be a fighter” when it comes to securing better incentives for sustainable practices; and always look for new information on how to be better. “You never stop learning when you work sustainably,” she said..
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[@SivanIlan]

This was such a great conversation! I wish more people in our industry spoke about these issues so upfront and eloquently as Stella. So inspiring and motivating to do things better.

[@yujinjung317]

She is always inspiring and reminds us what is important in our life. Thanks for BOF for having the interview with her! 👍

[@delfinostellato74]

God bless Stella and all the Mc Cartney family💜

[@LauraVolpintesta]

Working with constraints, I have to say, makes creation and creativity! so exciting to see how much you can do within confines…. Because new solutions come forth. The creativity comes from YOU, and the material, together.

[@monicakopycka1721]

Thank you for bringing up this subjects to our attention, Stella. You have opened my eyes. You are such a go-getter & inspiration. Shows we all can contribute to the life on this planet even by purchasing non-leather accessories. I am much more aware now of your progressive thinking in an extremely though industry which is fashion. I won't buy leather shoes or handbag anymore! I love your idea of working with mylo and other sustainable materials. You are truly amazing. Thanks again

[@najlaakibou98]

Such an inspiration 😍

[@abrahamcuellar6603]

I want some of "them" sequines

[@swizzzing123]

Regenerative cotton is NOT the same as organic cotton... And regenerative agriculture is not the same as organic farming and vice versa. There are so many differences between the two. Although this interview has inspired me to research more into this farming practice in the context of fashion, it does not give us transparent information on HOW the cotton fibers are grown, HOW is the organic matter in the soil replaced? WHAT is regenerated cotton truly?

[@MissC310]

As a past employee, sustainable design is nice, but... The operations side is incredibly wasteful. For instance, when a store receives a product from the manufacturer, it has tons of plastic, big boxes for 1-3 items that could have been folded and packed with other pieces. Tons of unnecessary paperwork is attached resulting in more waste. The company does not buy enough sizes for stores so 1 item gets passed around throughout the US which creates crazy emissions and smog. They want to keep a 'luxury" image so they spend tons of monies on shit like fancy Italian water (Panna) instead of buying other brands because it's not luxurious. They spend tons a year on events/gifts for their rich clients while staff is way underpaid and overworked which results in a HIGH turnover: a waste of time, energy and dinero.

[@yayamysterywriter3729]

What about bamboo yarn? Is it sustainable?

[@Redouanelr]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6i9gauAZ7SFn80

[@guitorqui7954]

Stells is involved in the Fashion Hipocrecy and lyer market