Elf, P.; Werner, A.

The (only) future of fashion? The role of small sustainable entrepreneurship in driving transformational change

Book chapter

Elf, P. and Werner, A. 2024. The (only) future of fashion? The role of small sustainable entrepreneurship in driving transformational change. in: Scott, K., Curtis, B. and Pajaczkowska, C. (ed.) The Future of Fashion Education: Speculation, Experience and Collaboration London, UK Taylor & Francis (Routledge). pp. 199-207

ISBN
Chapter title	The (only) future of fashion? The role of small sustainable entrepreneurship in driving transformational change
Authors	Elf, P. and Werner, A.
Abstract	In this short essay, we, by drawing on recent research, set out what is required to prefigure an alternative, sustainable and responsible fashion industry. To have a future, the fashion industry needs a rapid transformation; from the mainstream fashion industry’s obsession with novelty and growth, often ignoring the costs to society and the environment to genuine alternatives. Although operating mostly in niches, a growing number of small fashion entrepreneurs already pioneered sustainable ways of doing fashion. These fashion entrepreneurs are agents for change in their industry seeking an active negotiation and harmonisation of sustainability and the demands of business in capitalist modernity. We present innovative approaches and the very process of how many sustainable fashion entrepreneurs overcome tensions and generate opportunities in an attempt to drive a profound transformation of the industry towards sustainability.
Keywords	sustainable fashion; SMEs; innovation; fashion futures
Sustainable Development Goals	12 Responsible consumption and production
Middlesex University Theme	Sustainability
Research Group	Sustainable Development Research Cluster
Page range	199-207
Book title	The Future of Fashion Education: Speculation, Experience and Collaboration
Editors	Scott, K., Curtis, B. and Pajaczkowska, C.
Publisher	Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
Place of publication	London, UK
Series	Responsible Fashion
Hardcover	9781032826165
Electronic	9781003505426
Paperback	9781032826264
Copyright Year	2025
Publication dates
Online	18 Oct 2024
Print	18 Oct 2024
Publication process dates
Deposited	29 Oct 2024
Output status	Published
Accepted author manuscript	License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 File Access Level Open
Copyright Statement	This is an Accepted Manuscript of a book chapter published by Routledge in The Future of Fashion Education: Speculation, Experience and Collaboration on 18 October 2024, available online: http://www.routledge.com/9781032826165 It is deposited under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)	https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003505426-21
Related Output
Is part of	https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003505426
Language	English

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