Dawn Lee, La Vida Sdn Bhd. said that a more ethical approach to consumer behavior and shopping for and consuming fashion would be a benefit to the environment over the long-term. She suggested that recycling and reusing rather than disposing of clothing would be a better option. These comments were made at the Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam’s Eco-Chat Series.
BIBD through the Sustainable Nation Campaign’s SME 360 Series, recently closed its Eco Chat Series with a final dialogue that addressed fast fashion and its detrimental effects on the environment.
The forum featured prominent speakers like Susannah Jaffer (Founder of Zerrin) and Farhanna Pura (President of Fashion Designers Alliance, FDA) and founders of Naforrer; Jasmine Tuan (Creative Brand Consultant and Sustainable Fashion Advocate for Smiles Like Green Spirit (Singapore), Dawn Lee and La Vida Sdn Bhd); Aisyah Azlan (Designer of Etah Studio); and Wan Wiaam from Thryffy Brunei.
The panel highlighted the negative impact of fast fashion which focusses on mass production of cheap, poor quality and disposable clothing – devastating and damaging the environment and planet in the long run.
Farhanna Naforrer emphasized that the fashion industry is an important sector of the economy. She also said that ethical design and production practices can help advance the local and global sustainability agendas.
Lee from La Vida pointed out that, while fashion is booming in many ways, the industry has a wide array of negative environmental effects.
Aisyah from Etah Studio stated that everyone has a responsibility to ensure a circular fashion industry and economy, by making use of existing resources to reduce waste.
Jasmine Tuan, a renowned Singaporean advocate for sustainable fashion, stated that the future of fashion should be inspired not by fashion trends but by real and responsible designs and production methods.
Wan of Thryffy Brunei agreed with the idea and stated that consumers now understand the importance of sustainability and support genuine, mindful business ideas.
Susannah Jaffer, another speaker hailing from Singapore, expressed her belief that fashion should remain independent and circular.
The speakers pointed out that conscious fashion is still relatively new in Brunei, and that raising awareness about it is the first step towards addressing the entire problem of fast fashion.
In order to ensure that sustainability is addressed effectively and that the environment is protected, all stakeholders must be involved in the supply chain.
The Eco Chat Series was a series of five dialogue sessions that was jointly run by Community for Brunei (AYAN Brunei) and ASEAN Youth Advocates Network Brunei. It was designed to be a catalyst for change and education, opening up dialogue and educating the public about industry experts and other stakeholders.
The Eco Chat Series featured topics on climate crisis, sustainable growth goals, plastic pollution, and fast fashion. The series was open for public and available live-streamed to the larger community. It featured speakers from BIBD, Brunei Climate Change Secretariat, Green Brunei, Shell LiveWIRE Brunei, and sustainability and environmentally-minded advocates from neighboring nations.
Within one of BIBDs Sustainability Framework pillar – Responsible Entrepreneurship, BIBD SME360 hopes to provide this platform for businesses to learn and understand their business model and how they can partake towards building a business that helps create a sustainable nation, and support His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Muizzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Saadatul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalams Government aim of Net Zero by 2050.
