06-11-2026IMPACT COUNCIL

Sustainable fashion isn’t a standalone category

We need scale to improve efficiencies, and small brands can work with large brands to innovate.

[Photo: Getty Images]

The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of top leaders and experts who pay dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership, and more.

Having led the fashion sustainability conversation longer than most, and amid the growing number of public failures and shifting consumer sentiment, I think we need to stop treating sustainable fashion as a standalone category that will fix fashion’s sustainability problems. Not only is that putting the spotlight in the wrong place, but “sustainable brands” typically don’t scale, which reinforces the narrative that sustainability isn’t viable or a force for economic prosperity.

I was one of the first to lead mission-driven brands, dating back to Product (RED) at Gap Inc. I’ve created two brands from scratch: For Days and Maiyet. I’m proud of that work. However, it’s important to acknowledge that many of the brands rooted in sustainability have done meaningful work and found a strong customer base. A handful (think: Veja, Reformation, and Everlane) have generated more than $200 million in revenue, but they haven’t been able to scale.  Their mainstream counterparts that primarily focus on sales growth and margins (Nike, Zara, and Gap) are more than 100 times larger. Patagonia is the exception, having reached north of $1 billion in revenue, but it took 50 years to get there. I am not discrediting the innovators, I’m suggesting we reframe our thinking and our approach.

As I reflect on why we haven’t seen breakout scale from these innovators, I examine fundamentals: design, quality,........

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