Interview with Miruna Manole, a SUMAS graduate in Sustainable Luxury

The sectors of luxury fashion and hospitality can wield massive influence over their customers, who in many cases can be fairly influential in their own capacities. How-ever both these industries rank high as significant contributors to unsustainable environmental practices.

Integrating responsible leadership in the sectors of fashion and luxury is crucial to a world where the use of luxury brands doesn’t come at the cost of our environment. SUMAS graduate programs in Sustainable Fashion Management and Sustainable Hospitality Management, offer cutting-edge curriculums aimed at doing just that:

• MBA in Sustainable Fashion Management
• MBA in Sustainable Hospitality Management
• MAM in Sustainable Fashion Management
• MAM in Sustainable Hospitality Management

Miruna Manole is an MA in Sustainable Luxury Management graduate from SUMAS currently working as a Non-Financial Analyst at The CSR Agency (Bucharest, Romania)

She’s also achieved a First Class Degree with Honours in BA Fashion Management & Marketing from the University for the Creative Arts, UK.

Here, she shares what motivates her towards positive change, her views on youth lead climate action and how to navigate things when it feels overwhelming.

Give us a little background on how or why you chose to pursue the MAM in Sustainable Luxury and what that is for people who aren't familiar with the field?

While working on my final major project for my bachelor, I did a lot of research and learned that the fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world. Given the state of the planet, I realised that I could not create a business plan that would have a negative impact on the environment, hence I decided to focus on creating a sustainable business.

This is how I discovered it was a passion of mine, while the real need for this subject was confirmed by me winning the New Business Award at Graduate Fashion Week, in London.

I decided to further my knowledge on the subject and pursue the MAM in Sustainable Luxury at SUMAS.

As one of my professors at SUMAS put it, sustainable luxury is luxury that blends ethics and aesthetics.

Therefore, it is represented by beautiful, high-quality products that are created without compromising the health of the people and environment which contribute to their creation.

Can you tell us a little bit about where you're currently working and how sustainable luxury plays a role?

I currently have the role of Non-Financial Analyst at The CSR Agency, a consultancy company that focuses on sustainability. I work in sustainability reporting, so while the role is not strictly related to sustainable luxury, the courses I undertook while studying at SUMAS prepared me for the job, especially ‘Responsible Management’, where I learned about CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and CSR reporting.

You wouldn't have chosen this field if you didn't have hope for a positive long term outcome to the environmental crisis. Can you speak to what it is that gives you motivation and belief in change?

There is a quote by Barack Obama that really spoke to me when I first read it: “We are the first generation to feel the effect of climate change and the last generation who can do something about it.” The situation regarding climate change is serious and we have already started seeing the effects. It’s so serious in fact, that it has been suggested to use the term ‘climate emergency’.

However, scientists are telling us we still have time to act in order to make sure the future generations can enjoy good, healthy lives. I do have hope for a positive long term outcome, because we can already see people changing habits, companies responding to increasing pressure from consumers and governments coming together and collaborating for this cause.

My motivation is earth. We live on a beautiful planet and I hope we get to enjoy it for as long as possible.

What are your thoughts on the youth taking leadership on Climate Action?

I admire my peers and the younger generations for their determination. The youth is going to be most affected by the effects of the climate emergency, so I completely understand their anger, when they see the older generations not acting up fast enough and, in a way, stealing their chances of a good future life.

Were you involved in the initial or any following #ClimateStrikes and if so to what degree?

I have been following Greta Thunberg since the beginning of Fridays for Future and have attended the Climate Strike whenever possible, while I was living in Geneva. The turnout was impressive and we can already see that these actions are bringing positive results, including raising awareness.

What outcomes were you hoping for, specific immediate ones as well as ongoing ones?

The first result is raising awareness, which we still need to continue doing. Others include creating policies aiding the move to a more sustainable version of our society, regulating some of the largely used products and encouraging the shift towards alternatives, which can only happen with the support of the authorities.

Do you believe that youth-lead strikes are the most powerful way to motivate authorities to take notice on this issue?

Considering that Greta Thunberg started these strikes alone and is now giving speeches at important events regarding the issue, which comes as a result of millions of people joining her movement, we cannot deny that they are a powerful way to motivate authorities. In the end, authorities are there in the interest of their people and when they forget that, it is no surprise that people feel the need to remind them of this.

What is your take away advice to anyone who feels the climate crisis is an insurmountable issue?

My advice is to start small through individual positive changes. I believe this will inspire people, which in the end will put more pressure on authorities and companies. I also suggest reading positive news regarding the issue, which is increasingly present worldwide.

In the end, if we all try to lead better lives, no matter if the issue is indeed insurmountable, we can be satisfied that we have lead our lives being kind to each other and our home.

And I believe that is quite an important feeling to have.

If you are interested in studying in the area of sustainable tourism or sustainable fashion, take a look at some of our available courses and degrees.

Leading the Way in Sustainable Fashion

Clothes are an everyday necessity and for many a central part of self-expression and creativity. Fashion, however, is a dirty business. The current fast-paced production of clothes is incredibly resource intensive, wasteful, exploitative and pollution-heavy.

According to the United Nations “the fashion industry, including the production of all clothes which people wear, contributes to around 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions due to its long supply chains and energy intensive production. The industry consumes more energy than the aviation and shipping industry combined.”

Besides the emissions associated with today’s fashion industry, every item of clothing comes with a cost - both environmental and social.

According to the documentary film River Blue, one fashion brand will use over 28 trillion gallons of water every year. In addition to the actual use of precious drinking water, clothing manufacturers are dumping toxic chemicals into nearby rivers which are killing off animal life, contaminating water and sky-rocketing occurrences of death and disease in affected people.

People are also affected in the way of workers exploitation. Garment workers are forced with unsafe working conditions and being paid far below a living wage.

But there is hope. The Fashion Transparency Index reports that there’s been a “280% rise in tier-one supplier transparency from fashion brands since 2016.”

We are seeing greater pressure and demand to transform the fashion industry to be ethical and sustainable whilst incredibly innovative and exciting transformations are already afoot.

Here are just five examples of trailblazers in the sustainable fashion space.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation - Promoting a shift to circular economy

In 2010, Dame Ellen McArtur launched the foundation to promote a paradigm shift towards a circular economy, particularly in the fashion industry. The circular economy looks at moving away from the current linear model of our economy which is to take-make-dispose. Circular economy transcends our current extractive industrial model by “gradually decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources, and designing waste out of the system.”

Circular economy is underpinned by a transition to renewable energy sources and building rather than depleting natural and social capital. It is based on three principles:

●     Design out waste and pollution

●     Keep products and materials in use

●     Regenerate natural systems

Fashion Revolution - Ending exploitation and ecological damage caused by fashion

Fashion Revolution is a group of “designers, academics, writers, business leaders, policymakers, brands, retailers, marketers, producers, makers, workers and fashion lovers” who aim to “unite people and organisations to work together towards radically changing the way our clothes are sourced, produced and consumed, so that our clothing is made in a safe, clean and fair way.”

Fashion revolution hosts a number of online and offline events all over the world, including the annual Fashion Revolution Week which put pressure on brands to reveal #whomademyclothes.

The organisation has released a manifesto with ten principles to which the fashion industry should uphold itself and are engaging with top fashion brands through their transparency index.

Patagonia - Subscribing to activism as a modern clothing brand

As far as large clothing brands leading the way on sustainable fashion practices go, Patagoina comes out top. Patagonia proudly markets themselves as an “activist company” and attempts to transparently prove why they deserve that name. Patagonia actively practices responsible resource management whilst promoting longer-use and better care of their products in order to reduce consumerist impact.

The company transparently communicates their journey to improve their supply chain and reduce their carbon footprint whilst even taking part in direct action and activism. Their central focus is on the lives of their workers. Considering the current environmental crisis we face currently, we need more companies to take an active stand like Patagonia has.

Kye Shimizu - Using technology and tradition to decrease fashion waste

According to Sustainable living platform Twyg Mag, “Kye Shimizu is not a fashion designer, but his Algorithmic Couture project has created a new convention for fashion,” using code to eliminate waste and make fashion sustainable.”

Kye is the co-founder of Synflux, a Tokyo-based research collective that focuses on design research and fashion design. Together with is co-founders Yusuke Fujihira, Kotaro Sano, and Kazuya Kawasaki, they developed a system which has taken the concept of traditional Japanese straight-line pattern cutting and combined it with technology,

The Algorithmic Couture project:

●     captures body measurements and data of a customer,

●     then creates a 2D zero waste digital patterns using straight lines;

●     outfits are designed using these straight line patterns in collaboration with a designer;

●     the customer is able to customize color and fabric type;

●     outfit is made to fit the consumer whilst avoiding fabric waste.

Forum for the Future - Open source information for the future of fashion

In partnership with the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at the London College of Fashion and with support from C&A Foundation, Forum for the Future has launched Fashion Futures 2030, “an open-source learning toolkit to help fashion businesses plan for future scenarios with sustainability in mind.”

The toolkit uses four vivid scenarios which explore topics such as:

-          climate change

-          resource shortages

-          population growth

-          And other factors that will shape the world of 2030 and the future of the fashion industry.

The next 10 years are going to be some of the most important in the entire human history. All individuals, governments and industry will have to make widespread unprecedented changes if we are to avoid climate catastrophe and further devastating biodiversity loss. Embracing sustainable and ethical fashion practices is one of the most important ways of doing this.

Do you want to make a difference to the fashion industry?

Sumas offers a range of sustainable fashion courses and degrees:

●       BBA in Sustainable Fashion

●       MBA in Sustainable Fashion

●       Master in Sustainable Fashion

●       Online MAM in Sustainable Fashion

●       Online MBA in Sustainable Fashion

Contact us on info@sumas.ch to find out more.

Propellers Of Sustainability Education

Sustainability education is the new need of the hour. The political and the business leaders of the world have come to realize that only a sustainable course of development can be encouraged in the current global scenario which gives rise to the popular demand of sustainable schools all over the world.

Political Impetus – It can be aid that the political impetus is received from the global environmental awareness that indicates at a fast and an unfortunate end of the human race if better care of the environment is not taken. This is where the political leaders are encouraging the growth of sustainability education in the top business schools in Switzerland and the other parts of the world.

Business Leaders Encouragement – The business houses of the current times are yet again under tremendous pressure to make their business processes as environment friendly as possible. This is why they are looking for candidates who have good knowledge into the domain of sustainability. This is why at the time of recruitment these companies are looking for candidates who have a minimum of sustainability courses online certification. This indicates at their better suitability for the job.

These online Masters Programs in Switzerland are some of the best initiatives that have been taken in the recent times to provide a better protection to the world environment as a whole.

The Future of Sustainable luxury

For more than a decade the concept of “sustainable luxury” has been afoot. Sustainable luxury can relate to all kinds of luxury brands, from fashion to hospitality. Rather than offering an “eco-friendly product seeking a premium image”, the idea of sustainable luxury is to embed sustainability values and practices into a luxury good or brand.

But can sustainability and luxury really go hand in hand?

According to an article on HuffPost, sustainable products “share the same ‘essential’ qualities of luxury goods.”

-       They call for ‘extraordinary creativity and design’

-       They must be made from ‘exceptional materials’

-       They should be good quality and are often rare

More and more luxury brands around the world are adopting the concept of sustainable luxury in the hope to attract more discernible customers, improve their brand image, drive innovation and reduce risks associated with climate and ecological breakdown.

Whilst this has given rise to greenwashing, many luxury brands do or are starting to see sustainability as a core value integral to the way in which they operate. Gucci CEO, François-Henri Pinault, said: "My deep conviction that sustainability creates value is part of my strategic vision...Sustainability can – and must – give rise to new, highly ambitious business models and become a lever of competitiveness for our brands."

What about our planetary boundaries?

Within the past year, the critical climate and ecological crisis our planet is facing has become ever more apparent and it is clear that all parties, including luxury brands have not done enough to become sustainable.

Considering the science which now states we have very limited time to prevent further ecosystem collapse and global warming, luxury brands have no choice but to deepen their commitment to sustainability on all levels - and fast. Not only to do better by people and the planet but to increase their own resilience against these issues.

According to an article written in the 2019 Sustainable Hospitality Yearbook, “The global trend is moving towards full decarburization. Hotels...who do not prioritize climate mitigation will be left behind.” The same can really be said for any brand in the luxury sector.

Should we be rethinking luxury?

Our complex world is changing quickly and if we are to survive as a species, increase long-term business resilience in the luxury sector and restore what is left of the biosphere, we may need to rethink our definition of luxury altogether and redesign the industry to one that is restorative and promotes social equity.

If done right, sustainable luxury items will create minimal harm (to people and planet) and be designed and produced to last a lifetime. The item’s full life-cycle should be taken into account when produced so that the product does not fall prey to our current linear take-make-dispose model, but rather one of circular economy. In the case of hotels, or any built environment, every element of design, refurbishment and operation needs to be done with sustainability at its core - and with the intention of ending reliance on fossil fuels and becoming carbon neutral very soon.

Luxury brands also have a responsibility, as trendsetters in our current world, to communicate sustainability and the need for customers to “buy less” and “choose well” as fashion designer Vivienne Westwood says.

Interested in being at the forefront of sustainable luxury?

At SUMAS, we offer an MBA and MAM in Sustainable Fashion and Sustainable Hospitality. These programs are designed with cutting-edge curriculums aimed at integrating responsible leadership in the luxury sectors of Fashion and Hospitality.