Is fashion fixable?

Paul Dillinger - Levi’s VP of global product innovation is out to correct an industry behaving badly

- Nick Compton

Paul Dillinger is so fast-talking, fiercely smart and in command of his subject that it’s hard to keep up. Shocking stats and damning evidence fly by. You can just about hold on to his key arguments though.

Here’s one. ‘The demand for recycled polyester has exceeded the supply of recycled bottles, and brand new bottles are being melted down to make polyester fibres,’ he says. ‘The sustainability industry, when it gets going, with fashion marketing behind it and a willingness to never let the truth get in the way of a good story, will come up with some of the worst ideas imaginable.’ His point is that demand for the more sustainable materials and processes is being manipulated, and generating entirely novel bad outcomes. It’s not just greenwashing, it’s a new supply chain of false promises.