Sustainability, the industry likes to say, doesn’t sell. The closure of labels such as Mara Hoffman, and the drift of Allbirds and Everlane away from their founding principles, would seem to prove the point. Amy Powney and Finisterre are making a different case: that responsible fashion works when it is sold on quality and longevity, and that the real obstacle isn’t the supply chain, but the story the industry tells about it.
In 2024, sustainably-minded designer Mara Hoffman, known for championing responsible fashion and advocating for an alternative system, announced the closure of her eponymous label after 24 years. In an interview with British Vogue following the brand’s closure, Hoffman admitted to “feeling the devastation of how it simply cannot work in this current iteration of the fashion industry.”
This is the challenging reality that many independent and responsible brands face today. All fashion brands, large or small, fast or small, ethical or not, are existing within the same flawed system: linear, where waste is designed into the system, and profitability and scalability are the ultimate metrics of success. Brands adopting slower methods, conscious materials, low production volumes, and fair wages are competing in a system that still rewards planned obsolescence, mass production methods and petrochemical-derived materials.
While many of those championing better systems close their doors, others compromise their values. Take Allbirds, which pivoted from sustainable natural fibre footwear to AI infrastructure; a shift far-removed from the brand’s founding ethos of wanting to ‘create better things in a better way’. More recently, in May 2026, Everlane was acquired by fast fashion giant Shein. With Everlane reportedly carrying around $90 million in debt, analysts framed the deal as a rescue, but many longtime customers saw it as a contradiction.
Evidently, becoming a responsible brand is full of challenges. But a viable path forward does exist.
When Amy Powney founded AKYN in 2025, her ambition was to create fashion holistically and regeneratively, within a system that rarely rewards either. “If we extract from her [Mother Nature], can we do it in a way which is kind and considerate, and in a way that allows her the time and space to be able to regenerate?” said Powney. To give more than to take, became the founding principle for AKYN, which focuses on organic and natural fibres with regenerative business practices that work with nature, rather than against it.
For the London-based designer and environmental activist, it’s also about the broader political context in which the industry exists. Fashion is not separate from the world around it. It upholds many of the unequal and exploitative structures that surround us and plays a part in political turmoils, global conflicts, and climate change. Acknowledging this context, for Powney, meant building a brand that also functions as a platform for education and advocacy, with its own voice.
Refusing to wait for the system to change, Powney is making responsible fashion a viable pathway, not only through her own brand, but through collaboration. Brought together by shared values and vision, Powney and British outdoor apparel brand Finisterre are not waiting for the industry to catch up.
The second chapter of their partnership, launched in September, is rooted in the belief that fashion can have a lighter footprint, when design, functionality and comfort work together to create garments made to last for years. The first capsule sold out in just six weeks, and this follow-up makes the case even clearer: that sustainability works best when it’s woven into a brand’s ethos from the start, not treated as an add-on. It’s about “bringing people in through the product itself, and then giving them the opportunity to understand more about the materials, fibres and supply chain behind it,” said Bronwen Foster-Butler, Finisterre’s Chief Marketing Officer.
Both brand and designer share the belief that long-term viability comes from clothing that earns a place in the wardrobe for its quality, craftsmanship and durability, rather than sustainability credentials alone. “We know that the environmental and social considerations behind our products matter to our customers, but they aren’t necessarily the only reason someone chooses a garment,” added Foster-Butler. What matters most is a product that is well designed, fairly priced, and worth reaching for time and time again. With research from WRAP suggesting that extending clothing lifespan by nine months can reduce carbon, water, and waste footprints by 20%, the most sustainable garment really is the one we wear the most.
While sustainability may not be an easy sell, quality and longevity are. This is particularly relevant now, as the cost of living continues to rise and wealth disparities deepen. When budgets are under pressure, durable clothing offers significantly more value over time than cheaper, lower-quality items that need replacing each season.
This shift in focus also addresses one of sustainability’s biggest challenges: reaching people who are not already engaged with the conversation. Real change in the industry depends on connecting with the shoppers who don’t think twice about what they buy. “We don’t want conversations around impact to only reach people who are already engaged with those issues,” said Foster-Butler. For sustainable brands to truly succeed long-term, they need to be accessible and relevant to everyone, not just a select few.
Powney attributes the success of the first collection to a synergy of “a trusted brand and a trusted me.” As a long-standing British B-corp certified brand known for quality and an honest approach to sustainability, Finisterre has a loyal customer base, built as much on the longevity embedded in its ethos as on its sustainability credentials.“Finisterre has an emotional durability woven into their clothes because people believe in the brand. People don’t just buy Finisterre because it’s something they need right now. It’s an investment piece,” assures Powney.
Still, there’s no escaping the fact that making more products inevitably carries an impact. “I think it’s important to be honest that there are environmental impacts associated with making new clothes,” said Amelia Hornblow, Chief Product Officer at Finisterre. “The most effective way to reduce the impact of a garment is often to use what you already own.” Even as the effects of our consumerist society become harder to ignore, global apparel consumption is still projected to rise 63% by 2030. Encouraging people to buy less but buy better is a productive step toward a more conscious future, one that meets people where they are.
This is the mindset Finisterre adopts when creating new products. “We think carefully about versatility, longevity and wearability,” said Hornblow. “We design products that can work across different settings, seasons and alongside an existing wardrobe.” Finisterre has also begun publishing its production volumes, in response to The Or Foundation’s Speak Volumes campaign. This matters because reducing the industry’s impact starts with knowing how many clothes are being made each year.
This raises a harder question: scale. It is a word tied to the industry’s overproduction, its environmental footprint and a value chain in which workers are too often treated as collateral damage. Yet much of the sustainability conversation still centres on whether an innovative biomaterial, a slow fashion label or a new solution can be brought to scale. Allbirds and Everlane are reminders of how easily ethical practices become expendable, and supply chain visibility fades, once growth becomes the priority.
For Finisterre, the answer lies in pace. “I think the biggest thing is recognising that growth itself needs to be sustainable,” said Hornblow. “In apparel, where inventory can quickly become a liability, pursuing very high year-on-year growth can carry significant risk. For independent brands in particular, understanding demand and growing at a considered pace can be important to maintaining long-term viability.”
Powney argues that being a sustainable brand in the current system is entirely possible. “The problem isn’t getting a good supply chain, making good products or having a regenerative business practice model,” she said. “The barrier is how it’s promoted to people, how it’s received, and how people engage with it.”
This comes at a time where sustainability and climate-focused journalism is in decline, down 14% in 2025 compared to the previous year, and 38% lower than 2021. Fashion is no exception. Typically, the narrative is shaped by those with the financial leverage to pay for media coverage, regardless of their sustainability credentials. As the fashion industry’s emissions continue to rise, the journalism needed to share those stories, and present people with the alternatives is faltering. As a result, consumers are rarely given the information they need to make more informed choices, and sustainability becomes a case of out of sight, out of mind.
Even engaged shoppers face choices that are far from simple. “Sustainable fashion is really complicated,” said Powney. “In food, it’s a bit easier. It’s simpler: you can buy organic or non-organic, right? But in fashion, it’s like, well, do I buy recycled synthetics because this brand’s telling me it’s amazing? Or do I buy something like RSW-certified wool?”
For Powney, this lack of clarity is no accident. “The problem with the existing system is that external powers don’t want it [sustainability] to be in front of people’s minds because they want people to buy polyester to line their fossil fuel pockets.”
But with new legislation and greater regulatory scrutiny, this may be starting to change. The latest crackdown on fashion’s sustainability claims, the EU’s Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive (EmpCo), took effect on 27 September. Under the new rules, brands are prohibited from using terms such as “eco-friendly”, “green”, or “responsible” without third-party verification. Facing closer scrutiny from both consumers and regulators, brands are now being forced to take accountability and provide accurate, data-backed information. That, in turn, will influence how products are received, and which brands consumers choose to trust. “Higher standards, certifications and greater regulatory scrutiny are helping to create clearer parameters around the claims brands can make and the information they need to provide about their products,” said Hornblow. “These developments create more opportunity to make informed decisions around the product.”
The pressure on fast fashion is already showing. In its first results as a public company, Shein reported a 67% fall in adjusted net profit for the second quarter. France, meanwhile, has introduced a ban on advertising ultra-fast fashion and a per-item fee on mass-produced garments.
Still, this regulatory shift needs to be accompanied by a narrative shift. “Consumers don’t care,” has become a commonly thrown around narrative, and a convenient excuse for brands to continue with business-as-usual. This is a narrative that Powney fundamentally rejects. The responsibility, she argues, lies with the journalists, the big retailers and the political forces shaping the industry. Consumers do care, and there’s ample evidence to prove it. But they are at the mercy of the higher powers who control the story to keep it profitable. “They could all be educating and giving people an alternative. People that work in any form of information sharing, storytelling, whether it’s marketing or PR. Right now, I think they’re doing the biggest disservice. It’s the lack of positive comms and the abundance of dystopian comms that scare people.”
It is a pointed challenge, and one the industry should take seriously. If the problem is not the product but the story, those of us who tell those stories carry real responsibility for changing it. Shoppers have a role too. “You just shift where you spend your money,” said Powney.
Operating as a sustainable fashion brand within the current system is complicated. Neither Powney nor Finisterre overlooks the external pressures that make being a responsible brand challenging, and, at times, contradictory. But with consumer sentiment shifting, growing regulatory scrutiny and people tiring of disingenuous fashion marketing, an opening is emerging for value-driven brands committed to building trust.
If the success of their first collaboration is anything to go by, now evolving into a second with a third in the pipeline, there is a real appetite for sustainability when it’s presented as a quality rather than a commodity.
