Breaking into the Sustainable Fashion Job Market

A Fight Against Unsustainable Wages, Greenwashing, and Entry-Level Roles with Hidden Criteria

Trying to land an entry-level job in sustainable fashion feels like a near-impossible task in the current job market. That is, of course, unless you’re willing to: a) work for free, b) join the greenwashing team at Asos or Shein, or c) have between 8-10 years of experience.

It’s no secret that the current job market is unstable, tough and honestly, a pretty deflating place to be entering at the moment. It’s a difficult time for all graduates, no matter what sector you’re trying to break into. An oversaturated job market, combined with sustainability in fashion still being a relatively niche part of the industry, makes the job hunt no easy task. 

In a fashion industry that thrives on driving competition and individualism, how can we have more honest conversations about the reality of trying to enter this part of the industry? So, as another rejection email rolls into my inbox, it seems like time to talk about this.

Note: I’ve actually become grateful for these rejection emails, finding myself constantly checking my emails every 5 minutes, in search of something, because a rejection has become the preference over the anguish of not hearing back at all  - which seems to be common practice among hiring teams. 

The lack of jobs in sustainability

There is an inherent lack of job opportunities out there for sustainability, as entry-level roles are replaced by AI and sustainability roles are cut due to economic pressures and a shifting industry.

Slow fashion and sustainability within the industry has recently faced a lot of losses - with the industry facing what the Business Of Fashion have referred to as a ‘slow fashion recession’ that has seen the closure of pivotal sustainability champions, like Mara Hoffman and sustainability consultancy, Eco Age. The industry also continues to see the closure of ethically-minded fashion brands, like conscious slow fashion underwear brand ARQ. Where I live in Brighton, we’ve also recently lost two of the independent clothes shops focusing on slow and sustainable fashion. All around us the sustainable brands and businesses are being forced to close, facing an unjust and unsustainable system that remains unchanged. 

In a fragile economy with reduced consumer spending during a cost-of-living crisis, companies are drastically cutting costs, and unsurprisingly, sustainability initiatives are bearing the brunt of this. Earlier this year, Nike laid off 20% of employees from its sustainability team - a trend that seems to be occurring more often as brands face economic pressures and struggle to meet their 2030 climate targets. 

The organisations, brands and businesses who have been advocating for change and trying to better the industry, have been hindered by the industry’s facade of progress, which has ultimately seen no structural issues addressed or oppressive systems dismantled. Meanwhile, brands, like Nike, who have been ‘trying’ to implement sustainability initiatives, retreat at the first hurdle, prioritising short-term gains over the long-term payout of sustainability initiatives that have a slow return on investment. As a result, many sustainability roles are not seen as essential.

There also seems to be a growing trend of hiring internally, with as many as 57% of organisations focusing on developing talent from within. So there’s a reduction of sustainability focused roles as companies merge roles to incorporate sustainability as one small feature of the job. While it’s important that sustainability becomes embedded in every job role, in this case, as brands hire internally to streamline processes and cut costs, they dilute the focus on sustainability initiatives. This makes it a "part" of the job but not a core focus—an approach that is insufficient in an industry that is nowhere near meeting its climate targets or reducing its impact.

It feels like a hopeless time to be entering the industry, with so many key actors stepping down and closures emerging every other week. So it’s no surprise that trying to secure a job in this field is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. It’s laced with insecurities, uncertainties and frustrations - of wanting to advocate for and contribute to change in the fashion system, yet being met with an industry that fails to uphold sustainability as a key priority. 

A) The unpaid internships

Trying to get a job in sustainability within the fashion system is arguably ‘easy’ if you’re willing to work for free. There’s a plethora of poorly paid internships, volunteer positions and unpaid work out there. But when this is all there is, the situation is quite disheartening. It also makes a disproportionate amount of job opportunities inaccessible for many people, creating a barrier for those from less privileged backgrounds. Sure, these can be great positions to get necessary experience and to get your foot in the door of the industry. But it’s a conflicting feeling having a passion for something and being committed to driving change, yet having to balance this with the need to earn enough income to pay rent, bills and sustain yourself. 

It seems that many jobs in the sustainability sector hope that graduates are passionate enough about sustainability that they’ll willingly do it for free. But for how much longer can the industry expect us to have our passion override the fact that we can’t pay our rent this month? The question that keeps resurfacing to my mind is: are jobs in sustainability really truly sustainable if they expect you to work unpaid or for the bare minimum? If we can’t sustain a living through the job, then surely it’s not really sustainable. This is especially true today with the rapidly rising cost of living—prices continue to skyrocket while the job market remains the same, offering measly paychecks, or nothing at all, for work that the industry urgently needs.

With the volatile effects of climate change being more glaringly visible than ever - particularly in relation to the fashion industry’s resource extraction and mass production - sustainability initiatives and roles that prioritise dismantling the unequal practices that dominate the fashion system - are urgently needed. Yet they just don’t seem to exist at the moment. 

There have been countless occasions where I’ve excitedly seen leading organisations in the sustainable fashion space posting that they’re hiring, only to find out that it’s an internship paying a fraction of the cost of living in one of the most expensive cities in Europe. Even more surprisingly, they don’t pay you until the end of your internship period. This makes many of these roles simply inaccessible. We need to dismantle the system that still thrives off paying as little as possible - no matter how extensive the sustainability claims may be.

B) The tiresome task of reading between the lines to make sure you aren’t applying for a job in greenwashing

Another bitter pill to swallow is the fact that the first jobs to appear on Linkedln and sustainable fashion job boards are roles for fast fashion brands, primarily Asos, Shein and H&M. Don’t get me wrong - the sustainability roles at these brands are more than necessary. These brands desperately need graduates who are both knowledgeable and passionate about driving change in the industry. When these roles also pop-up more frequently and offer significantly more money than many other organisations in the sustainability sector, it can seem like a better route to take at times. But many of these roles are designed to enable brands to tick a CSR box and support their performative greenwashing claims of being more sustainable while not implementing any real changes in their supply chain practices. So, how do we avoid greenwashing traps? Applying for jobs is a time-consuming ordeal as it is. Combine this with constantly having to read between the lines to make sure the job you’re applying for is actually as ethical and sustainable as it claims to be, and the process becomes exhausting. 

As greenwashing continues to seep into every corner of the fashion industry, with brands desperately wanting to be seen as doing better, without implementing systemic changes, it’s an arduous task knowing who is telling the truth and who has genuine intentions. For instance, earlier this year, the Better Cotton Initiative - who are frequently hiring - were linked to land grabbing, illegal deforestation and human rights violations. As one of the supposedly leading responsible sources of ethical cotton production, this came as a shock to many brands, like Zara and H&M, who partner with Better Cotton. These brands evidently failed to carry out their own due diligence, making their claims to sustainable sourcing false.This situation is made easier in an industry that still struggles to define what sustainability really is. With no real definition and still an absence of legislation, it’s easier for brands to blindside us with false claims and disguise a greenwashing role with a high salary. 

C) The hidden requirements for 5+ years of experience 

It’s beyond frustrating seeing jobs that claim to be entry-level, then confront you with a  bullet point at the bottom of the list stating, “minimum of 5+ years experience required”. It shouldn't even have to be said that entry-level jobs that ask for experience are, by definition, not entry-level. There really aren’t that many entry-level jobs out there to begin with, the overwhelming number of roles require 8-10 years of experience, in a multitude of skill sets. There seems to be a wealth of senior, high-skill, high-wage jobs out there and a wealth of unpaid internship roles out there, but the industry is seriously lacking when it comes to entry and mid-level roles. I wonder how there can even be such a high expectation for so many years of experience, in sustainability roles, when the industry is still largely unable to define what that really means. It seems like many companies aren’t willing to take a potential risk on entry-level graduates and invest the time into training and development, opting instead for people who have experience, albeit not necessarily in the right field. Companies are shying away from the time it may take to offer someone training and support them in their talent development. But if no one is willing to put in the work to provide you with that first bit of experience, how is it possible to ever accumulate the extensive years of experience that most jobs make an essential requirement? 

So what can we do?

Our passion and drive is up against economic stresses, and while it’s easy to feel disheartened, we need to channel our frustrations into collectively advocating for greater transparency and opportunity within this sector. We need to advocate for policies and legislation that hold brands accountable for the information they make publicly available, calling them out on greenwashing claims that seep into job roles. We need brands and businesses to commit to sustainability and not cut their sustainability teams at the first sign of economic pressure. Hiring graduates with the skills, passion and commitment to sustainable and ethical practices is what the industry urgently needs right now if it has any chance of meeting aggressive climate targets and reducing its detrimental impact, on both people and planet. Sustainability is about the long-term impact, and brands need to realise the urgency of this. 

So, although the path to a career in sustainable fashion may be fraught with obstacles—unpaid work, greenwashing traps, and the frustrating demand for years of experience in an industry still defining itself—these hurdles also present an opportunity for change. By creating space for more honest conversations and collaborations, we can advocate for systemic change, dismantle the barriers to entering this part of the industry, and alleviate the daunting feeling that you’re doing it alone. Because realistically, those of us passionate about transforming the industry and advocating for a sustainable fashion landscape, are all on the same page.