Business Of Fashion’s Sarah Kent said in a piece earlier this month, “The fashion industry is facing a bleak winter. And Europe is ground zero.” She was referring to the devastating impact of soaring energy prices, caused by Russian moves to severely restrain gas supply to Europe in retaliation to Western sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine. A move that is now adding even more pressure to the already fragile supply chains of the fashion industry.

But the “winter” on Kent’s mind could also apply to the global cost of living crisis that has softened consumer demand, or to the climate crisis-induced weather extremes challenging supply chains, or the increased operational costs on all fronts.

Our Business Operations Director, Georgia, heard this pain first-hand when she met with some of our suppliers in Portugal, Turkey and Italy last month,“The energy crisis in Europe is looking grim with winter on the horizon. Speaking with our suppliers in-depth, it became clear that they’re facing a reality where - on top of COVID recovery - the energy crisis threatens rolling black outs, factory closures and a deep recession. Many of our partners are already feeling these effects, with the recent power bill of one partner’s textile mill upwards of one million euros, compared to between 200-400,000 euros this time last year. Another one of our partner's spoke of their gas bill skyrocketing from 22 euros MGW/hour in 2021 to 164 euros MGW/hour this month - seven and half times more expensive."

The energy crisis in Europe is particularly acute because the region gets so much of its supply from Russia; as much as 40% in 2021. Europe has since vowed to decrease their reliance on Russia with some member states agreeing to cut gas usage by 15% over the next seven months. But that will be too late for many businesses, and there remains uncertainty over where the EU will find alternative supplies (The BBC speculates it may need to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from producers like the US and Qatar).

But even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Western-imposed sanctions, we’ve been in an energy crisis. Two days before the invasion, The Financial Times reported that the conversation around solar energy investments was back on the table again, after almost a decade of stagnant growth. And maybe therein lies the only, possible, silver lining to this mess:

The price of solar panels has been decreasing, meaning they look economically attractive again. Of course, solar energy isn’t a quick fix - the payback time for installing panels (making back the money you’ve invested) currently sits at eight years or more. But suppliers could look to systems that combine solar and energy, the “power couple” as the World Economic Forum calls it. Analysts have already concluded that the power couple of solar-plus-storage is one of the best opportunities for battery commercialization.

And if you are of the “everything happens for a reason” camp (a camp Maggie Marilyn is known to spend time in) then you could posit that the increasingly volatile oil and gas prices may expedite the global transition to renewable energy. A solar-plus-storage system would allow suppliers to reduce costs, mitigate some of the challenges of relying solely on oil and gas, reduce their CO2 emissions, while still maintaining energy security.

And in an industry of constant change and uncertainty, “security” sounds pretty good to fashion right now.

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