The social metamorphosis of fashion: on the way to the mapping of sustainable fashion companies in Ecuador

Abstract

The capitalist system and the consumer society typified the modernist society of the twentieth century and brought with it the system of fast fashion. System that generated environmental, social impacts, and that established the monoculture or the uniformation of the markets by the invasion with residual garments from the developed countries to the developing countries. Aspect that threatens the national production and clothing identity of Latin American regions. Fortunately, with the advent of postmodernism in the 19th century, and the macro tendency towards sustainability, the fashion system is rethought. The objective of this research was to geographically and conceptually map sustainable fashion companies. The qualitative and ethnographic design study was based on studies of cultural cases since it revealed 11 Ecuadorian companies that design with social responsibility. Through participatory observation, in-depth interviews and ethnographic records were obtained, as a result a geographical and conceptual mapping revealed that these transforming business models empower: the encounter with a craft culture, fair trade, promotion and quality of the product, factors that allow to deduce that the Ecuadorian region is part of the social metamorphosis of the fashion system.