There’s a long way to go, but this year it felt like things within the industry finally started shifting

In not-so-distant times gone by, revealing the dress some had just complimented you on to be a cheap high street find was not only a pretty solid basis for impromptu bonding, but also a prerequisite for proving your #relatable social status. The inference being, ‘yeah don’t worry, I’m skint too’. But in 2018, instead of coos of admiration, you’re more than likely to be asked a pointed question about whether you’ve seen The True Cost or not.

According to Lyst’s Year in Fashion report, throughout 2018 there was a 47 per cent increase in sustainable keyword searches such as ‘vegan leather’ and ‘organic cotton’, while posts on Instagram tagged #sustainablefashion now top out at 2.8 million. But when did we all transform from fast fashion addicts into planet-friendly, conscious consumers?

The first part of the answer lies with David Attenborough, which, admittedly, is not usually a name cited in fashion round-ups.