Slowing Down Fast Fashion

Ella talks us through the environmental consequences of looking the part for a small cost, and the alternative ways we can style ourselves.

Wrap reports that in 2018, £140 million worth of clothing went straight to landfill. For every 30kg of clothing disposed of, only 4.5kg of it is recycled, according to leading clothing brand Hawthorn. In essence, this means that more than 30% of our unwanted clothing is wasted. Alarm bells are ringing and the climate crisis is finally beginning to be taken seriously, this is an area of fashion that needs to be and can be dramatically improved. “Alarm bells are ringing and the climate crisis is finally beginning to be taken seriously”

Fast fashion is defined as cheap, trendy clothing that moves quickly from catwalk to your wardrobe at an affordable price. The word worth focusing on here is ‘fast’. Companies such as Pretty Little Thing, Missguided or even high street stores such as Topshop would rather produce clothing quickly and cheaply in order to inflate their profit margins than make clothing ethically. It is a well-known fact that these stores are affordable

despite (for the most part) being very high quality, but have you ever stopped to ask yourself why? “High street stores would rather produce clothing quickly and cheaply in order to inflate their profit margins than make clothing ethically”

The fashion industry used to run on four seasons a year: fall, winter, spring and summer. Respected fashion designers would spend many months and sometimes years planning ahead for each season to predict where trends would go and create what customers desire. Before this point, following high fashion trends simply wasn’t accessible to the masses and was set-aside for those who belonged to high society (the upper and middle classes). This was until the Industrial Revolution and mass production came into play. Over the course of the 20th century, the fashion industry was speeding up and the costs were decreasing. Fast forward to 2019 and the fashion industry is at optimal speed bringing everyone and anyone fashionable, catwalk-worthy looks at an extremely low price. ‘The fast fashion industry emits more carbon than international flights and maritime shipping combined’, according to Business Insider. In total up to 85% of textiles go into landfills each year whilst washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibers into the ocean each year – the equivalent to 50 billion plastic bottles. If something isn’t done about this extremely detrimental industry, the damage to the environment will only worsen.

However, the rise of a very different and progressive fashion industry is coming into light – sustainable, slow fashion. War is being waged on single use plastic, meat and dairy and the fashion industry is now under pressure to follow suit and provide an ethical alternative to contribute to saving the planet. By definition, sustainable fashion is a movement and process fostering change to fashion products which includes manufacturing clothes via upcycling clothes or other unrecyclable materials, encouraging consumers to invest in pieces that are long wearing or versatile and promoting buying clothing from second hand, charity or vintage clothing stores. “The fashion industry is now under pressure to follow suit and provide an ethical alternative to contribute to saving the planet” “Encouraging consumers to invest in pieces that are long wearing or versatile and promoting buying clothing from second hand, charity or vintage clothing stores”

For example, a forerunner and proud spokesperson for the slow fashion industry is social media influencer and entrepreneur Grace Beverley. Grace is the founder of fitness accessory and guide company ‘B_ND’ and sustainable activewear brand ‘TALA’. Prior to founding her companies, Grace was a loud and proud vegan advocate. She made countless videos and posts speaking out about the benefits that going plant-based would have on the environment. As the years progressed, her vegan lifestyle transformed her attitudes towards ethical fashion and eventually prompted her to start her own sustainable yet affordable activewear brand. In an interview with Euronews, Grace said ‘a lot of our stuff is made from up-cycled materials’ and her most recent collection is ‘made out of plastic bottles’. These materials would otherwise be going straight to landfill, so the fact TALA repurposes these otherwise wasted products is a massive step in the right direction.

Another very popular sustainable alternative is Everlane. Their tagline on their website states that they work with the ‘best, ethical factories around the world. Source only the finest materials… we call it Radical Transparency’. Their focus is on creating products that are designed to last. They place less focus on following high fashion trends, but instead create timeless products that can be worn today or in ten years time.

Whilst both of the aforementioned brands are amazing in terms of offering affordable, sustainable and fashionable alternatives to the fast fashion industry they are by no means an exhaustive list of brands that promote ethical fashion, so it is important to conduct your own research in order to find brands that suit your style. Here are some other ideas to support the sustainable fashion movement:

Not only can stores such as these be extremely affordable (hallelujah to my bank account) but they also increase the life of clothing before they end up in landfill. 1. Charity, Vintage and second-hand clothing stores (such as Depop or Shpock) are your new best friend:

There are bins dotted around everywhere that accept clothes and give them straight to people who need them, such as the homeless. By doing this you’re not only helping the environment, but people in need too. 2. Send unwanted clothing items to clothes banks or charity shops:

Remember the phrase ignorance is bliss? Try telling that to your children in about 25 years time when our environment is completely wrecked. Get educated and know that this is just as much your problem as it is everybody else’s. 5. Stop being ignorant: Use the lowest temperature setting on your washing machine, check that your pods/cleaning detergent is good for the environment and if the packaging can be recycled, and then finally air-dry! Not only does this stop your clothes from shrinking but it uses less energy – win, win. 4. Wash smart! The idea here is that if you are to purchase from a brand that supports fast fashion, then it is worth your while buying something that will last you a long time and is timeless. 3. Try not to invest in low quality clothing from fast fashion brands:

Ella Houghton Illustrations & Page Design by Sarah MacAllan