Slow Fashion Season
The industry needs to change, and this change needs to happen quickly. The emphasis on low cost and speed is integral to fast fashion, making it wholly unsustainable as corners are cut during production. The UK buys more clothing per head than anywhere else in Europe, but, as trends change every few months, many pieces are discarded without a second thought. As a society, we buy more clothes than ever before, but we keep clothes for half as long. H&M burns 12 tonnes of unsold material every year, and roughly eighty-four per cent of all clothing in the US ends up in the landfill, despite the fact these pieces could be recycled or reused in some other way.
But the issue with fast fashion is not only environmental, but it is also a feminist and race issue. While many trends are decided in Europe, the clothing is made in poorer nations in Asia. Many factories are based in poorer nations, exploiting looser restrictions and workers rights. These jobs are incredibly risky - fainting in a common occurrence due to the working conditions in the factories, as many are unventilated, overheated and lack access to water. Eighty per cent of workers are young women, but only two per cent of workers earn a living wage. Bangladeshi workers earned ninety-seven dollars per month, on average it takes four days for a major fashion CEO to earn what these women earn in a lifetime. Many of these workers are not being paid due to Covid-19, and we can't let companies get away with this.
The best way to force change is to buy from ethical brands as much as possible. While a £5 dress may be appealing, is it a necessary purchase? Will you wear the item more than thirty times? Can you buy a similar item second-hand? Are you only buying it because it is cheap? What is the real cost of that dress?
Reports suggest you don't need more than thirty pieces of clothing, and while I definitely own more than this, I am trying to change. Throwing away pieces of clothing would be counter-productive, so I plan to keep the clothing I have for as long as possible. I don't follow many fashion trends, I try I buy as few statement pieces as possible and I donate clothes I no longer wear (if they're in a fit condition to do so). I am starting to follow more sustainable influencers, I try and buy more second-hand garments, and if I need a piece for one event, I'm going to consider rental services. I've even bought a fabric shaver, to maintain the longevity of my clothes for as long as possible. There are so many sustainable brands to shop from, who pay their workers a living wage and try to reduce their environmental impact as much as possible. Their clothes are more expensive, but the cost is worth it if suffering is minimised.
We need to be the change we want to see in the world. So many of us no longer buy from cosmetic brands that test on animals, but we still buy from fashion companies paying women twenty-five cents an hour. Fast fashion doesn't exist without racial oppression, and the less an item of clothing costs us, the more it is costing someone else. Women of colour are most likely to be manufacturing the clothing sold by fast fashion brands and are also most likely to be the victim of climate change, so if you claim to be a feminist, an anti-racist or an environmentalist, please put your money where you're mouth is.
Slow Fashion Season runs from 21 June to 21 September and encourages people to make more conscious fashion choices, such as buying second-hand, buying from independent brands suffering due to COVID, and upcycling old clothes. You can read more about it here; I think it's a great way to try and shop more ethically.
Instagram accounts to follow:
