02 Apr Fast Fashion: You may be greener than you think
Fast Fashion: You may be greener than you think
The Fashion industry is more in demand than ever, thriving off of today’s disposable societies’ ever growing need for the new ‘in fashion’ item. All Fast Fashion brands live by planned obsolescence, a policy of designing and producing items with an artificially limited life, therefore making it unfashionable after a desired period of time.
The most known, and commonly used Fast Fashion brands may in fact be some of your high-street favourites, with some of the worst offenders being; Topshop, Zara, H&M and Urban Outfitters. However, brands such as ASOS and PrettyLittleThing have made efforts to promote greener clothes consumption.
ASOS have launched their own reclaimed vintage line, in which they sell repurposed clothing and dead stock at reduced prices. Launched in 2016, the ASOS reclaimed vintage line has aided in giving hundreds of thousands of unwanted items new loving homes.
PrettyLittleThing launched their ‘Recycled’ collection, featuring 151 products made from recycled materials and fabrics, in an effort to ‘take another step in the right direction towards sustainable fashion’.
Due to Fast Fashion, the fashion industry is now the second most polluting industry globally not only producing 10% of global carbon emissions, but also contributing to 20% of waste-water production. However, this is not an issue that is impossible to change. In fact, you probably have already made a start on your path to sustainable clothing consumption.
3 in 5 young women aged 15-21 confessed to having over-crowded wardrobes due to the constant urge to keep up with the latest trends. However, they also admitted they were unaware of the shocking truth behind the production of the ‘must-have’ items they frequently buy. For instance, the amount of water it takes to make a single pair of jeans (8,000 litres) is the equivalent to the amount of water an average person consumes in a whole year!
Georgia Copeman, (fashion graduate)said ‘Although, my love for fashion is greater than the average person, I am fully aware of the effects Fast Fashion is having on our planet, and I truly believe that Fashion should in no way have to cost the earth, to thrive’.
‘I decided a few years back that I would reduce my own personal clothing footprint, so I began to upcycle my old clothes, using anything I could get my hands on. During this time, I visited several charity shops, thrift stores and even my dad’s wardrobe!’
‘I began to repair old clothing items by embroidering them, cropping them or sewing on cute on-trend patches, and it really brought highlighted all of the use these once lifeless items still had left in them’.
‘I one hundred percent think that it is possible for people to cut down on their consumption from fast fashion brands, it’s a case of shining a light onto the fun and easy ways they can! If I knew how easy it was I would’ve started to make an effort years ago.’
In recent years, more efforts have been made as the unethical issues and the impact these brands have on the environment have been brought to light. In 2011 Depop was launched, a second-hand selling app that is both a marketplace and a community. With over 90 percent of its users being under 26, Depop is very much aimed at teens. Apps such as Depop promote greener clothes consumption, allowing its users to get creative in buying and selling old/ un-wanted clothing, shoes and bags. Depop has even aided the launch of several independent clothing brands in which users have started selling upcycled or handmade articles of clothing to a wider audience outside the app.
Another way in which Fast Fashion brand consumers, have found they can reduce their clothing footprint is loaning out and borrowing clothes with/from family members and friends.
Ellie Capon, 20 said ‘I go out to bars and clubs almost every weekend, and buying an outfit for every night out can be very expensive and often leads to my wardrobe bursting at the seams, so I started to borrow clothes from friends to cut down the extreme amounts that my going out wardrobe had been costing’.
‘Now, not only do I borrow whole outfits from friends, but I also borrow singular items and pair them with pieces that I already have to create a whole new outfit!’.
‘As well as borrowing clothes I also lend them out to friends and family a lot, even my mum. It has proven to be cost effect for not only myself, but for my friends and family also’.
Making your clothes consumption more sustainable does not necessarily mean completely cutting out buying those new must have items you crave. But perhaps becoming better educated on where to buy your clothes from. ‘good on you’ is a website and app that provides ethical brand ratings on a wide range of high street and independent brands. They rate brands on their impact on the plant, people and animals, the whole way through the supply chain. The website/app uses more than 50 certification schemes, standard systems and independent rating systems, to ensure they provide the most truthful and fair rating for each of the 379 brands in their directory.
Never has fashion been so accessible to consumers in all of history. So although the option to buy the next ‘in’ item may be exciting, next time consider your planet, consider all of the other options you have. Choose not to overcrowd your wardrobe for no necessary reason.
Instead think of your clothing footprint, think of the love and wear your old clothes are missing out on. Pass on or upcycle that jacket that you know you’ll never wear again. Look into that independent clothing brand that your favourite influencer tagged on their new Instagram post.
Being fashionable does not have to cost the health of our environment, nor does it mean that you have to have an entirely empty wardrobe!
