Sustain Your Style: A Guide on Sustainable Fashion

n i a t s u S YourStyle A Guide on Sustainable Fashion

Table of Contents

Zero Waste

7–33

Natural Dyes

35–45

Ethics

47–69

Terms to Know

71–83

Fast and Slow Fashion

85–109

Welcome

5

Hello, The terms Sustainable and Ethical Fashion are often and should be accompanied by the question: What is the main difference between the two? Sustainability and Ethics often go hand in hand. Yet, one could ask what is so ethical about choosing a garment from the sales rack at their local whatever wherever. Many of us do not know the story behind the manufacturing of our clothing. Many of us do not know where our clothing ends up once we go our separate ways and replace our wardrobe time after time, season after season.

Sustainable Fashion is the process of consideration to the ethical and environmental impact on the planet and other human beings from creating and manufacturing said product. According to COSSAC Online, Sustainable Fashion aims to produce garments using fabrics that are sourced sustainably, produced within an ethical process and will last longer thanks to a higher quality. The entire cycle of a garment from its design to potential uses and lifespan is considered in order for it be classified as Sustainable Fashion.

But, of course any company can comply with advertising that their company is sustainable by creating a few organic tee shirts for people like you and me and call it a day. As the consumer many of us over look these transparent facades used by many big to small companies and manufacturers because we are too lazy to delve deeper into where our clothing is coming from. Many of us begin to lose our ethics for the sake of laziness. The term Ethical Fashion comes into play here. As consumers it is our decision and our right to pick and chose where and who we buy from. As consumers and Eco-conscious humans it is our duty in this day and age to research the practices and manufacturing of the companies we purchase from. Our ethics of sustainability can and should comply with fair trade regulations, equal opportunity, made without any animal components, no animal testing, portions of profit donated to charity, fair wages, conservation of ethical traditions of an ethnic minority, or the product itself raising awareness or promoting and idea or cause.

Sustain Your Style

Aside from an ethical and social responsibility, the process and compliances of sustainability are as follows, made with organic fibers, made with Eco friendly fabrics, natural origin of dyes, use of discarded fabrics, up cycling, recycled fabrics, less toxic glues, non harmful chemicals and garments that are durable and will last a long period of time.

Zero Waste

The 5 Forgotten R’s of EcoFriendly Fashion Are you going green? If you are, you’re not going to be alone.

Once relegated to peace-loving hippies, sustainability has now hit the mainstream.

Although I have been writing this blog going on 5 years and there is a wealth of information available, I still get the question asked: what is eco-friendly fashion?

For newbies navigating the sustainable fashion maze, it can be confusing. But then it’s easy to understand why. Some ethical brands and eco fashion bloggers are just as confused and at times missing the point too! So I decided to put together a list that helps you understand what eco-friendly fashion should be about, concepts that don’t just involve buying a ton of sustainable stuff.

Zero Waste

9

Sustain Your Style

R

Reduce Repair Recycle Re purpose Reinvent

The Secret Life of Our Donated Clothes

Ever wondered what happened to that old, but once very stylish, shirt you donated to your local charity shop?

It is always assumed that people who shop at charity shops buy the clothes we donate. In reality, most of the clothes that we stuff into a black plastic bag and drive to a charity shop end up halfway around the world.

With the UK’s addiction to fast fashion, numbers linked to this trend point out a worrying situation. While figures vary, one study suggests that as many as 8 out of 10 garments are not actually sold in charity shops. Landfills, and developing countries seem to be among the favorite destinations for our worn clothes.

One of the places some of your belongings could end up in is Accra, Ghana. Here your cast offs are very much so affectionately known as obroni wawu meaning “dead white man’s clothes.”

What Happens to Your Clothes once they arrive in Ghana?

Ghana is the largest buyer of donated clothes. Ghana’s capital Accra sees over 30,000 tons arrive at its port every single year.

The clothes come in bales and each bale can weigh up to 55 kg. The majority of these bales come from the UK. The obroni wawu are then bought by the bale, and each purchaser sorts them into tiers according to brand and quality.

These purchasers will then re-sell these clothes onto other merchants who will sell them on dusty roadsides across the entire country.

The real problem with this process lies in the speed, quantity and the rock bottom prices in which charity clothes arrive and are sold in developing countries like Ghana. Indeed, in Ghana, one of these items can often be bought for as little as 25p. Therefore, most Ghanaians end up buying western clothes instead of local and traditional garments because they are so much cheaper to make a purchase.

Zero Waste

11

Ghana is the largest buyer of donated clothes. Ghana’s capital Accra sees over 30,000 tons arrive at its port every single year.

Sustain Your Style

What about Ghana’s own Fashion Industry?

Fabrics like in the picture below give you an idea of the differences between the cheap western clothes flooding the markets of Accra, and the high quality hand loomed fabrics locally produced in Ghana.

Unfortunately though this indigenous tradition is under threat. The lower prices of obroni wawu coupled with the fact that many people in Ghana, particularly the younger generation, prefer to wear western clothing (due to the influence of social media and TV), threatens both the wearing of Ghanaian fabrics and the traditional cultural practice of weaving fabric using a handloom.

The overall lack of demand for more traditional clothing has therefore had a major impact on the Ghanaian clothing industry. For example, one of Ghana’s largest textile manufacturers Akosombo Textiles, was producing nearly 2 million metres a month in 2009. This amount has now fallen by 75 per cent putting many local textile businesses on the verge of losing down.

Spare a Thought While it is true that some of the UK charities that ship and sell our used clothes to Ghana are dedicated to assisting the country’s education and health sectors, it doesn’t take away the fact that they are simultaneously having a negative impact on Ghana’s local industry and economy.

Next time you donate your clothes to a charity shop, spare a thought for those African clothing shops you might be unintentionally putting out of business, or those workers in that fabric factory that might lose their jobs.

Fashion is a fickle business, but as consumers we hold great power. By making informed and more ethical purchases we can consume less and force retailers to change as well.

Zero Waste

13

Sustain Your Style

Zero Waste

40

15

Generations for a plastic hanger to breakdown in a landfill.

Sustain Your Style

Zero-Waste Beauty Routine

Makeup: This is a tough area in which to reduce packaging.

You could stop wearing makeup, but if that’s too extreme, then at least start thinking about alternative products and better packaging.

Removing Makeup: You don’t need to use facial wipes or cotton pads to take off makeup. Cut up squares of old flannel, fleece, or muslin cloth to use instead, laundering as needed. Or buy a sponge: Konjac Facial Sponges are vegan and compostable after 2-3 months of use, or you could try a fair-trade, sustainably grown sea sponge from Farm to Girl. For the actual remover, try using oil (olive, coconut, sweet almond).

Oil does a surprisingly good job at cleaning the skin and is an excellent makeup remover for the sensitive eye region.

Cleansing: You need less than you think when it comes to maintaining healthy skin. Wash with a delicate soap – olive oil, oatmeal, lavender, goat’s milk, etc. – that comes unpackaged. Buy a bottle of Dr. Bronners Pure Castile Soap that can be refilled at a bulk store. Consider trying the Oil Cleansing Method.

Exfoliate with the most basic ingredients that can be bought at bulk stores in reusable containers – baking soda, sugar, and coffee grounds. Mix with water or oil, and wipe off with a washcloth.

Zero Waste

17

Creating a green beauty routine is as much about reducing waste as it is eliminating toxic ingredients from the products one uses. If you buy green products that continue to contribute vast amounts of plastic to the landfill site, then what’s the point?

Sustain Your Style

set

Clo ns

itio

Tra ns

Easy

Zero Waste

Zero Waste

19

Do Without

Skip the shopping trip and do without

Mend It

Fix it, sew it, you name it.

Use a Friend You can either borrow and swap

clothes with a friend. You can even make a day and take a friend to your local thrift store.

Sustain Your Style

5

10

15

20

25

30

How to Fix Your Clothes Learn to sew a button You will need the button or a nice passable replacement and a needle and thread. The process only takes a few minutes, and it is one of the simplest and most common things to fix. You can even do it in front of the TV if you have to!

When you are given button and thread on the purchase of a new garment, get into the habit of keeping these in one single place for easy retrieval when needed. A small jar found in the laundry room is a common tactic.

Repair seams that have torn or come undone If a hole develops along a seam, you can just usually just sew it closed again. The repair will be invisible and straightforward.

Patch a hole If a garment has a large hole, you may have to apply a patch.

A great patch is decorative, so it becomes a feature rather than a aw! Generally any place that has craft or sewing supplies will offer a selection of decorative patches.

You can use patches made of similar or the same material.

Zero Waste

21

Learn to sew a hem It is relatively simple to hem pants and skirts, and it will allow you to adjust the length of a garment.

One of the most common ways to fix a damaged pair of jeans are to create shorts, or "cut-offs".

Another common use is to make pants a little shorter to give them a new appearance if the bottom edge is worn.

Rebuild the garment or make it into something else The classic example is making jeans into cut-off shorts when the knees are worn through, but if you are very resourceful, you could restyle all sorts of worn clothing, or make bags, quilts, leg-warmers or mittens. There are many, many options.

Sustain Your Style

How long Does it take to Decompose in a Landfill?

Socks

1-5 months

Winter Wool Sweater 9 months

Zero Waste

23

MaxiDress 200 years

Jean Jacket 10-12 months

40 years

Leather Bag

50 years

Sustain Your Style

Anorka

Design?

Waste is a major contributor to our global warming. Solid waste landfills are the single largest man-made source of methane gas in the United States. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that is 23 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than the most prevalent greenhouse gas—carbon dioxide. For me, Zero Waste is always all about addressing waste as a primary root cause of global warming. A zero waste strategy supports all three of the generally accepted goals of sustainability – economic well-being, environmental protection well-being.

Fashion Design?

Zero Waste

What is

Zero Waste simply means a product or process that eliminates waste materials. The term can be applied to many different industries, and can even encompass a “way of life”. Within the fashion industry, a zero waste garment is systematically designed to avoid and eliminate wasting materials so that no textiles are disposed of. Just like the theory behind “circular economy”, the concept of zero waste is one where everything is re-used and nothing is discarded. It is the antithesis of the “build, buy, bury” model – a one way ticket from raw material to factory, to user, then landfill. The circular economy has the potential to completely transform the way in which many businesses operate, and resource-intensive industries like fashion are at the heart of the debate. Why Zero Waste Fashion

It’s Not Just About Global Warming Not only does working in a zero-waste way stop waste from heading to landfill and therefore have a positive impact on global warming, but it also eliminates any toxic particles discharging to the surrounding land, water and air. But there are many more benefits of preventing waste than just supporting sustainability.

In garment manufacture, the processes from raw material to supply contributes around one-third of the waste footprint, three-quarters of the carbon impact and most of the water footprint.

Zero Waste

25

Sustain Your Style

Paint

How To

Remove Stains Olive Oil

Coffee or Tea

Zero Waste

Chocolate

27

Grease

With Vinegar, Water and Wine Ink p u e k Ma Sustain Your Style

What Happens to Clothing that Goes Unsold?

Zero Waste

No one knows the true scale of ‘deadstock’ clothing waste — in other words, clothes that are unable to be sold at full or discounted price and must be gotten rid of somehow.

29

We know that around 100 billion garments are manufactured annually.

Let’s say the sell-through rate (both full and discounted) is a generous 90%, then potentially 10 million items of clothing become ‘deadstock’ every year. That’s a lot of clothes to miraculously make ‘disappear.’ So what do brands and retailers claim to do with the products they can’t get customers to buy?

We sell through clothes and outlets Shockingly, 75% of apparel purchases are now made at discounted prices — fuelling a race to the bottom where increasingly lower price points gets consumers hooked on cheap, cheap, cheap! Some big traditional retailers now have more discount outlets than full-priced stores. But when the thrill of discounted shopping fails to entice the consumer into making a purchase then brands and retailers must get rid of their ‘deadstock’. The truth is that offering discounted prices will never ensure all products are sold. Retail space, warehouse space and even prime website ad-space isn’t infinite, which means products that aren’t selling need to be gotten rid of. But where?

We sell on through partners This is fashion lingo for a process in which brands and retailers sell their unsold wares in bulk into other non-competing markets. In this process clothes are often de-labelled or re-labelled to be sold on again. For example, European brands look to Australia to sell this sort of ‘deadstock.’ The secondary market for clothes and textiles is usually orchestrated by ‘jobbers.’ Think of used car salesmen but instead of Porsches it’s polyesters.

We organize friends and family sales Unless all their staff members have huge families and thousands of friends, this tactic will hardly make a dent in the huge volumes of apparel going unsold each season.

We donate unsold clothes to charity Whilst this sounds good on paper, in reality donating and selling (aka dumping) unsold clothes to lower income countries can have negative consequences on their local economies and communities.

Sustain Your Style

We destroy unsold clothes This is a reality very few brands are willing to admit. In fashion talk, especially by the tongues of luxury brands, this means that clothes are either shredded and recycled (think catwalk couture becoming carpets) or incinerated (think puffs of exquisitely luxurious streams of smoke.)

Whilst those working in the industry know that incineration is sometimes, sadly, par for the course, the public can only rely on rumors about how unsold or damaged clothes goods are destroyed. It’s quite a well-kept secret.

But the lid is increasingly being lifted off about the incineration secret. This was recently - and rather dramatically - exposed by Operation X, the investigative report by The Danish TV Channel, TV2. Reporters delivered a strong blow by providing their own evidence that supposedly systematically demonstrates the incineration of clothes by several big high street brands. This programme is bringing awareness (and in some cases righteous anger) to the issue of waste incineration.

However, a healthy dose of reality is required.

The battle for brands to cope with unsold inventory isn’t as straightforward as it seems.

Large scale recycling is not yet up to scratch and brands and retailers strive to protect their highly-prized intellectual property and brand image. Also, no one really wants to take the blame for the type of fashion waste that essentially arises from trying to sell clothes that customers don’t want — be this due to buyers’ irresponsible judgment calls, lack of understanding of their customers’ changing tastes or missing the boat in terms of the whippet-fast trends. Someone has got to take the blame for getting order numbers, production and retail wrong.

Zero Waste

31

There are a ton of solutions that don’t involve destroying or sending perfectly good materials to landfill.

In the short term, there is an urgent need for fashion buyers to curb their enthusiasm, rein in their purchase orders and place orders more responsibly up front to limit the amount of dead stock inventory at the end of a season.

Plus, tech and logistic improvements will also do wonders at helping fashion brands get to grips with ordering more realistically and according to what customers ultimately want.

In the longer term, all solutions point to of keeping surplus and discarded materials in the fashion loop for longer.

Sustain Your Style

w

Ho

Recy cle yo ur

s a r

B

to

Zero Waste

s

33

Wash It

Recycled bras (including sports bras) that can be worn again should be washed.

Label it Fill Out The Bra Recycling Form.

After submitting the bra recycling form, an email will be sent to you with a mailing label.

Print the label and attach to your package.

Send It

Attach the Mailing Label and mail your bras or Drop It Off. You can check to see if there is a drop off location in your area.

Sustain Your Style

NaturalDyes

Never gather more than 2/3 of a strand of anything

Eucalyptus Lilac Pomegranate Turmeric

Dyes

37

Roots, nuts & flowers

are just a few common natural ways to get many colors.

Gathering plant material for dyeing: Blossoms should be in full bloom, berries ripe and nuts mature. Be sure to remember, never gather more than 2/3 of a strand of anything in the wild when gathering plant stuff for dyeing.

•

Eucalyptus - (all parts, leaves and bark) beautiful shades of tan, deep deep rust red, yellow, green, orange and chocolate.

•

Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) (twigs) - yellow and a shade of orange

•

Pomegranate (skins)– with alum anywhere from orange to khaki green.

•

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) dyed cloth will turn orange or red if it is dipped in lye.

Sustain Your Style

Reds and Browns •

Coffee Grinds

•

Fennel

•

Beets – deep red

Dyes

39

Sustain Your Style

Grab a big Pot!

A big spoon

Blueberries, Blackberries & Red Cabbage create lovely blues

Cut it all up!

Blueberries

Red Cabbage

Dyes

41

Blueberry Dye Before you start the dyeing process, you’ll want to get your fabric ready. First, wash the fabric. For berries you’ll want to use salt and for any other plant material, you’ll want to use vinegar. Measurements are as followed : •

Salt: dissolve ½ cup salt in 8 cups cold water

•

Vinegar: blend 1 part white vinegar to 4 parts water

•

Fill pot with twice as much water as berry material.

•

1/2 Cup of Red Cabbage

•

1/4 Blueberries

Gather leftover bits of fruits and bits of vegetables to use for making the dyes. You'll want at least one chopped cup of each item to create and mix a rich deep saturated dye.

Blueberries, blackberries, and red cabbage create lovely blues. Raspberries and beets create red shades.

Add the chopped ingredient to a small saucepan and cover with twice as much water as the fruit and the vegetables.

Place over medium heat, and bring to a simmer for about one hour.

Turn off the heat, and let water come to rest at room temperature. Strain the cooled dyes into the big glass containers, and you’re ready to get coloring! To create very long-lasting colored fabrics, place the article of clothing you’re planning on coloring in a fixative. For fruit dyes, just simmer the fabric in 1/4 cup salt and 4 cups water. For some vegetable dyes, simmer in one cup vinegar and four cups water. Boil for one hour.

Sustain Your Style

Rinse the article of clothing in cold water, and then let soak in the natural dye until it reaches desired color.

Dyes

& Natural

Eucalyptus, Sunflowers

43

Lilacs create

orange dyes

Sustain Your Style

A perfect example of a natural dye that applies a gorgeous light pink color and transforms waste into wonder is the avocado pit.

Dyes

45

Avocado Dye Natural dye materials can be sourced directly from your kitchen, garden, or even urban neighborhood.

Well-washed 100-percent natural undyed wool, silk, linen cotton, or other natural fiber pH-neutral washing soap (eco-friendly dish soap works great).

Heat-resistant gloves.

Nonreactive stainless-steel cooking pot with lid reserved just for dyeing stainless-steel Nonreactive stainless steel tongs reserved just for dyeing .

3 to 5 fresh and cleaned avocado pits per ½ pound of fiber (more pits will produce a stronger, deeper color).

Sustain Your Style

Ethics

A

On 24 April 2013, the Rana Plaza

building in Bangladesh collapsed.

1,138 people died and another 2,500 were injured, making it the fourth largest industrial disaster in history.

Fash

There were five garment factories in Rana Plaza all were manufacturing clothing for big global brands. The victims were mostly young women. We believe that 1,138 is too many people to lose from the planet in one building, on one terrible day to not stand up and demand change.

Since then, people from all over the world have now come together to use the power of fashion to change the world.

Fashion Revolution is now a global movement of people like you.

Have you ever wondered who made your clothes?

How much they’re paid, and what their lives are like?

Our clothes have gone on a long journey before they hit store shelves, passing through the hands of cotton.

Ethics

49

ion Revolution was Born However, the majority of the people who makes clothes for the global market live in poverty, unable to afford life’s basic necessities. Many are subject to exploitation; verbal and physical abuse, working in unsafe and dirty factory conditions, with very little pay.

Today, both people and the environment suffer as a result of the way fashion is made, sourced and consumed.

This needs to change

Sustain Your Style

At the moment, most of the world lives in a capitalist economy. This means companies must increase sales growth and make profits in order to succeed — but crucially, not at the expense of peoples’ working conditions, health, livelihoods, dignity and creativity and not at the expense of our natural environment.

Whether you are someone who buys and wears fashion (that’s pretty much everyone) or you work in the industry along the supply chain somewhere or if you’re a policy maker who can have an impact on legal a lot of requirements, you are accountable for the impact fashion has on a lot of people’s lives and on nature.

1. MODEL — The business of fashion The way fashion is produced and consumed has been dramatically scaled and sped up in the last 20-30 years and so too we have seen more frequent and deadlier factory disasters. For the past decade or so, apparel companies have seen rising costs, driven by rising labour, raw material and energy prices. Yet despite the higher cost of making clothes, the price we pay for our clothing is cheaper than ever before.

This is system isn’t working.

Fashion Revolution believes that the whole fashion industry needs a radical paradigm shift and that the way that we produce and consume clothes needs to be transformed. This means business models will need to change and a multiplicity of solutions will be required.

2. MATERIAL — People & planet Human rights abuses and environmental degradation remains rife.

The harsh reality is that basic health and safety measures do not exist for many of the people working in fashion’s supply chains. The legal minimum wage in most garment-producing countries is rarely enough for workers to live on. 150 billion items of clothing are delivered out of factories annually yet Americans alone throw away approximately 14 million tonnes of garments each year, that’s over 36 kg per person.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 84% of unwanted clothes in the United States in 2012 went into either a landfill or an incinerator.

3. MINDSET — Shifting the way we think about Fashion The way we consume clothing has changed a lot over the past 20-30 years too. We buy more clothes than we used to and spend less on them. A century ago, we spent more than half our money on food and clothes, today we spend less than a fifth. As a society we purchase 400% more clothing today than we did just 20 years ago. Every time we buy something that costs less than we think it should, we are implicit in the impacts of that transaction.

We need to break our addiction to the need for speed and volume. We need to realize the true cost of our cheap bargains. Ultimately, we need to buy less, buy better and keep asking questions about the realities behind what we’re purchasing. We need to love the clothes we already own more and work harder to make them last.

Ethics

51

Sustainability is becoming an important new driver of consumers’ purchasing decisions.

Fashion Revolution is a global movement that is calling for a fairer, safer, cleaner, and a more transparent fashion industry.

We are campaigning for a more accountable industry, where dignity of toil and a safe loving environment are a standard and not just an irrational exception.

As citizens and consumers — our questions, our voices, our shopping habits can have the power to help change things for the better.

We are the driver of trends. Every time we buy something, we’re voting with our wallet. When we speak, brands and governments listen. We believe the first step towards positive change is greater transparency.

Transparency alone does not represent the bigger systemic change we would like to see for the fashion industry — but it helps us get there. Transparency helps to reveal the even bigger structures in place so we can better and understand how to change them. Transparency shines a light on issues often kept in the dark.

We believe that more transparency will lead to greater accountability, which eventually will lead to a change in the way business is done.

It is an important first step towards positive change.

We deserve to know who makes our clothes and under what conditions.

Fashion Revolution believes in a fashion industry that values people, planet, creativity and profit in equal measure and that positive change starts with transparency, traceability and openness.

Sustain Your Style

It is impossible for us to make sure human rights are respected and that environmental practices are sound without knowing where our products are made, who is making them and under what conditions. This is what we are asking brands and retailers to publicly disclose

80% of garment workers are women.

2

Ethics

53

of clothing is to never be worn.

Sustain Your Style

0%

How much water does it take to make a pair of jeans

Ethics

55

Water rights and accessibility is no doubt a global issue.

Despite it being in the news, day to day when we wash our face or dishes we rarely ever think about how much we are wasting. However even if you are water conscious at home its more likely that you do not think about how much water is being wasted when you buy products.

Indirectly we can waste water, whether its buying a lot of agriculture from fields which do not have an efficiently run irrigation system, or from buying a pair of jeans. ”It takes around 1,800 gallons of water to grow enough cotton to produce just one pair of regular ol’ blue jeans.” That’s more water than it takes to make a ton of cement or a barrel of beer. And that’s just in terms of growing cotton, when you take into account the dye process as well as the machine wash almost 9,982 gallons of water is used.

How can we fix this?

1. Stop purchasing so many jeans.

2. Buy Levis, they are built to last, and its strongly recommended to not machine wash them. They suggest freezing them instead, it kills all the germs. However, if there is a grass stain that you would like to get off, all it takes is a sponge and a cup of water opposed to the 40 gallons (a typical machine wash).

Sustain Your Style

5 | Ways to Build a more Ethical Closet

1.

Value and take good care of the clothes you already own Taking care of the clothes you own (no matter their brand) is the best and most basic thing you can do to build a more ethical closet. Repair what's broken, hand wash what needs to be hand washed, fold heavy sweaters instead of hanging them, and so on.

Clothes that are well-taken care of last (and stay nice) for longer. That means they'll need to be replaced less often and you can buy fewer clothes overall, thereby reducing your contribution to the costs of fashion in the long-term.

2.

Shop less, choose better: Only buy pieces you love 100% The fast fashion industry may have gotten its name and reputation from the quick rate at which catwalk designs are delivered to the masses, but it just as accurately describes the way we shop nowadays.

Fast, laissez-faire, without thinking about it too much. We pick up new pieces here and there, because it’s all so cheap and won’t break the bank.

The result: A closet full of so-so stuff that we are not too crazy about. And so we keep on shopping to fill that void, to replace imperfect pieces with better alternatives and to finally feel like we have enough to wear.

So how can you break that cycle? Start choosing better! Don’t just buy the first pair of jeans that fit ok, find one that you love and then wear it for years, instead of just a season. Train yourself to be more selective when it comes to buying new clothes, no matter whether you are shopping at a vintage shop, an eco boutique or a high street store. Don’t buy things that you know aren’t ideal and will want to replace soon. Instead of five cheap, mediocre sweaters, keep looking until you find the one that you love 100%.

3.

Go for clothes that are high-quality and durable

Ethics

By learning to wait you’ll not only buy less in the short-run, but also in the long-run because overtime you’ll build up a much better, more satisfying closet that way.

57

No matter the brand, buying clothes that are well-made and consist of high-quality materials is more eco-friendly than buying much lower quality piece! No matter the brand, buying clothes that are well-made and consist of high-quality materials is more eco-friendly than buying low-quality piece!

4.

Buy vintage or second-hand Another great, budget-friendly alternative to buying ethical brands is to re-purpose pre-worn clothes, and that saves them from becoming landfill. Finding what you want in a vintage or second-hand store can be time-consuming, but often worth the effort in exchange for some truly unique pieces. So give it a try if you haven't yet!

5.

Support ethical brands From Honest by to Everlane: If you want to support ethical brands you’ve got plenty of options to choose from.

Sustain Your Style

Caring for Your Clothes is

Super Sustainable...

Show them some love

Ethics

59 Machin

e Wash

h e bleac

rin on-Chlo

N

Mach

ine W ash

Iron any temperature

Don’t

h

bleac

Hand Wash

Tumble Dry

Bleach

ed

if need

Sustain Your Style

Consumer Conscious

We are surrounded and tempted everyday by new products, trends, and clothing items.

They are advertised to us on our Instagram feeds and hidden in targeted ads on social media platforms like Facebook. We actively follow brands on social media outlets, and of keeping up with new styles and reviews of the next big thing. What many of us don’t know or often forget to acknowledge is the environmental impact that the fast fashion industry is making. The truth is that fast fashion has severe effects. The industry rips off of independent designers and it commercializes their creativity. It propels a distorted view of consumption by encouraging spending without any regard to true cost or origin. We are often so blinded by the low prices of the industry that we fail to see its consequences. So how can we as consumers become more conscious and reduce our waste?

Do your Research Some of the most popular stores and brands are a part of the fast fashion industry. To name just a few, there are Zara, Forever 21, H&M, Adidas, and Urban Outfitters. Let’s not forget about their parent companies or the companies they own. Researching your favorite brands will allow you to be more cognizant of where you money is going. Are your favorite clothing stores using sustainable material in the manufacturing of their clothes? Do they provide recycling/reuse centers where you can discard unwanted clothing? Where exactly is the unsold apparel going? Do they treat their workers fairly with sustainable wages and health working conditions?

There are several brands that have emerged in order to reduce the environmental footprint of the fashion industry.

Some include: Everlane, Patagonia, LA Relaxed, Stomie Dreams, My Sister, Modernation, Aeon Row, People Tree, Nisolo, Alternative Apparel, Good Cloth and many more.

Believe it or not, there are sustainable companies out there that are also affordable. Did you know that the average shirt takes about 700 gallons of water and pounds of chemicals to be produced? In response, many of these green companies use recycled yarn and organic textiles.

Some even use biodegradable fabrics. Furthermore, these brands are ethical and make sure to treat their workers with fair compensation. Show your support for these clothing companies. Follow them on social media outlets.

Make your next purchase a slower one.

Ethics

Support and Purchase from Ethical and Sustainable Companies

61

Decrease your own Spending and Environmental Footprint Think twice before you buy into a new trend. Try to reduce the amount of fashion trends that you follow. Keep in mind that what might look cute and trendy today, may be obsolete in just a few months. Be more inclined to buy clothing that you can picture yourself wearing for years.

Furthermore, don’t participate in ‘hauls’. By purchasing clothing items in lesser amounts, you will leave less waste, while simultaneously encouraging yourself to consciously think about each of the items you purchase. Wear a lot of recycled clothing. Go thrifting with friends. You can even try to mimic some trends by DIYing.

Sustain Your Style

Fair Trade - Every Purchase Supports Something

Fair Trade is a global movement made up of a diverse network of producers, companies, shoppers, advocates, and organizations putting people and planet first.

Ethics

Fair Trade exists so we can support what’s fair.

63

Fair Trade is a way to make a conscious choice for a better world. A choice for Fair Trade Certified™ goods is a choice to support responsible companies, empower farmers, workers, and fishermen, and protect the environment. In other words, it’s a world-changing way of doing fair business for all.

Fair Trade is an organized social movement and market based approach that aims to help the producers in developing countries obtain better working conditions and minimize the environmental impact of production.

Fair Trade empowers people to make choices for the good of themselves and their community, regardless of gender, status, and position in society, or position on the globe. Rigorous standards give farmers, workers, and even fishermen a voice in the workplace and the entire community.

Sustain Your Style

Environmental practices have a very long-term impacts on the livelihoods of producers, its communities, and the planet. Our standards work to keep the planet healthy for generations to come by prohibiting the most harmful chemicals and taking measures to protect natural resources.

Why Transparency Matters We believe transparency is the first step to transform the industry. And it starts with one Who made my clothes?

The situation now:

If we know the facilities where our clothes are being made, if we have access to factory, mill and farm lists where brands are sourcing then the public can help hold the industry to account for bad practices and encourage good practices. This is what Fashion Revolution is asking for.

Transparency alone does not represent the sort of structural, systemic change we would like to see for the fashion industry — but it helps us get there. Transparency helps to reveal the structures in place so we can better understand how to change them. Transparency shines a light on issues often kept in the dark. It is an important first step towards positive change.

We don’t know enough about the impact our clothing has on people and planet. While we are seeing companies share their policies and commitments on human rights and the environment, there is still much crucial information about the practices of the fashion industry that remains concealed — particularly when it comes to impact on the lives of workers in the supply chain and on the entire environment.

sure human rights are respected and that environmental practices are sound without knowing where their products are made. That’s why transparency is essential.

Transparency means companies know who makes their clothes – from who stitched them right through to who dyed the fabric and who farmed the cotton — and under what conditions. Crucially, it requires brands to share this information publicly.

simple question:

This is our focus for the next five years. We believe this simple question gets people thinking differently about what they wear. We need to know that as consumers, our questions, our voices, our shopping habits can have the power to help change things for the better. With more consumers encouraging brands to answer ‘who made my clothes?’, we believe Fashion Revolution has the power to push the industry to be more trans- Lack of transparency costs lives. It’s parent. impossible for companies to make

Ethics

65

Who made

my clothes?

Sustain Your Style

Transparency is a process We recognize that being transparent is very difficult. As a business, you might fear transparency because you don’t want it to jeopardise your competitiveness, or because you might not be able to answer workers or suppliers if questions are asked, or because it might uncover issues you don’t know how to resolve. We know it can be complicated.

But we live in an era when personal and corporate secrets can be unravelled with a few lines of code or clicks of the mouse, and so today, it is only a matter of time before the public discovers the facts. There’s no excuse anymore. As a company, your greatest fear should be that more tragedies like Rana Plaza will happen again, and you’ll be complicit.

Fashion Revolution is here to help companies see through these fears. We’re here to show that knowing who makes your clothes is a first important step towards ensuring these kinds of tragedies are no longer possible.

Not only is transparency about understanding and reducing any risk to your companies reputation but it can also be good for your business. Knowing who makes your clothes and where, being in better touch with your supply chain, means you can understand it more clearly and make a much more informed business decisions.

Everyone keeping companies accountable together We believe that greater transparency will lead to more accountability and eventually, this will lead to a change in the way

business is done. Fashion Revolution is here to encourage the companies who are making real efforts to be more transparent about who makes their clothes. It’s up to shoppers to make sure companies are doing what they say they are.

Ultimately, everybody needs to play a part in holding the industry to account for its many business practices and impacts — the public, NGOs, certification bodies, associations, trade unions, producers, suppliers, communities and even brands themselves. The good news is that 32 of the 100 brands in the Fashion Transparency Index 2017 are publishing supplier lists — at least at the first tier where clothes are typically cut, sewn and trimmed.

This is an increase from last year in which just five of the 40 companies reviewed were actual publishing supplier lists.

This year 14 out of the 100 brands are also publishing their processing facilities where clothes are dyed, printed, laundered and otherwise finished at an earlier stage of the production. Not any brand publishes its raw material suppliers, so there is really no way of knowing where our cotton, wool or any other fibres come from or who produces them.

There are also lots of middle-men involved in the journey of our clothes. Wholesalers, agents and even distributors are important and profitable roles in the clothing industry that the public doesn’t really see.

There is still so much we don’t know about the people who make our clothes, from farm to retail to your closet.

Ethics

We Need Change

67

0 Brands

are publishing details about their raw material suppliers.

32 out of 100

brands are publishing suppliers (which covers at least tier) 14 out 100 brands publish their processing facilities where clothes are dyed & printed.

Sustain Your Style

Love

Your Clothes Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to extend the life of your clothes by LOVING them, treating your clothes well and disposing of them in sustainable ways.

Buying sustainable and organic clothes from local designers and ethical companies are all great ways to “vote with your dollar”, but we are now suggesting something that doesn’t require any dollars at all!

Reducing the number of items you buy is a great way to save money, but there are many other benefits to reducing your clothing purchases.

Did you know that the fashion industry has become the second worst for overall pollution after fossil fuels? Extending the life of clothing by an extra 9 months reduces carbon, waste and water footprints by 20 to 30% each.

I pledge to love my clothes!

Ethics

69

Sustain Your Style

Love...

Terms to Know

Terms

S

ustainable fashion, also known as Eco fashion or ethical fashion, is part of the big growing trend of sustainability. Processes consider the ethical and environmental impact on the planet and other human beings from creating and manufacturing a big product. Sustainable fashion aims to produce garments using fabrics that are sourced sustainable, produced within an ethical process and will last longer thanks to a higher quality. The entire cycle of a garment from its design to potential uses and lifespan is considered in order for it to be classified as sustainable fashion.

Sustain Your Style

Sustainable Fashion

73

org

Terms

ganic

75

Organic relates to any product made from an organic form that does not allow the use of any pesticides, herbicides and genetically modified seeds.

Sustain Your Style

Fair Trade is an organized social movement. Their goal is to help developing countries achieve better trading conditions and adopt sustainable processes. For a garment or fabric to be Fair Trade Certified it must meet certain criteria in its production and trading costs. The production of the fabric must involve fair pay

Fair Trade

for workers, be harvested and produced substantially and given a Fair Trading price. This results in many fair trade products having a slightly higher price but the extra cost goes back to support farmers and workers and countries of its origin.

Terms

77

Sustain Your Style

R

eplace your strappy sandals with ballet ats and add a little jacket or cardi and you’ve instantly turned a summer frock into a truly trans-seasonal outfit.

Terms

79

Trans-seasonal What on earth does it mean? And how do I do it?

Tran-seasonal dressing is the shift from the summer towards winter and back to summer again. With the change in season, so your wardrobe must also adjust. However, the good news is that you don’t need an entirely new wardrobe every season. It’s all about learning how to get more bang for your buck with your current seasonal wardrobe.

It’s about learning how to layer, which isn’t as difficult as you may think. It’s when you start to swap camisoles for sleeved tops or pop on a cardi, when you add a lightweight jacket or change from light cotton cardigans to woolen versions and add a scarf, or when you change from sandals to ballet flats. And on it goes.

Understand the power of fabrics and color.

Notice how fashions darken in winter?

Why not break up the black and lighten up?

Learn to Layer It’s easily the most useful styling technique you’ll ever learn. It means you can still wear that summer frock well into autumn because you know what type of cardigan will work over it, or what type of skivvy or tee could be worn under it. Try adding leggings under skirts, tunics and dresses as the weather cools.

Sustain Your Style

Terms

81

Natural Dyes Natural dyes are colored compounds that are sourced from natural resources. No chemical additives are needed to create the colored dyes.

Sustain Your Style

Lyocell & Tencel Tencel does use less land & water than cotton production.

Tencel is a natural man made fiber also referred to as Lyocell. Tencel is made from wool pulp from sustainable tree farms. The production process is based on closed loop solvent spinning that recovers or decomposes all of the solvents and emissions. Tencel has been budded the fabric of the future thanks to its eco-friendly and very economical production process.

Aside from the aesthetic and textural benefits, the role of marketing suggests Tencel is also more environmentally friendly than other fabrics. It’s produced on a “closed loop system,” in which “99% of the chemicals and solvents used in the process to break down the wood pulp are recovered and recycled with minimal waste and very low emissions,” Bahulkar said. The process received the European Award for the Environment from the EU.

Terms

83

Sustain Your Style

Fast and Slow Fashion

An Essay:

Fair Trade

Artisan

Organic

The Slow Fashion Movement Eco-Friendly Recycled

Handmade

Today’s mainstream fashion industry relies on globalization, mass production where many garments are transformed from the design stage to the retail floor in only a few weeks.

With retailers selling the latest fashion trends at very low prices, consumers are easily swayed to purchase more than they need. But this overconsumption comes with a hidden price tag, and it is the environment and the workers in the supply chain that pay.

The fashion industry is contributing to today’s sustainability challenge in a number of ways.

It currently uses a constant flow of natural resources to produce ‘Fast Fashion’ garments.

In the way it operates, this industry is always constantly contributing to the depletion of fossil fuels, used, for example, in textile & garment production and transportation.

Fresh water reservoirs are also beginning to be increasingly diminished for cotton crop irrigation. The fashion industry is also today introducing, in a systematic way and in even greater amounts, manmade compounds such as pesticides and synthetic fibres, which can increase their persistent presence in nature.

As a result, some natural resources are in jeopardy and forests and ecosystems are being damaged or destroyed for such things as fibre production, leading to issues such as droughts, desertification and not least, climate change, that are affecting society at large.

87

Using this metaphor we can draw the known conclusion that if we do not want to ‘hit the narrowing walls of the funnel,’ we must redesign the current unsustainable and practices in society, including the fashion industry.

This change, if achieved, is likely to result in a gradual return to equilibrium, where the large societal behavior is not in conflict with all natural resources, and the fashion industry can carry on without compromising the health of the people and our planet.

Slow Fashion represents all things “eco”, “ethical” and “green” in one unified movement. It was first coined by Kate Fletcher, from the Centre for Sustainable Fashion, when fashion was compared to the Slow Food experience. Carl Honoré, author of “In Praise of Slowness”, says that the ‘slow approach’ intervenes as a revolutionary process in the contemporary world because it encourages taking time to ensure quality production, to give value to the product, and contemplate the connection with the environment.

For Slow Fashion to emerge as a sustainable fashion model, a team of three researchers from the Master’s in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability programme in the country Sweden have recommended that “Slow Fashion Values” be used to guide the entire supply chain. They looked closely at the positive actions that were happening and also turned to the food, design and agriculture industries for inspiration.

The values are not meant to be a one-size fits all solution, but they can encourage creativity and be adapted.

Sustain Your Style

To visualize the sustainability challenge of today’s fashion industry, the funnel metaphor is used to demonstrate the consumption behavior of the larger fashion industry, which is including consumers. If this keeps increasing at the current rate, the impact on the social

and ecological environment will also increase.

This leads to a very limited space for the industry to handle these impacts in the future and resolve the issues society is facing today.

Fast/Slow

Slow Fashion is not your typical seasonal fashion trend, it is a movement that is steadily gaining momentum and is likely here to stay.

Seeing the Big Picture Slow Fashion producers recognise that they are all interconnected to the larger environmental and social system and make many decisions accordingly. Slow Fashion encourages a system of thinking approach because it recognizes that the impacts of our collective choices can affect the environment and people.

Slowing Down Consumption Reducing raw materials by decreasing fashion production can allow the earth’s regenerative capabilities to take place. This will then alleviate pressure on natural cycles so fashion production can be in a healthy rhythm with what the earth can provide.

Diversity Slow Fashion producers strive to maintain ecological, social and cultural diversity. Biodiversity is important because it offers the best solutions to climate change and environmental degradation. Diverse and innovative business models are encouraged; independent designers, larger then life fashion houses, second-hand, vintage, recycled, fashion leasing, your local knitting club and clothing swaps are all recognized in the movement. Keeping traditional methods of garment & textile making and dyeing techniques alive also gives vibrancy and meaning to what we wear and how it was made.

Respecting People Participating in campaigns and codes of conduct can help to secure the fair treatment of workers. Some brands have joined the Asian Floor Wage Alliance, Ethical Trading Initiative, and the Fair Wear Foundation, among others. Labels are also supporting local communities by offering skill development and helping them to trade, such as Toms Shoes.

Fast/Slow

89

Acknowledging Human Needs Designers, usually fashion, can meet human needs by co-creating garments and offering fashion with emotional significance. By telling the story behind a garment or inviting the customer to be part of the design process, the needs of creativity, identity and participation can be satisfied.

Building Relationships Collaboration and co-creation ensure many trusting and lasting relationships that will create a stronger movement. Building strong relationships between the producers and coproducers is a key part of the movement.

Sustain Your Style

Fast Fashion

& Fast Food

A moment on the hips a lifetime on the tip

Fast/Slow

91

You may have heard these common phrases "You are what you eat" and "We tend to communicate who we are through clothing, it's our personal brand". It's not unrealistic to say many of us lead busy, demanding lives.

So, when we're running around in the busy morning; getting the kids ready for school, tidying the house or simply getting yourself dressed for work, we often opt for connivance - fast food and fast fashion.

with fast food, order at the counter and no doubt you will be asked “Would you like to go large for an extra 50p?”...you will always go large!

It’s time we gave as much thought into what we put on our bodies as we do what we put in our bodies. If you’re buying a pair of jeans from Primark that cost as much as your lunch; roughly £10 you need to ask yourself why? why are my jeans so cheap?

There is no reason for us to wait for anything these days. Part of the reason that convenience influences us so much is that we have low impulse control. This is because the part of our brain that controls our reward and pleasure centres; dopamine, affects your brain’s decision making abilities.

So, what is the psychology behind fast food and fast fashion, why do we continue to return to it?

Cost

We live in a world of convenience, I want to watch a film - Netflix, I’m hungry - Ubereats, I need an outfit for the weekend - same day shipping!

Addiction Are you a shopaholic? Do you have an addiction to shopping? Do you have an addiction to McDonalds or that golden crispy chicken?

Branding Passing those golden arches on the motorway, walking by a brightly lit H&M store. It’s like you get hypnotized by branding.

Sustain Your Style

Probably one of biggest factors associated with buying fast food and fast fashion is cost.

Low prices minimise the worry associated with parting with your hard-earned money. Filling your baskets with a bunch of cheep dresses and t-shirts automatically makes you feel like you’re getting value for money. It’s the same

Convenience

Fast/Slow

93

Fast Fashion is like fast food, after the sugar rush it just leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

Sustain Your Style

Fair Trade

Fast Fashion

The approach of most modern high street fashion retailers. It describes the speed of transferring trends as quickly as possible from he catwalks to the high street stores. The speed of changing trends creates the need to produce lots of garments quickly and cheaply. It inevitably leads to the mass-production of garments and a wasteful attitude to fashion consumption as items are neglected as soon as new ones come in to the store. The quality of garments is reduced as the retailers compete with lower prices to appeal to mainstream consumers.

Fair Trade is an organized social movement.

Their goal is to help developing countries achieve better trading conditions and adopt sustainable processes. For a garment or a even fabric to be Fairtrade Certified it must meet certain criteria in its production and all of the trading costs. The production of the fabric must involve fair pay for workers, be harvested and produced sustainably and given a fair trading price. Their results in many Fair Trade products having a slightly higher price but the extra cost goes back to support the workers and countries of its origins.

Fast/Slow

95

Forever 21 McDonalds

is the

of the

fashion industry Sustain Your Style

Slow a

nd

sFa t

Fast Fashion it’s purpose is to work with simple signals to foster unconscious actions.

Fast Fashion tries to inuence your instinctual lizard brain.

Fast/Slow

97

Slow Fashion has a purpose to make you think and reect.

Slow Fashion classic products that last more than one season.

Sustain Your Style

NEWS IN OCTOBER 2017:

FAST FASHION COMPANIES SELL “FEMINIST T-SHIRTS FOR 6.99”

Fast/Slow

99

NEWS IN OCTOBER 2017:

14 YEAR OLD GIRL

DIES TRYING TO REACH HER MONTHLY BONUS.

Sustain Your Style

The fast fashion factory in Rana Plaza collapsed and killed 1,138 People.

Fast/Slow

101

How Rana Plaza Collapsed Floors from the 5th to the 8th built between 2008 and 2012 without any supporting walls.

Six garment factories were housed on the 3rd to 8th oors.

The morning of; cracks were noticed on the building.

The collapse also caused cave in of the neighboring three-story building.

Unspecified number of people are still trapped.

Filled-up pond water created a weak foundation.

Sustain Your Style

In 2006-07, a 4 story building with supporting walls was built without permission.

Fast Fashion: 9.7 Billion

The worlds population is estimated to reach over 9.7 billion by 2050.

50 Billion

By 2050 women in America will own over 50 billion items of clothing.

2nd Most Toxic Industry

120 20 Items of Clothing Clot

The average women in America has 120 items of clothing in her wardrobe.

575 Billion

The U.S and Europe are the largest consumers of fashion with the retail

Fashion and Textiles are the worlds

market worth $75 billion USD is 2012.

second dirtiest industries after oil.

35 % of all Clothing & Textiles are made in China.

Fast/Slow

A Breakdown 4.6 Million Containers

103

46.3 Billion Garments

A 20 foot containers carrying an average

Made in China.

of 10,000 pcs equals 4.63 million containers on ships powered by low grade dirty bunker fuel.

40% of all Clothing is Cotton

2.6% of the Worlds Water

700 Gallons

4% of Landfills

To produce a single T-shirt it

takes 700 gallons of water.

are filled with clothing and textiles.

Sustain Your Style

takes 700 gallons of water.

Growing cotton uses 2.6% of our water.

What Happens When Fashion Becomes Fast, Disposable & Cheap?

When it comes to clothes these days, maybe you should ask: What's your waste size?

the U.S. alone. In 2014, the average household spent an average $1,786 on apparel and related services.

You know you have those clothes sitting in your closet: That shirt you spent less than $10 on because it looked cool for a second, or that skirt you only wore once before it went out of fashion.

More styles mean more purchases — and that leads to more waste created. Journalist and author Elizabeth Cline writes in her book Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion that disposable clothing is damaging to the environment and the entire economy. We are more likely to dispose of cheaper, mass-produced fashion garments than pricier ones.

Fashion cycles are moving faster than ever.

A Quartz article in December revealed how fashion brands like Zara, Gap and Adidas are churning out new styles more frequently, a trend dubbed "fast fashion" by many in the industry. The clothes that are mass-produced also become more affordable, thus attracting consumers to buy more.

“It used to be four seasons in a year; now it may be up to 11 or 15 or more,” says Tasha Lewis, a professor at Cornell University’s Department of Fiber Science and Apparel Design.

The top fast fashion retailers grew 9.7 percent per year over the last five years, topping the 6.8 percent of growth of traditional apparel companies, according to financial holding company CIT. Fashion is big business. Estimates vary, but one report puts the global industry at $1.2 trillion, with more than $250 billion spent in

“We don’t necessarily have the ability to handle the disposal,” Lewis says. “The rate of disposal is not keeping up with the availability of places to put everything that we’re getting rid of and that’s the problem.”

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 15.1 million tons of textile waste was generated in 2013, of which 12.8 million tons were discarded.

How To Deal With All This Textile Waste?

One way developed nations get rid of their excess clothing is by donating it to a lot of developing nations. According to the United Nations, the United States is the biggest long term exporter of used clothes, and the top importing countries of used clothing are India, Russia and Pakistan.

Fast/Slow

105

In 2014, the average household spent an average $1,786 on apparel and related services.

15.1 million tons of textile waste was generated in 2013

The clothes are mass-produced.

Sustain Your Style

But with the strong dollar and availability of a lot of cheap clothing from Asia, some are worried that demand for exports of secondhand clothing will decline — thus forcing developed nations to find new ways to deal with post-consumer textile waste.

Fast fashion and the disposable culture is also hurting sorting companies that export second-hand clothing.

Adam Baruchowitz, founder of Wearable Collections in New York City, collects second-hand clothing and sells it to sorting companies. The companies then sort through the clothes, separating those that will be made into other low-grade fiber products and those that will be exported.

Baruchowitz says the most valuable part of a sorting company’s business is in selling reusable second-hand clothing. But if the quality is questionable, more of the garments collected might have to head to the shredding bin rather than the second-hand clothes market.

“It’s very damaging to the environment, this fast fashion culture, and it also affects the secondhand market because these clothes aren’t meant to be used for so long,” he says. “I can’t say for sure, but the secondhand H&Ms would probably be in less demand than a garment that was produced with more quality. I’m getting all this stuff from fast fashion and I’m hearing from all these clients that it is seriously hurting them.”

Fast fashion and the disposable culture is hurting the environment.

Several clothing retailers have announced take-back programs that collect used garments from customers to be recycled, sold or remade into other clothing. H&M, for example, has allowed a lot of customers to bring unwanted garments — which will then be transformed to recycled textile fibers for new products — since 2013. The company aims to have “zero garments going to landfill.”

Patagonia also recycles and sells used Patagonia products in its stores. It plays into the concept of extended producer responsibility, which means the manufacturer has to take into consideration the product's afterlife.

Fast/slow

Do Retailers’ Recycling Programs Encourage Consumerism?

107

But does it actually encourage more consumerism? For many stores, customers can get store credit and vouchers for sending in used clothing.

"If you bring it back to the store and you see something new and you're going to give me a discount, I'm having a buying moment I may not have had before because you're having me back at your store. It's very smart in terms of business," Lewis says.

The concept, however, might encourage a different type of long term thinking: If manufacturers have to think about how they are going to get the most out of the product after it has been worn, Lewis says, it might spur them to start designing products that can be taken apart easily, have better and longer quality, or become biodegradable, for example.

Grassroots Efforts To Counter Fast Fashion A year ago, a few users began uploading YouTube videos of themselves exchanging clothes with friends. It was either that, or they were showcasing how they made new styles out of their old, scrappy clothes.

It was an activity that was part of the larger Fashion Revolution movement started in the United Kingdom that aimed to bring awareness to the source of our garments — as well as the waste created by our consumerist habits.

Sustain Your Style

“It’s an alternative haul. It’s looking at how people can do a type of different kind of haul, how people can refresh their wardrobe without having to buy new clothes,” says Carry Somers, co-founder of the movement.

“ It’s very damaging to the environment, this fast fashion culture, and it also affects the secondhand market because these clothes aren’t meant to be used for so long.

Fast/Slow

109

Instead of constantly buying new clothes, the movement suggested people buy from many vintage stores, make new clothes out of old ones or just swap clothes. Fashion Revolution Week will take place April 18-24 and the participants are encouraged to upload their “haulternative” videos this year as well.

Some companies are experimenting with new ideas. Rent The Runway, for example, rents out branded clothes to customers who pay a monthly fee. Those concerned about the mounting waste hopped onto an opposing concept: Instead of buying cheap clothes, you can invest in slightly costly clothes with good quality that might last you longer. The city of San Francisco was aware of this problem in 2002 — and pledged a goal of reaching zero waste by 2020 by encouraging the recycling of clothes, shoes and linen.

Sustain Your Style

“I think for clothing, because we’re a giant consumer culture, it’s hard for me to say don’t buy anything,” Lewis says. “We can probably slow down how much we as consumers buy.”

This book was created, researched, and illustrated by Meghan Quinn.

This book is set in Avenir Book 10/13pt.

This book is set in Adobe Garamond Pro 30/15pt.

This book is set in Awesome Birds 30/15pt.

Lowell, Massachusetts Š 2018.

Index

Index

111 Dean , Christina. “What Happens to Clothing That Goes Unsold?”

Redress, 2017, www.redress.com. hk/updates/2017/10/20/whathappens-to-clothing-that-goesunsold.

Dickinson, Maureen, et al. “The Slow Fashion Movement.” Essay | Feature | NOT JUST A LABEL, www.notjustalabel.com/editorial/ slow-fashion-movement.

“FASHION FACTS.” Sustainable Fashion Matterz, www.sustainablefashionmatterz.com/fashion-facts/.

Leigh, Samantha. “Fast Fashion And Fast Food.” HuffPost UK, HuffPost UK, 10 Apr. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/ samantha-leigh/fast-fashion-fastfood_b_15872496.html.

“Loved Clothes Last Pledge.”

Fashion Takes Action, fashiontakesaction.com/pledge/.

Martinko, Katherine. “On Creating a Zero Waste Beauty Routine.”

TreeHugger, Treehugger, 5 Feb. 2018, www.treehugger.com/organic-beauty/creating-zero-wastebeauty-routine.html.

“The Secret Life of Your Donated Clothes.” Idioma, www.idioma.

Sterbenz, Christina. “I Bought a Plain, White Button-up Made of This 'Luxury' Fabric - and Now I'm Hooked.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 27 Sept. 2015, www. businessinsider.com/how-tencelcompares-to-cotton-2015-9.

Tan, Zhai Yun. “What Happens When Fashion Becomes Fast, Disposable And Cheap?” NPR, NPR, 10 Apr. 2016, www.npr. org/2016/04/08/473513620/whathappens-when-fashion-becomesfast-disposable-and-cheap.

Thinker, Pioneer. “Making Natural Dyes from Plants.” Pioneer Thinking, 2012, pioneerthinking.com/ natural-dyes.

“Wear the Change: Free Online Education to Help You Build a Sustainable Future.” Eco Warrior Princess, 30 May 2017, ecowarriorprincess.net/2017/05/ wear-the-change-free-onlineeducation-to-help-you-build-asustainable-future/.

“What Is Zero Waste Fashion Design All About?” The Swatch Book, 25 Apr. 2017, theswatchbook.offsetwarehouse. com/2017/04/26/zero-waste-fashion-design/.

Sustain Your Style

A, N. “Why Transparency Matters .” Fashionrevolution.org, 2014, www.fashionrevolution.org/about/ why-transparency-matters/.

world/blogs/journal/the-secretlife-of-your-donated-clothes.

It�is time to help stop this vicious fast fashion cycle and become more Sustainable.