Miu Miu Hub Zine

Graphics:

CONTENTS

What Is a Hub?

‘HUB’ DEFENITION:

noun

The central and most important part of a place or activity.

(Oxford Dictionary, 2023)

RUBBISH

Over the last few years, the catastrophic effect that the fashion industry has on the environment has become increasingly apparent, and we feel that it is our responsibility to inform and educate our customers on how we address these issues, and how they can enjoy and dispose of fashion in the most environmentally friendly way.

Over-consumption from both suppliers and consumers means that we are wasting resources that we cannot afford. The fast fashion industry relies on cheap, disposable clothing that is produced quickly and sold at very low prices. These items are not made to last, yet the low prices encourage customers to buy and discard these pieces at an alarming rate, resulting in landfill sites piling up with discarded clothing and textile waste that is not decomposing safely (Oxfam, 2021). The pollution caused from this requires serious consideration, and the customer can play an significant role in driving this change. Supporting sustainable businesses, or choosing high-quality clothing that is intended to last, will slow down the demand for these fast fashion brands.

THE PROBLEMS WITH THE FASHION INDUSTRY :(

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF WHEN SHOPPING

Do I Love It?

Will I Still Want This In 2 Months?

How Often Will I Wear This?

Would I Buy It If It Wasn’t On Sale?

Does It Represent Good Value?

THINK MORE RESPONSIBLY

DO NOT OVER CONSUME ITEMS THAT ARE NOT NEEDED

BE CONSIDERATE WHEN DISPOSING OF OLD GARMENTS

As part of the luxury fashion market, here at Miu Miu, we are not pretending we are a sustainable brand. We are guilty of over-consuming fabrics and textiles which do not sell, due to the exclusivity of the brand. However, we do want to explore more sustainable alternatives and change the way we run our business. Miu Miu has a responsibility to educate our customers, to allow them to make an informed decision about the products that they are spending their hard-earned money on.

ONE

TRUCK OF TEXTILE WASTE IS LANDFILLED EVERY SECOND (DEAN, 2022)

THE ISSUES

The global fashion industry produces 92 million tons of textile waste per annum, with this figure estimated to have increased a further 60% back in 2023 (Rauturier, 2022).

THE FASHION INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTES TO ABOUT 10% OF GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE (Dean, 2022).

In the past 15 years, clothing production has doubled (Greenpeace, 2019).

If the industry continues on its current path, we will miss the 1.5- degree pathway by 50% (Dean, 2022).

Fashion production makes up 10% of humanity’s carbon emissions, dries up water sources, and pollutes rivers and streams (Business Insider, 2020).

There is an increase in the amount clothing that is produced using oil, driving continued exploration for fossil fuels (Greenpeace, 2019).

Issues

Cotton is not a sustainable solution, due to the vast amount of land and water that it needs to grow. It takes 10,000 to 20,000 litres of water to produce just 1kg of cotton clothing (Greenpeace, 2022).

15 million dollars’ worth of textile waste in the US alone ends up in landfills (Dean, 2022).

Since 2000, we are buying twice the amount of clothing and only wearing it for half the time (Greanpeace, 2019).

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WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY?

Sustainability is...

Fulfilling the needs of current generations without compromising the needs of future generations, while ensuring a balance between economic growth, environmental care and social well-being

This term is commonly mistaken as an environmental-related term only. However, sustainability is broken into three core concepts: economic, environmental, and social (Mollenkamp, 2023).

and

it is

TOO EXPENSIVE

ALL ABOUT RECYCLING & THE ENVIRONMENT

MEANING WE HAVE TO LOWER OUR STANDARD OF LIVING

(Oxford Dictionary, 2023)

ALWAYS RESOLVED WITH NEW TECHNOLOGY

Susainability

WHAT YOU CAN DO

How To Shop, Dispose, Any Enjoy Fashion In The Most Entironmentally Conscious Way.

UPCYCLING

Upcycling clothing is the reuse of discarded objects or materials in various ways, to create a product of higher quality than the original. Visit www.upcycledbymiumiu.com for inspiration from our previous designs.

DONATE UNWANTED CLOTHING INSTEAD OF THROWING IN THE BIN

Charity shops, fire stations, homeless shelters and clothing banks all accept clothing and will either re-sell or donate clothing to people who are in need. Organisations such as the American Textile Recycling Service, The Bra Recyclers UK, and Operation Blessing China, all help to dispose of, or recycle garments in the most sustainable way.

CHINA: Roundabout, Tongzhou, The Fiber Project

US: Pkanet Aid, Grow Nyc, Blue Jeans Go Green

UK: The Salvation Army, London Recycles, Traid

BECOMING BETTER VERSIONS OF OURSELVES

INVEST IN HIGH QUALITY CLOTHING

Trying to save money by buying cheaper clothes is not always an effective and sustainable way to shop. These garments are not made to have a long lifecycle and therefore need replacing frequently. Buying higher quality clothing and taking care of it properly can save money in the long run.

SECOND HAND SHOPPING

Your turn

Shopping via second hand stores has many benefits that high street brands cannot fulfil, offering the opportunity to find unique items, experiment with your personal style and discover bargains, whilst supporting a more sustainable and circular way to shop. Online websites like Tradesy, eBay, Depop, and allow customers to buy and sell old and unwanted garments through an online shopping service.

CHINA: Feimayi Vie WeChat, Alibaba, Indetexx

US: Poshmark, Threadup, Platocloset, Depop

UK: Ebay, Vinted, Vestiaire Collective, Depop

WE ARE NOT A SUSTAINABLE BRAND

BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN WE SHOULD NOT RAISE AWARENESS AND TRY TO BECOME THE MOST RESPONSIBLE VERSION OF OURSELVES.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR MIU MIU?

At Miu Miu, we want to use our platform to benefit future generations and educate customers on these industry concerns. The team here have been working hard to create a collection that reduces the quantity of fabric waste send to landfill.

In 2020, we started exploring old Miu Miu products, to devise a plan on how these could be upcycled to fit in with current trends and styles, and thus, ‘Upcycled by Miu Miu’ was born. We are aware that not all of our products are sustainable or responsible, however, we are committed to exploring new practices, methods and materials to introduce into our brand and further collections, that should raise our game in this field.

ReMiuMiu INTRODUCTION

What ReMiuMiu is and the goals from this collection.

GOALS:

TO UPCYCLE OLD FABRICS INTO NEW ITEMS OR DONATE TO EDUCATION CENTRES TO SUPPORT YOUNG CREATIVES.

FIRST COLLECTION

LAUNCHES 11TH JUNE ‘24

WHAT IS IT?

Like many luxury brands, we are guilty of over-consuming fabrics and resources, and so we have been investigating ways to cut down on this waste and reduce the amount we send to landfill. ‘ReMiuMiu’ is a collection of tote bags, made up using scraps of fabrics from past collections, that will be introduced as a core collection within the Miu Miu brand and released every June. The collection will use 50% of the fabric scraps built up over the previous year, with the other 50% donated to supply textile students.

TO INSPIRE PEOPLE TO RECYCLE THEIR OWN OLD FABRICS AND CLOTHING TO CREATE NEW GARMENTS.

TO REDUCE MIU MIU’S TOTAL FABRIC WASTE BY 75% IN THE FIRST YEAR.

Miu Miu is dedicated to making a difference, both environmentally and socially. We have started working with more than 20 universities, colleges and education centres across the world, donating fabric and materials to young creatives. Amongst these are: UCL London, Fashion Revolution, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.

THE FUTURE FOR MIU MIU

It is important that we give our customers an insight into the brand and products that they are investing in, to which we want to be transparent regarding the goals we aim to achieve, and how we intend to go about it.

2020 WE ARE HERE

Back in 2020, we banned the use of fur from Miu Miu collections.

In December 2020, ‘Upcycled by Miu Miu’ was launched, followed by a collaboration with

First ReMiuMiu Collection launch 24

Reduce fabric waste by 75% within a year of launching ‘ReMiuMiu’ 2024-2025.

By 2026, we hope to cut out all plastic packaging for online deliveries, replacing this with cardboard and paper alternatives. Further plastic packaging used during the supply chain will be 100% recycled, reusable, and recyclable.

From March 2027, we hope to develop new fabrics and materials to be incorporated into further collections, and to introduce vegan leather options.

By 2028, we aim to expand our donation locations by 60%.

By 2030, Miu Miu will have reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by 50% and their environmental impact by 40%.

IN THE

NEXT ISSUE 2/2 24

Interview With Sustainability Expert And Brand Owner, Josefin Wanner

Updates On How We Are Aiming To Accomplish Our Goals

The Upcoming Changes To Miu Miu’s Postal And Packaging Services

Launches 8th October 2024

REFERENCES

Algamal, A. (2019) New shocking facts about the impact of fast fashion on our climate. Oxfam. [Online] (Accessed 2/05/2023) https://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam-in-action/oxfam-blog/new-shocking-facts-about-the-impact-of-fast-fashion-onour-climate/#:~:text=Fast%20fashion%20pollution,textile%20waste%20is%20piling%20up.

Dean, C. (2022) Experts Q&Q: Creating a Sustainable Fashion Industry. Browzwear. [Online] (Accessed 2/05/2023) https://browzwear.com/sustainability-interviews/ Lawson-Abelvik, H. (2020) The UK’s fast fashion habit is getting worse – and it’s destroying the planet. Greenpeace. [Online] (Accessed 2/05/2023) https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/news/the-uks-fast-fashion-habit-is-getting-worse-and-its-destroying-the-planet/

Lemonick, M. (2009) Top 10 Myths about Sustainability. Scientific American. [Online] (Accessed 2/05/2023) https://www. scientificamerican.com/article/top-10-myths-about-sustainability/

Mollenkamp, D. (2023) What is Sustainability? How Sustainability’s Work, Benefits, and Examples. Investopedia. [Online] (Accessed 2/05/2023) https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sustainability.asp#:~:text=Sustainability%20is%20ability%20 to%20maintain,environmental%20footprints%20and%20conserving%20resources