Slow fashion versus fast fashion?
First off, what is slow fashion? it’s a concept which advocates for manufacturing in respect to people, environment and animals. It’s thoughtful, intentional, and holistic, fighting excessive production, overcomplicated supply chains, and mindless consumption.
Fast fashion on the other hand creates cheap, trendy clothing that samples ideas from the industry and turns them into garments at breakneck speed to meet consumer demand. fast fashion forms a key part of the toxic system of overproduction and consumption that has made fashion one of the world’s largest polluters.
But why is fast fashion so bad?
Well the reasons are too many to name. Here’s just a few:
the byproduct of textile factories producing fast fashion items is untreated toxic wastewater.
the fast fashion industry hurts soil, woodland, and our entire ecosystems.
garment workers face long working hours, extremely low pay, hazardous working conditions and many more inhumane factors.
Producing, manufacturing and transporting the millions of garments produced each year uses a lot of the earth's natural resources.
How can you spot fast fashion
In slow fashion the garments are made from high quality, sustainable or reused materials and the garments are timeless rather than trendy. The garments made are mostly made and sold at the same spot, helping revive the local economy.
Just like the clothes I make, in slow fashion practices items are often made-to-order to reduce any unnecessary production and waste. Thus they’re also sold in small quantities, either as capsule collections or small collections that come out two or four times a year, rather than every other month like in fast fashion.
What can you do to make the world a little bit better?
The golden rule in ethical fashion is buy less, choose well and make it last. If something breaks, don’t just throw it out, but try to mend it yourself or bring it to a seamstress. If you’re tired of your old clothes then pass them along to your friends, family or bring them to a local charity shop. Just as well, you can always buy second hand or choose to buy from ethical brands. And shop local! And if you want to go the extra mile, speak up! You can take part in online campaigns and educate the people around you.
Let's remember that there's a human being and their skills behind every garment that you own. Time and effort has been put into them and they deserve our respect in return.
It's hard and takes a long time to change the fashion industry from exploiting their workers for corporate profit, but with every purchase we're voting. Voting for the veto of old ways.