Blog Post - Fighting Fast Fashion, the creation of Slow Fashion.
What is fast fashion?
Fast fashion refers to a highly industrialized and rapidly evolving approach to clothing production and consumption that has gained immense popularity in recent years. It is characterized by low-cost, trendy garments that are designed and manufactured quickly to meet the demands of consumers who seek the latest fashion trends at affordable prices. However, behind the glitz and glamour lies a dark side. Fast fashion contributes to various environmental and social issues. The rapid turnover of styles leads to excessive resource consumption, including water, energy, and raw materials, while generating enormous amounts of waste. Moreover, the exploitative nature of fast fashion often involves unethical labor practices, such as low wages, long working hours, and unsafe working conditions, particularly in developing countries where the majority of production takes place. As consumers become more aware of these detrimental impacts, there is a growing movement towards sustainable and ethical fashion alternatives, emphasizing the need for responsible production and conscious consumption to minimize the negative consequences of fast fashion on our planet and the people who make our clothes.
How is Love, Suzie helping?
Here at Love, Suzie we are trying to not add to the excessive waste of clothing being produced and thrown away. We make every item to order, with the added option of personalising sizes so the customer is more likely to wear and fit into the clothing and keeping our pieces longer.
What is Slow Fashion?
Slow fashion is a deliberate and mindful approach to clothing production and consumption that aims to counteract the negative impacts of fast fashion. It promotes sustainable and ethical practices throughout the entire fashion supply chain, from design to production, distribution, and consumption. Unlike fast fashion, which prioritizes speed and mass production, slow fashion focuses on quality, durability, and timeless style. It encourages consumers to invest in well-made garments that are meant to last, rather than following fleeting trends. Slow fashion embraces local and artisanal craftsmanship, supporting local economies and preserving traditional techniques. It emphasizes transparency, fair trade, and ethical labor practices, ensuring that workers are treated fairly and paid a living wage. Moreover, slow fashion advocates for sustainable materials, such as organic and recycled fibers, and promotes recycling and upcycling to reduce waste. By embracing slow fashion, individuals can contribute to a more sustainable and responsible fashion industry, making thoughtful choices that align with their values and have a positive impact on the environment and society.
Buying clothes made to order, from a small business is one way to help not support the poor working conditions and low wages.
‘Clothes are produced cheaply which often means low wages and poor working conditions for garment workers. With rising labour costs in countries like China and Bangladesh, garment brands are looking to new markets where labour costs are low, often because there is no legal minimum wage because governments are keen not to discourage foreign investment by increasing these costs’ - Oxfam
How you can help?
~Buying from small business who make their items to order to stop the over production of clothing.
~Clothing companies create more than 1 million garments every day. — Greenpeace
~Extending the average life of clothes by just nine months would save £5 billion in resources used to supply, launder and dispose of clothing. — WRAP research
~Around 300,000 tonnes of textile waste ends up in household black bins every year, sent to landfill or incinerators. Less than 1% of material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing at the end of its life. — House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, 2019