Why Switch From Fast to Slow-Fashion?
Fashion has always fascinated me. Although looking at photos from the noughties, that’s definitely a questionable statement! Still, I stand by it. I love clothes. I’m a self-professed ASOS scroller. I’ve spent entire Saturdays between the rails in New Look. I was the Queen of the Primark sales. And I’ve scoured Pretty Little Thing for a going out-out dress on multiple occasions. However, I don’t do those things anymore. I haven’t for a while. Growing up, browsing the high-street was intrinsic to my identity. It was a frequent and favourite activity and many of my memories centre around shopping trips. Giving up fast-fashion was unimaginable to me as a teenager. It still was only a few months ago.
So, why the change of heart?
Over lockdown, I cleared out my wardrobe. While filling charity bags and uploading items to Depop, I realised how hypocritical I was being. Arrogantly, I thought I was doing the climate good by putting my old clothes back into circulation (and I was to a degree). But my actions turned pointless as the money made through Depop-selling was used to buy new clothes. Thus allowing another cycle, the chain of fast-fashion, to continue. I was perpetuating it. Yet, I was reluctant to abandon my Topshop jeans and 2-for-£5-t-shirts. Plus, with limited funds and an already established style, I wondered if there was anything I could do about it. Fortunately, there was. I looked into the topic. I googled, listened, researched and thought. What even is fast-fashion? What is slow-fashion? Why switch between them? And is it a possibility on a tight student budget?
I discovered that fast-fashion is the rapid and mass production of clothing to meet trends. The material used to make pieces tends to be low-quality, meaning the cost for both producers and consumers is low. Shoppers purchase fast-fashion because of the price-tag and promise of being “trendy”. Trends are contrived to come and go so that people buy the new and discard the old. While slow-fashion promotes vintage and second-hand shopping to encourage sustainability, it also supports altering old clothes, shopping from sustainable brands, purchasing higher quality garments with longer lifespans and keeping what you already have.
Considering my options, I knew which I preferred. Still, I was uncertain about abandoning what I knew. I’d always admired people who could pull off vintage outfits and look like they’d walked out a magazine. Or those who had the time and money to raid charity shops and kilo sales. I wasn’t sure that I could be one of them. I was scared I’d end up resembling a grandad in an old cable knit jumper, out of pocket with little to show for it. So I continued with my research. I had to convince myself. My mind changed when I uncovered the impact of the fast-fashion industry. In my opinion, the three primary problems stemming from fast-fashion are climate change, worker’s welfare and wastage.
The fashion industry is responsible for about 10% of the world’s carbon footprint, which is as shocking as it is needless. Around 1.7 billion tonnes of C02 is produced by the industry annually. Approximately 35% of all microplastics in the ocean are from clothes and textiles. The statistics surprised me. I’d never thought about where my clothes came from or what they were hurting, I just wore them. As for the people producing them, fashion is the most labour dependent industry on earth. In Bangladesh alone, it employs 3 million workers, over 85% of whom are women. These workers get paid £25 monthly, far below living wage, to work too many hours in unfit conditions. Above all, fast-fashion isn’t made to last. We bin clothes when the next trend emerges, or we stop fitting into them. Around 89% of all clothes produced end up in landfill sites. Which is damaging for the environment and wasteful when they could be worn instead.
It seems like a no-brainer. We want to be kind to the planet. We want long-lasting clothing. We want to support independent businesses as opposed to corporate chains. Ultimately, we want to purchase slow-fashion. But it isn’t always that simple. For many people, justifiably, clothing is the last thing on their minds, especially at such a turbulent time. The means to choose between fast and slow-fashion is a privilege not everyone has. I don’t know how long I will have it. And that’s okay. We’re struggling students, and lots of us want to look like the latest Nasty Gal campaign. Fast-fashion appears to be designed for us, and converting to slow-fashion seems expensive and sacrificial. But there are options even if they aren't obvious instantly. It is daunting to change following a literal lifetime of wearing fast-fashion, but I’m realising that it can be done affordably. We just have to be conscious and creative in the process.
Sources
https://waronwant.org/fashion-victims-facts
https://sloactive.com/slow-fashion-guide/
