Recently I have become more aware with the fashion industry chain, from the people behind the garments, to the buyers and then to the bin. Especially learning the importance of the garments that we wear on a regular basis. We need to think before we buy! We need to ask ourselves are we going to wear this at least 30 times? Throughout summer I read about Livia Firth, the Co-Founder and Creative Director of Eco-Age. In 2016 she launched the #30Wears campaign and to this day the hashtag holds over 111K posts. I decided to take on the challenge. I found myself valuing my clothes more, being more creative with my outfits and thinking, how many ways can I wear an item, before buying them.

‘Buy less. Choose well. Make it last.’ (Vivienne Westwood)

Vivienne Westwood was one of the most influential fashion designers and activists in the world. Throughout her career she has been using her platform for positive activism. She has spent years relentlessly speaking out about over-consumption and climate change, bringing the issues to light through her fashion and opinions. In the London Paralympics closing ceremony, Westwood begins the Climate Revolution, a year after she published her Manifesto called 'Active Resistance to Propaganda'. Then in her Autumn '13 show, guests received copies of Westwood's Climate Revolution with a guide of How to join the Revolution; One being 'Money is a means, not an end in itself', two was 'Quality v. Quantity.' and three was 'Buy less, choose well, make it last'. Although during fashion week 2012 she decided to add 'Even better, don’t buy anything.', she was even talking about her own new collection. A true designer that had dedicated her career to sustainability, she used her platform and her voice to promote awareness. I will always be inspired by her views and actions within the fashion industry. 

In my late teens I started secondhand shopping. Mainly due to being a student and earning minimum wage, I couldn’t keep affording these high street brands as the prices kept gradually rising. My peers at school would say that it wasn’t fashionable, they are ‘dead people’ clothes or my grandma shops there. There are many perceptions of a charity shop, from one end of the spectrum being that they are other peoples junk , to the other finding a designer belt for only a couple of quid. On the other hand buying from a charity shop has its benefits: the profits go towards something that matters, it stops you buying into the fast fashion industry and provides you with unique pieces of clothes. Majority of my wardrobe is now secondhand and the outfits that get the most compliments are the charity shop finds.

Why do we need to change?

From Stacey Dooley Investigates, I became aware that the fashion industry is the second most polluting industry on the planet. With the most obvious impact of fast fashion being landfill due to the excessive production. The fashion industry is an environmentally and socially problematic disaster, with too many unsustainable materials thrown away into landfill or burnt due to this the carbon footprint is increasing. 

Most of these materials that are thrown into landfill will generate methane, and the toxic chemicals and dyes are then leaking into the groundwater and soil. Even burning these garments cause toxic fumes releasing them into the atmosphere causing more and more pollution. It takes over two hundred years to decompose these materials and methane is known to be responsible for global warming. Then we have to think about the people behind these clothes; the cotton farmers they face a range of challenges from the impact of climate change, the poor prices for seed cotton and not being paid fairly. The garment workers sometimes have no ventilation, they breathe in toxic fumes, inhaling fibre dust or blasted sand in unsafe buildings with their awful working conditions and being paid unfairly. This industry is an environmentally and socially problematic disaster. 

In 2018, BBC aired Stacey Dooley Investigates: Fashion’s Dirty Secrets. While Dooley looks into the addiction of fast fashion and the environmental disasters of the fashion industry, she uncovers the truth behind the cotton production and its damage to the environment. Considering it has always been perceived as a rich, natural and more breathable fabric, it always seems to be on the 'good' list even though the negative effects it has on our planet and our people. 

As a result of the affects of the cotton production, The Aral Sea that lies between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan has began shrinking and now where fish used to swim, camels wander. The enormity of the situation has affected the public health crisis, the unemployment and not only the weather but the seasons too.

In 2020, Lauren Bravo wrote this fabulous and compassionate book, How to Break Up with Fast Fashion. Her relationship with fashion is just the same as mine, 'clothes are my most devoted hobby. I’ve shopped liked it is going out of fashion’. Bravo's style of writing has made me love clothes even more. Her passion transcended through the page inspiring me to change my habits. I decided to become a more conscious consumer and here are a few small steps I took in order to change. 

1. Buy Secondhand

If you love fashion like myself and are obsessed with shopping and spending money, take a look into buying secondhand from charity shops, to online selling platforms such as Vinted, Facebook Marketplace and Depop. I have found some gorgeous pieces! Did you know the difference between Vintage and Secondhand? I only just found this out when I visited Brussels in December 2022, at a Secondhand and Vintage tour, which I will touch on a bit more later. Traditional Vintage clothing would have been made over twenty to hundred years ago and a majority of vintage will be secondhand, as it's probably been pre-owned or passed down through the generations. Although a secondhand piece of clothing such as a Primark jumper from last years collection maybe labelled as secondhand and vintage, this doesn't come under the criteria as vintage. A lot of places try and bump up the price tag stating it's vintage when it's not, so be careful!

2. Repair your clothes

I recently had another incident with my jeans, they always rip within the inner thigh. I get that its to do with the friction and having thunder thighs probably doesn't help either. Rather than throwing them away, I try my best to sew them back together. In 2022, Chanel 5 aired Primark: How They Really Do It?, they spoke about their changes and that they have introduced instore workshops offering their customers an insight to repairing their garments. Rather than putting them in landfill and adding to the 360,000 tonnes of the textiles thrown away in the UK every year.

3. #30Wears Campaign 

I first heard about the 30 wears challenge through Giada Nizzoli from an article she had written for Project Cece. 'On average, clothes are only worn seven times before being discarded' meaning that more and more clothes are going to landfill. The challenge started back in 2015 by Livia Firth, a climate activist. In 2016, the challenge became a global success '#30Wears' has held 111K posts today encouraging consumers to slow down fast fashion and think before they buy and discard. I decided to take on the challenge, asking myself ‘will I wear it 30 times?’ whenever buying new clothes. Being honest with myself was the hardest although I found myself valuing clothes more, being more creative with my outfits and thinking before buying.

4. ‘No New Clothes’ Challenge.

Last year I decided that I wanted to give up fast fashion after reading Lauren Bravo's book; How to Break Up with Fast Fashion. Bravo talks about giving up fast fashion for a year, well I thought a year would be too difficult, so I decided to just do it for three months last February. After three months I had accomplished the 'No New Clothes' challenge and decided to carry it on, it's now nearly a year. I challenged myself as I knew I needed to change my shopping habits. I was buying more than I needed and if you know me I have very little willpower, but love a good challenge. I genuinely thought I wouldn't even last three months! I had set some rules with this challenge; one being underwear and socks are an exception due to hygiene and two being that I can shop secondhand in charity shops, vintage or online pre-sales. The hardest part was the first three months to stop the urge to impulse buy, but after the three months it felt easier. Surprisingly, I was only been tempted a few times, usually the temptation has been the sales, with retail luring you in making you believe you need to buy a product now! A sale isn't exactly a sale, the sale price is built into the brands expected profit margin and the full price sales are a bonus keeping the brand happy with the extra profit margin they have gained. These big brands 'trap' us into thinking we are sustaining the benefits although they are using phases such as 'For a limited time only.' or 'Last chance.' in order to coerce the sale. Every time I need a shopping fix, I take myself to the charity shop instead! But I must say I have been enjoying shopping my own wardrobe creating new outfits and becoming creative.

5. Join the Slow Movement

As I became aware of the effects of the fashion industry I wanted to become a responsible consumer. I stopped buying into the fast fashion business models, that are well known to be key contributors to the toxic behaviour towards the garment workers and the pollution to our planet. I have been choosing quality over quanity by buying products that are made to last. Be a responsible consumer and don't over consume. 

Each of these small steps made the transition from fast fashion to slow fashion a lot easier, the hardest was trying to repair my own clothes especially the jeans. I still struggle now, but I am being patient and learning. I am glad to say I am now a conscious consumer and have stopped contributing to such toxic and inhumane behaviour and abuse within the fashion industry.

Since becoming more aware, I have felt that every garment has its own story. A Lecturer, Sophie Woodward wrote a book; Why women wear what they wear?, She talks about women in society and how each garment has a story, 'as women wear particular items of clothing, they come to hold memories and personal meanings.'. Every piece of clothing can remind you of either the last funeral you have attended to the last birthday ‘fit' you picked out. Each have stories and memories that you have created but what if I told you that they had stories before you wore them. From the person making the fabrics, the person putting in that first stitch and the person doing the last, the factories and countries it may have encountered. These garments have has a life before its hanging in your wardrobe.

In a Podcast with Clare Press, she talks with a young dressmaker Ali Dibley about her Vintage dress hire store. Ali names each of the Vintage dresses after their owners. Each story is treasured. During the discussion you can see that both Ali and Clare believe that clothes are not only have these amazing stories but they have memories and their own personality from their previous owners. After listening to these stories I thought about my own clothes hanging in my wardrobe, one particular dress that I adore which I wore to my prom back in 2017. I can still picture that day even now just by looking at the dress and feeling utterly gorgeous, like it was my princess moment.

The last chapter is Clare Press' book; Wardrobe Crisis is called 'Can we really change our ways?'. She talks about Sheena Matheiken a Brooklyn-based, Creative Director who launched The Uniform Project back in 2009. Sheena wore the The Little Black Dress for 365 consecutive days in many creative ways, she used this platform to explore sustainability and show the many ways one piece can be transformed and can be worn more than once. The Uniform Project was a huge success, raising over 100k for providing uniforms and educational costs of underprivileged children in India. Matheiken puts together an interactive picture book to gain media attention by Day 32, she officially launched her site bringing her concept to life. By day 45 she had managed to raise the funds to give one child the chance of an education. The educational gain from this project is phenomenal. By Day 365, Sheena had raised $79,583 putting 221 children into education. Having an education is a gift, many people don't realise how lucky we are. By having an education you have a better chance at achieving equal opportunities and it can lead to financial stability, job security and life skills.

Clare Press also introduces us to Tamara DiMattina a former consumer PR, who started a National Campaign, Buy Nothing New Month (BNNM). Clare writes as though you can hear them discussing the 'Buy Nothing New' Month and about 'Secondhand September' and 'Op Shop October', but also expresses her worries within the eco-fashion industry saying 'But second-hand isn't the only sustainable shopping choice. What about ethical fashion retailers and the eco-venders who sell new product'. After reading this I felt I completely agree, I have been so invested in Not Buying New I haven't thought about the ethical retailers or the eco-venders. Therefore I have been switching between the two buying from secondhand and from ethical retailers making changes within the way I shop. Trying to make a difference. Recently I have been questioned Who Made My Clothes? Have you ever ask yourself Who Made your Clothes? I know I never did, and until the 24th April 2013 when a garment factory in the Rana Plaza complex in Bangladesh collapsed, killing 1,134 people mostly young women. I don't think many others knew Who Made our clothes either, it was never ever spoken about. Until Rana Plaza, in the aftermath, the Who Made My Clothes Movement was founded by Orsola de Castro and Carry Somers. They started Fashion Revolution a global movement campaigning for a better fashion industry that values people over growth and profit. It is now the world’s largest fashion activism movement, and growing even more with the hashtag #whomademyclothes. And to this day the hashtags holds over 986K posts.

A sustainable and ethical digital platform; Conscious Life & Style have been one of the top platforms on instagram to be using the #whomademyclothes. The founder of Conscious Life & Style, Elizabeth Joy, realised that her passion for fashion was criticising her values for social justice and human rights. So she began to look at the industry differently advocating for change creating the platform Conscious. On their instagram they share the latest finding on fast fashion retailers and one in particular caught my attention. This was the Chinese fast fashion retailer, Shein. I have always been suspicious of Shein, due to such low prices. On their instagram they post you find out that they are only paying their garment workers 3p an hour. These garment workers work seven days a week, eighteen hours a day and only getting just one day off a month. Another instagram handle @environment posted on 15 August 2022 that "Shein was found to have over 18x the allotted amount of lead in their clothing. lead exposure can lead to mood disorders, reduce sperm count/ abnormal activity and even cause a miscarriage/ stillbirth in pregnant women.". These issues are effecting us dramatically, it could even change the population for years to come. Clothing that contains more than 10 micrograms per decilitre are poisoning to the body according to UCSF (University of California San Francisco) Health. Being that our skin are in close proximities with our clothing, this is a very big issue within fashion and needs to put to a stop. 

The director of The True Cost, Andrew Morgan travels all over the world focusing on the fast fashion industry, from the catwalks to the slums. He captures the harsh reality of this million dollar industry from the impact of the environment to the inhumane affects it has on workers. When I watched this documentary I was shocked with the issues that are still happening in society today. In the slums of northern India the chemicals they have been using are causing jaundice and cancer in the surrounding communities. The long hours, toxic chemicals, the physical and the mental abuse is horrifying and to think that is happening due to what we wear is shameful. Morgan expresses his concerns throughout the documentary and launched the true cost website to give others the knowledge to understand what is happening in front of their own eyes. There's a quote from Andrew Morgan which really speaks to me and makes me appreciate my clothes and urged me to think before I buy more.

“Let's back off this endless, constant purchasing and invest in clothes we love.” (Andrew Morgan)

In the true cost, Stella McCartney talks about leather and the harmful chemicals that are used to tan the leather. These chemicals aren't biodegradable and are harmful affecting local communities water sources. McCartney claims "it's just a very destructive industry" and I agree with the chemicals contaminating nearby communities and the wildlife surrounding them it becomes destructive and inhumane for us to keep going on this way, it's just cruel. Following on to Stella McCartney's interview within The True Cost documentary, I wanted to explore her fashion house and what materials she uses. I decided to go to the source her own website, where she claims 'has never used leather, feathers, fur or skin since day one.'. 

I decided to dig a little deeper and came across an article from Vogue Business by Bella Webb, in May 22' about Stella McCartney's launch of her first-ever mushroom leather bag. To create this bag she worked with a startup company called Mylo whom use a plant-based leather alternative called mycelium in other words its the vegetative body for fungi that produces mushrooms. Which is one of McCartney's most popular handbag, The Frayme Mylo bag made from mushroom leather. She built her fashion house just like her upbringing environmentally-conscious.

As I have mentioned earlier in December last year 2022, I went to Brussels to explore the Christmas markets while I was there I decided to book a Vintage and Secondhand tour. During the tour Aurora and I began sharing our love for fashion and for secondhand. I spoke about breaking up with fast fashion and Aurora said she hasn't shopped fast fashion for at least five years, at the end we switched details and I contacted her to ask for her story and for her reasonings behind true to be told they are similar to mine. Although Aurora got her love for secondhand stores and flea markets for her grandma, I actually got mine through my step-mum. We both love to be able to have these unique pieces but for a fraction of the price. The way Aurora puts across 'I am "vintage and secondhand buyer" in the same way vegetarian people are "not meat and fish consumers".' It's a choice, a commitment to herself and her beliefs within this toxic and destructive industry. 

The author of Eco-Chic Fashion Paradox, Sandy Black talks about the multiple aspects that engages fashion and with this era compare to previous eras the turnovers are more frequent. Consumers are desperately trying to keep in with the trends although while doing so destroying the planet in the meantime. Every year Fast Fashion keeps becoming faster and cheaper fuelled by demand, it continues. Black introduces Katharine Hamnett, 'The Uncrowned Queen of Ethical Fashion', a fashion designer and activist famous for her political t-shirts with important messages and given to people, a simple but effective concept to express these global issues. Hamnett advocated for human rights, social and environmental changes for over thirty years she has fought for sustainability and a fairer future. Her political messages printed on plain white t-shirts stand out forcing these messages to be heard and acted on. 

There is one brand in particular that is always in the media and young girls rave about them, Zara. For a company with such a huge profit margin, there isn't any proof that they are paying their supply chain the current living wage. Lauren Bravo writes “Zara, a brand that produces around 10,000 new designs a year,” an industry more bothered about wealth than people, it’s devastating. Each of these fast fashion retailers are trying to make amends by offering programs such as Zara's parent company has started Closing the Loop which offers customers to drop off their garments in-store to gain a second life. Same as H&M Conscious, and Primark Cares. All three of these companies are either recycling packaging, offering repair workshops and trying to become more sustainable. These are all a good initiative, although it just is never going to be enough when all of these three retailers have such high volumes of stock being produced, these business model are doing more harm than good to the environment and to the people created these garments.

In my opinion we are a society over consume. I feel as though we can still need to be able to treat ourselves from time to time but from secondhand, vintage and ethical retailers rather than these fast fashion business models that are contributing to these toxic behaviours around the world. We also need to know when we have 'enough' in our wardrobes to stop consuming when it's not necessary. In society today I believe the fashion industry isn't interested in sustainability and longevity, but about the sales, profits margins and their competition. They're responsibility to care for the people they employ, and the planet we live on has been truly forgotten. Throughout I have exposed various companies of their inhumanity; Zara, H&M and Shein.These big corporations need to acknowledge that they need to change as they are endangering our planet and the lives on it. 

We need to make changes as there is 'no planet B', we have one planet so let's look after it. We can all make a difference: from shopping locally, buying secondhand, reduce our consumption, repairing our clothes and best of all boycotting the fast fashion brands. During my time becoming less and less involved with these fast fashion retailers, and becoming more and more aware I began finding new ways to shop. One of my absolute favourites is cranking the music up and shopping my own wardrobe. Be creative! You’ll be amazed at how many outfits you can create using one item. Imagine what you could do with every piece of clothing in there.

I'm guilty. I have been buying into this industry since I was a teenager. And to become aware that fashion is the second most polluting industry in the world, I would have never expected the toxic behaviours that lie behind close doors. Fashion is responsible for 2 to 8 per cent of global CO2 emissions and the water consumed each year is around 215 trillion litres. 

Where has this fast fashion addiction come from and why has it grown so vastly? 

There is two ways to answer this question although they both actually relate: social media and covid 19. Due to being isolated we had no option other than online shopping, the fast fashion addiction surged. These companies began giving falsely communicated sales and discounts encouraging consumers to buy more. Then with the increase in social media we have seen the rise of influencers who encourage others to continue to consume in ever changing trends.

Sorry Fast Fashion but I'm boycotting you.