I am sure you have heard the term “slow fashion” being thrown around quite a bit recently. Legendary designer, Vivienne Westwood has always been an advocate of "buy less, choose well, make it last".Over the past couple of years slow fashion has been a growing movement to get consumers to purchase practical apparel options for quality at a slightly higher price and to turn away from fast fashion brands like Zara’s & H&M. Let’s find out why:
Cheap clothes, require cheap labour. As a result, many fashion brands produce in China, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, The Philippines & Vietnam with the first being the most popular. Unfortunately, their production methods have created serious environmental issues, including smog and poor air quality which has resulted in reduced life expectancy in those regions due to respiratory issues. In addition, chemicals & dyes are dumped improperly with few regulations in place to hold factories accountable. There is a saying in China that the farmers can predict the color trends of the latest fashion season by looking at the color of the rivers. The manufacturing process, which puts pressure on water & other resources such as oil is in part responsible for climate change. Yes, climate change does affect the weather. Overall, fast fashion equals poor quality products and environmental damage at a rapid pace. All the clothes produced are not meant to last more than one or two seasons. The result, tons of clothes ending up at the city dump that cannot be recycled.
Keeping with the topic of cheap labor, many of the workers are paid meager wages at the rate of 55 cents per hour, including small children. On average, they work over 16 hours a day, 6 days per week. There are very few safety regulations in the factories, some which have resulted in tragedies such as the building fire in Bangladesh at Rana Plaza, which resulted in the deaths of over 1000 people along with 2000 reported injuries. H&M currently produces in Bangladesh as well as Canadian retailer Joe Fresh is one of the brands who produced its clothing at this location and continues to do so to this very day! Overall, factory workers have limited rights and protections and it’s all in the name of fast fashion.
WHAT'S THE INDUSTRY DOING ABOUT IT?
In order for the environmental and human rights changes to occur, fast fashion brands must be neutralized. Many in the industry have thrown their support behind the “Slow Fashion” movement. The goal is to shine a light on these practices to change the way consumers think by forcing them to see the ills and damage that result in purchasing fast fashion. Local production is a key focal point in order to help reduce the amount pollution during the transport of goods. Another is using more eco-friendly textiles such as vegetable tan (made with tree bark, leaves etc.) leather rather than the traditional leather. Overall, the “slow fashion” movement is promoting smarter shopping. Invest in clothing of a higher quality in order to purchase less over time.
What do you think of the “slow fashion” movement?