It’s April 22, which means that it is officially Earth Day!
Shopping sustainably should be a year-round occurrence, however, with so much of what we do having a negative impact on our planet, it can be difficult to know where to start. But fear not because we are here to help!
Today, we’ll explore how you can shop more sustainably within an industry that has one of the worst carbon footprints in the world — and it also happens to be one that we are pretty passionate about. The industry in question? Fashion, of course!
Did you know that the fashion industry is the planet’s third-largest polluter (trumped only by the food and construction industries)? Currently, it accounts for 10% of the world’s total carbon emissions and experts estimate that this will rise by more than 50% by 2030. Why? 2 words: fast fashion.
If you’re looking to reduce your personal impact on the planet, switching from fast fashion to vintage fashion is definitely one of the easier lifestyle changes you can make. Not only is it effective, it’s also a whole lot of fun!
What is fast fashion?
Fast fashion is inexpensive clothing that is produced rapidly by mass-market relaters in response to the latest trends. Designs are often copied directly from high-fashion designers, celebrities and social media influencers. It offers a cheap price point to consumers but at its core, it is entirely unsustainable. The most sustainable garment of all is the one that does not need to be newly produced. There are currently enough clothes in the world to dress the next 6 generations, so must we really continue to buy fast fashion when it causes so much damage? As consumers, we need to change the way we think about clothes if we want to help save the planet.
Why is fast fashion bad?
Worker exploitation is an indispensable part of the fast fashion business model. In order to offer clothes at the low prices that they do and still create profit, fast fashion brands need to keep their running costs low. One of the main ways they do this is by driving down the wages of workers in the supply chain. If an item is very cheap, chances are that the person who produced it was paid little.
In addition, quality is sacrificed during the production process so that clothes can be brought to consumers as quickly and cheaply as possible. Designs tend not to be well stress-tested before hitting the market, and poor quality materials are used that are simply not made to last. It’s estimated that the average item of clothing is worn just 14 times before being discarded. In the UK alone, 350,500 tonnes of used clothing (worth £140 million) is taken to our landfills every year – equivalent to the weight of almost 35 Eiffel towers!
Can fast fashion ever be sustainable?
To try and address the fast-fashion waste problem, some companies have introduced recycling bins in their stores where customers can drop off their unwanted clothes to be re-used or recycled. In return, customers are offered a discount on their next purchase. Only 3% of the used clothes collected in the UK actually get recycled, yet they’re not even recycled into new clothes as it is too difficult to do so. Instead, they are torn apart and used to create products such as industrial wiping cloths, laundry dryer sheets and stuffing for mattresses and car seats.
Around 60% of the unwanted clothes are exported. However, with the quality of these clothes continuing to decrease, many of the exported clothes are too damaged to be repaired and must be thrown away. Of the 15 million pieces of used clothing that arrive in Ghana every week, 40% are discarded and end up in landfills or on the beaches where they can take hundreds of years to break down.
With their promise of making new clothes from old, fast-fashion retailers are merely trying to placate their customers’ conscience, but it is just a marketing gimmick. In truth, fast fashion can never be sustainable. The most sustainable garment of all is the one that does not need to be newly produced.
Why vintage fashion is great:
Vintage shopping is the ultimate sustainable solution. The ”make do and mend” mentality of years past means that vintage clothing is often of a much higher quality than items offered by fast-fashion retailers, who sacrifice production value in order to provide clothing as cheaply and quickly as possible. Therefore, the vintage item you buy won’t need to be thrown out as quickly as any fast-fashion item bought for the same price. A lot of clothes actually benefit from the natural wearing process and can look even better when they’ve been pre-loved and have aged a little.
Ultimately, fashion is all about self-expression and having fun. Vintage shopping presents an opportunity for consumers to buy unique clothes and accessories that you won’t see everybody else wearing. Instead of wearing what’s trending, you can wear what you think looks amazing on you and create a wardrobe that truly reflects your personal sense of style. You never know what you will find when vintage shopping and nothing beats the thrill of finding an item you love at a bargain price!
Shopping sustainably with Mum’s Suitcase:
At Fashion Meets Music, we have initiated a project to help you shop more sustainably while also supporting a great cause – Mum’s Suitcase. Mum’s suitcase is a pre-loved and up-cycled clothing project based on giving back.
Nearly every African and Caribbean household has had the experience of packing suitcases and barrels to send to loved ones ‘back home’. We sell all the clothes that never made it home in our South London store (Unit 63, Centrale Mall in Croydon) and donate the proceeds to schools in Ghana – shop local, support global.
