When did Slow Fashion start?

what is slow fashion?

Slow Fashion is a growing movement that is getting more and more traction, with more people concerned about their carbon footprint and aware of how the clothes they wear are actually destroying our planet.

This movement is trying to stop fast fashion, which is the term used to describe clothing designs that move quickly from the catwalk to stores to take advantage of trends. Fast fashion describes incredibly cheap clothing that moves quickly from design to retail stores to meet trends, with new collections being introduced continuously. Fast fashion has an enormous environmental footprint for both its production and disposal. Read more about fast fashion here.
When did slow fashion start

when did slow fashion start?

Slow fashion was named in 2007 by Kate Fletcher in an article published in The Ecologist, where she compared the eco / sustainable / ethical fashion industry to the slow food movement.

But actually, sustainable fashion was first introduced into the contemporary culture by the hippies in 1970, who prefer locally-grown, handmade, and pesticide-free products. Second-hand clothing was also worn by hippies, rejecting the mass-production culture that dominated America from the 1950s.

The first brands to take some action against fast fashion were Patagonia and Esprit, who began pioneering sustainable clothing in the late 1980s, as their founders observed the negative environmental impacts of the clothing manufacturing industry.

Here you can find out more about modern brands who are in the sustainable fashion movement.

How to do slow fashion

The best and most basing thing you can do to achieve a sustainable clothing industry is to be informed, many people don’t even know what fast fashion is, so how are we going to achieve sustainability in the clothing industry and change the world for the better if most people don’t even know about fast fashion?

It is surprising to know that many people haven’t heard that term when fast fashion is responsible for 10 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions and 20 percent of global wastewater and uses more energy than the aviation and shipping sectors combined.

One of the best practices to reduce your carbon footprint is the 30 Day Rule. Basically, every time you buy something, always think, „Will I wear it a minimum of 30 times?” If the answer is yes, then buy it. But you’d be surprised how many times you say no.

Quality beats quantity. Buying better quality, more sustainable clothing is likely to cost you more money than buying a cheap high-street product that doesn’t tick the right boxes. However, even if it costs more, you’re likely to have it for longer and will be buying less per season overall. Buying just a few high-quality items a year, rather than lots of cheaper, less eco-friendly pieces, will dramatically reduce your carbon footprint.

Can you recycle slow fashion?

Yes! Just like any other clothing, Slow Fashion is 100% recyclable. … Any clothes, shoes, accessories, or household textiles that don’t sell at thrift stores are sold in bulk as salvage to recyclers. And these recyclers sort the used textiles for further distribution and repurposing.

When clothes end up in landfills they create greenhouse gases, so recycling instead of throwing them helps diminish the forces that contribute to climate change. Reusing the fabric in old clothes means fewer resources, both monetary and environmental, are wasted in growing fiber for new ones. You can learn more about recycling your clothes with Planet Aid.

How to know if i have too many clothes?

According to a survey of 1000 USA women, the average woman has 103 items of clothing in her closet. But she only wears around 10% of them and considers 21% to be unwearable, 33 % too tight, and 24% too loose.

A good indicator to know when you have too many clothes is the What? When? From Who? rule. If you start asking those questions when you see an item of clothing in your closet for the first time in many months or years, then you know you probably have too many clothes that you don’t need.

Don’t feel guilty about having many clothes in your closet, as long as you wear all of them and you didn’t buy and forgot about them after a couple of uses. Maybe you’re someone who likes to express themselves through clothes, or you are someone minimalistic who doesn’t need a large variety of clothes, it depends on every person, and that’s why you should always decide how many clothes you need and how much is too much.

Slow Fashion - How to know if I have too many clothes

Summary

Slow fashion is a fast-growing movement that is aiming for a sustainable fashion industry, which is right now one of the biggest polluters of our world. Everyone can take part in this movement, even without any money or resources, and you can begin making a big change from your own house right now.

You have already made a big step most people did not, and that is getting interested in slow fashion and being willing to learn about it, Congratulations! Now the next big step is taking action, even if it’s a small one.

We are part of the slow fashion movement ourselves, and we invite you to look into our journey, our mission, our team, and many more things we prepared for you in our About Us page.
PLEA