Fast Fashion – Cheap Clothing At A High Cost
Have you ever thought much about the clothing you buy, whether you are perpetuating the viscous cycle of the fast fashion industry? The fast fashion industry make cheap affordable clothes for a faster seasonal and profit turnover, but they come at a high cost to people and the environment.
Social media and “influencer” culture and also some celebrities, have coalesced with the fast fashion industry; resulting in its popularity and growth which now dominates our shelves with its fast and fickle trends. But this has only created high returns for the companies, yet devastating consequences on people, animals and the environment. Fast fashion is also generally a lesser quality, so the lifespan of the product is short lived which ends up adding to the landfill waste issue.
According to DAWE Australia is the second highest consumer of textiles per person in the world, acquiring on average approximately 27kgs per year and discarding 23kg to landfill each year. In 2020 the Bureau Of Statistics recorded approximately 247,000 tonnes of textile waste. Considering that almost 60% of our clothing is synthetic (plastic) and ends up as micro-plastics which leach into our environment and waterways.
Slow fashion is a counteraction to the fast fashion industry, it is people within the industry, individuals and consumers trying to combat the fast fashion industry and its tendency towards mindless consumption and excessive production. Highlighting the benefits of quality before quantity, ethics and the environment above profit and advocating for a manufacturing process that respects people, the environment and animals.
That is why we (Renewed Spirit) make sure the clothing we supply and make is created in a slow and sustainable way adopting the circular fashion principles. You can’t get much slower than sewing at home on a pre-digital era secondhand sewing machine or hand printing your own fabric using eco ink and natural dyes.
Our screen printing methods incorporate the old silk screen and stenciling technique. We use reuse folder separators to create our stencils so we don’t need separate screens for each image and the ink we use is Permaset water based eco friendly ink.
The t-shirt brand we use is Earth Positive who use GOTS certified organic cotton, they are an ethical fair trade company whose manufacturing plant is run on renewable energy.
The fabric used for making our own garments is either post consumer pre-loved fabrics or Organature GOTS certified organic cotton calico that is naturally dyed using botanical parts such as flowers, leaves, bark, fruits and vegetables or hand printed using Permaset eco ink.
Crocheted items are made from new preloved wools that I have collected over my lifetime finding interesting vintage and unique yarns.
The designs are created from our own original art works and also found objects. We often like experimenting with botanicals and also objects we find that we think will make an interesting pattern.
The handbags and other clothing are made entirely from repurposed materials collected over time from social enterprise shops, charity shops, garage sales, tip shop and markets. Things like fabric, cottons, buttons, elastic and trimmings. I also try and use elastic that is still in good condition from clothes that will not make another lifecycle at the op shop.
So remember when you are purchasing your next outfit…think about who made it, was it made in an ethical and sustainable way, did the garment you purchase have any social consequences, is it something of high quality that will last?
Here are some links to help you navigate the fashion world and thank you for taking the time to read this.
https://thesocialoutfit.org/pages/mission
https://ethicalclothingaustralia.org.au/