Slowing Down Fast Fashion, is it possible?

This is my third documentary review for my reading weeks, this one is in response to Alex James’ Amazon documentary called ‘Slowing Down Fast Fashion’...

1. Be curious as to the provenance of your clothes:

Do you know where your clothes are from, who made them, and what does into making them?

Out of all clothes sold in America, only 2% of them are produced there. This is a recurring pattern throughout western countries as the majority of production is done in eastern countries. As consumers we have lost touch with the origins of our clothes as globalisation has evolved. This in turn devalues them, rendering them disposable to many. This is upsetting seeing as many have died for the cause of Fast Fashion. The 2013 Savar building collapse claimed the lives of 1,134 people and injured many more. It is considered the deadliest garment factory accident in history yet consumers still pay no attention to the corruption going on under their noses. As a result of this tragedy Fashion Revolution Campaign was born, a movement centred on transparency in the fashion industry. Their #InsideOut campaign calls for greater ethics and sustainability. They wish to improve living and working conditions for garment workers who are too often under-paid and over-worked.

2. Know what your clothes are made of and where they end up:

As a result of our clothes being produced across the world, most are unaware of what their clothes are made of. Synthetic fibres make up the majority of our clothes; Acrylic, Modacrylic, Nylon, Rayon, and Polyester. Consequential to our clothes being made of such fibres means they’re not bio-degradable. After they are dumped in landfill sites, they simply fester underground forever. Another issue that comes of synthetic fabric is spun using chemicals derived from coal and oil during their production. This has a knock on effect on the environment; polluting both the air and water sources.

However, even natural fibres such as Cotton arent all good, because of the sheer amount fo water needed to produce cotton the entirety of the Aral Sea Basin was extracted during the 1970's. The Asian Cotton production companies reduced  the world's 4th largest lake to nothing but dust as a means to make the fabric. There is also a large need for insecticides to keep it 'pure'. Leah Borromeo produced the film 'Dirty White Gold' a documentary on the suicide of 300,000 Asian cotton farmers since 1995. They commited suicide because they were indebted to the big western manufactures, as they couldn't keep up with industry quantities. 

3. Is wool the way?

Wool doesn't require much to be produced; only sun, water and time. Unlike man-made fibres, it is completely bio-degradable as a natural product. As well as its ease to produce and degradable quality, Wool is also very robust. Company ‘Wool and Prince’ ran a campaign whereby its founder wore one of their shirts every day for 100 days, without washing it. By the end of the 100 days he claimed it smelt and looked the same as it did on the 1st day. Customers loved the quality of the shirts, obviously strong but never compromising feel.

Supporters of Wool include international designers Vivienne Westwood and Amy Molyneaux (PPQ). They both wish to see wool adopted by more designers to ‘lessen the Nylon onslaught’ Molyneaux added.

4. Be creative in re-purposing your clothes:

Extending the life of your clothes by repairing and re-purposing them re-values the relationship between you and the garment. By caring for your clothes you are get your value for money as a consumer and conserving the environment by not disposing of them. ‘Stitched Up’ treats clothes with the respect they deserve by repairing them and teaching people how to sew, so they can do the same. They’re investing in other people to lessen the effect of waste on the environment one stitch at a time. Similarly, British designer Christopher Raeburn re-works unused fabrics from various sources e.g. Military parachutes, the Queen’s Guards jacket material all in a pledge to upcycle undesirable fabric in high fashion pieces.