Thursday 13-05-2021 - 11:27

The fashion industry has been for decades the forefront of consumerism without afterthought, with damaging implications on the environment and human beings.

Fast fashion is defined as clothing designed to keep up with the constant changes in trends, we now see in the fashion world. The constant need for new clothing, quickly designed and made has a variety of damaging implications, such as the use of poor-quality fabric and materials to keep costs low, which means the consumers must keep buying due to clothing being unsuitable for multiple wears. Fast fashion also leads to more serious ethical issues such as encouraging dangerous working conditions and exploiting vulnerable workers in the aims to keep the product cheap, even causing deaths in disasters such as the 2013 Dhaka garment factory collapse where the death toll reached 1,134 people.

One way of not supporting fast fashion is to use sustainable brands when you do need to buy clothing or other items. These companies prioritise making clothing that has less impact on the environment and on their workers. One example of this is Lucy and Yak, which label themselves as an ‘Independent, handmade and ethical fashion brand’ on their website. This company guarantees to pay all workers in both the UK and abroad to have a living wage, make fabric with organic or recycled materials and are currently aiming to use only renewable energy in their factories. All of these prevent the exploitation of the environment and workers, something we need to see more in all industries but especially in the fashion world. There are now also plans to increase size inclusivity within the brand by expanding sizes past UK 22 this year, as ethical and sustainable clothing can be difficult to access if plus size.

Lucy and Yak are just one example of the current boom in sustainable, comfortable and fashionable clothing. Another one that is available in the UK is People Tree, which has been selling ethical and sustainable clothing since 1991. Their first fashion range met the Global Organic Textile Standard and was certified by the Soil Association. Similarly, to Lucy and Yak, this is a company that wants to create clothing that supports the principles of transparency, sustainability and fair treatment of all workers. However, it can be slightly more expensive compared to the other brand and has a more limited range of sizes. Hopefully, as the demand for brands that are ethical and sustainable carries on, we can expect to see more affordable, inclusive companies to buy ethical and sustainable items from.

 

By Rachel Norman

Blog and Design INSPIRE Intern