TRURO, N.S. — If you’ve ever met me, you’ll know that my first love is fashion. It is the second most common way I express myself after words. Recently, with the rise in popularity of young climate activists like Greta Thunberg, I’ve been looking into sustainability in the fashion industry.
And because I’m 17, the first thing I did was watch a couple of YouTube videos on the subject. After sifting through, I found a TED talk. This video supplied some great insight into the technical aspect of ethical fashion, talking about the life cycle of clothing and things along those lines, and shared the point of view of concerned designers. My mission is to give insight into how the everyday person can implement “slow fashion” habits into their everyday life.
The easiest thing to do when trying to be more ethical with your wardrobe is: buy less clothing. The strategy I often use when out shopping is what I call the “Three Outfit Rule.” This means when you’re shopping, and see an item you like, think of all the possible outfits you can make with it and other items in your closet. If the number of outfits you can make with that piece is less than three, put it back on the rack.
On the subject of only owning garments you really love, I want to discuss the recent “capsule wardrobe” phenomenon. A capsule wardrobe is “a mini wardrobe made up of about 30 versatile clothing items, all of which you love to wear.” I think when you are first introduced to this kind of thing, it can be a bit daunting. With the way some of us shop (myself included), only owning 30 items per season can seem impossible. But the point of a capsule wardrobe is only having clothes you love and wear.
I’m not saying you have to get rid of all of your clothes and start over, being sustainable means keeping things around until they are no longer useful to you, hence the term “slow fashion.” But it goes without saying that when you outgrow something, donate it! Always donate your clothes if they are still wearable, just because you don’t want something doesn’t mean somebody else won’t.
Also, buying second-hand is a way to give clothing a new life, and it saves you a pretty penny. While a number of retail stores don’t necessarily break the bank, they are brands that contribute to fast fashion.
Investopedia defines fast fashion as “the term used to describe clothing designs that move quickly from the catwalk to stores to meet new trends. It has been criticized because it encourages a “throw-away” attitude – the clothing is cheaply made in a style that will change very quickly.” While you save money on this trendy clothing that makes you look fashionable, the items you purchase from these brands are cheaply-made, low-quality, and all around are not made to last.
In a NYT article I read entitled, “How Fast Fashion is Destroying the Planet” the author describes what happens to thrown-away clothing. “More than 60 per cent of fabric fibres are now synthetics, derived from fossil fuels, so if and when our clothing ends up in a landfill – about 85 per cent of textile waste in the United States goes to landfills or is incinerated – it will not decay… Future archaeologists may look at landfills taken over by nature and discover evidence of Zara.”
If you want to make a difference but nothing I’ve said so far is appealing to you, I suggest saving up your money and spending it at brands like Reformation, a womenswear brand that’s whole mission is to make the fashion industry more ethical. I won’t say that these brands are affordable for everyone, because they’re not. But if you save up and spend your money on a garment from a high-quality brand like this, you will have it forever.
If all of that seems a little bit much for you right now, I suggest making it your New Year’s resolution for 2020. Do not buy from a brand until you’ve looked into their practice. And if the way they operate doesn't align with your values, you’ll be happy you kept the money in your pocket.
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Angèle Hatton is a Grade 12 student at Cobequid Educational Centre who hopes to pursue a career in journalism.
