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Fast Fashion

Fast Fashion.

I am sure this is a term you are familiar with, it is practically everywhere at the moment.

The push for urgent action against the climate crisis is huge right now. Whether it be about eating less meat, planting more trees, or boycotting online fashion retailers, protesters like the 'Extinction Rebellion' have done it all.

Fast fashion is a major contributor to this. This is a term referring to the way that we buy, consume and waste clothes at such a high speed now. This means more seasons, cheaper clothes, easily accessible.

This is partly due to the 'youth quake' of the 60's and the evolution of haute couture, to high-street fashion to online retailers. The escalation of mass-production and huge amounts of pollution follow after that.

The facts are pretty shocking.

Fashion is the second biggest polluter in the world, second to oil.

The fashion industry emits 5% of the global emissions, trumping both air travel and international shipping.

Fast Fashion is accountable for 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually.

Chemicals used also affect these water supplies, contaminating them and causing harm to wildlife and humans in the area.

We keep our clothes for 50% shorter than the time we used to. We keep on consuming instead because of the constant new trends and seasons that retailers are releasing.

I don't know what to say because that is not even half of the facts available exposing this global crisis.

I do have to admit that I love buying clothes as much as the next. I so much as hear that I am invited to a party and I hop straight on PLT.
But I need to buy less, I know that. Hold on.

I don't mean that we abolish trends absolutely and have to wear the same clothes for the rest of our living days. I mean that we need to adapt.

Buy vintage clothes. Borrow that dress you like from your friend for the party. Find some bargains at the charity shop- why are you spending £50 on a pair of 'aged', vintage style jeans anyway?

There are tonnes of alternatives out there now whether it be rental platforms, second-hand clothing apps like 'Depop', and the abundance of charity shops around.

Fashion as a concept means to be looking forward. To not engage with the issue of fast fashion and the future, would not even be classed as fashion anymore.

I was reading an article from the Guardian by journalist Jess Cartner-Morely following London Fashion Week just gone. She noticed how amid an age of climate activism and passion towards sustainability, people were actually acting upon it.
She noticed that instead of the traditional trend to be wearing new-season pieces to shows, it was instead a case of bragging about how old the clothes you're wearing were. People were seen to be sporting vintage clothing or garments that they simply had found from years ago in their waderobe. Second-hand seemed to be a fashion, certainly an idea most welcome.

A really good quote from the article was from Hindmarch, ''the climate crisis is this generation's war, and wars change everything''.

Okay, I know I can't say all of this and go on and on about how you need to resort to alternatives without suggesting any.

Vintage Shops.

I for one love me a good oversized retro sports jumper. If you are anywhere near Camden, Rokit Vintage is the one. They sell authentic, old sports jerseys which are already worn in a little and have the comfy feel. Don't get me wrong they are not some old, grotty worn out jumpers. Around the £15 mark they are such  bargain compared to buying a new £40 jumper which has no where near the same authenticity.

If you can't get to London, which I know is hardly feasible for everyone.

'Depop' is a free app where you can sell and buy old items of clothing. You can make a profit if you put your own items on there that you no longer want instead of throwing them away to be dumped in landfill. You can easily search in whatever you are looking for whether it is a particular shoe, style of top or brand. There will be lists and lists to choose from, nearly always at a reduced price than if you bought the item new.


Rental Platforms

'Hurr Collective' is a successful example of this.

Renting clothes may not seem so tempting at first and I get that. But when it is a peer-to-peer service like Hurr, it begins to make more sense.

Renting clothes is actually far more appealing than you think. It allows you to borrow items of clothing for a small fraction, usually 15% of the retail price ,for a week.
You no longer have to buy a fancy dress for each of the four weddings that you've got coming up.

You're not losing anything. Especially not money.
You can still achieve the wish to wear a new dress to every event if that is what your heart desires, without having to buy and buy.

And that jacket you wore once to that fancy dinner for Jemma's birthday- rent it out.
You can quite literally make money for nothing. It would have been sitting in your wardrobe otherwise.

This is a major help to the issue of fast fashion because people are encouraged to rent out instead of buying new. It is essential for the planet.

No need to worry it is trustworthy as well. You are able to chat with lenders or renters beforehand and are delivered simply by courier services, Royal Mail or even Geo-tag meet ups. It is all safe and trustworthy.

Charity Shops

They are pretty self-explanatory. There should be plenty around.

You can buy second- hand vintage clothes for so cheap that it would wow you.

I'm talking jumpers for £4.

Really have a mooch around and you can find some real winners in there. You can find stuff that you would even buy from a retailer for triple the price, if not more, because it is simply called the 'vintage look.'

Those are just a few alternatives I have given you.

You would be saving money as well as the environment. Wow that should be a motto.


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