Eco Fashion? Fast Fashion? For those of you who are hip in the fashion world – it is Melbourne Fashion week and New York Fashion week starts Friday 7 September!
The fashion world is caught up in the 'fast fashion phenomenon' where we purchase clothes too regularly for no real purpose other than looking great on the weekend. With online shopping and after pay options people are buying clothes even when they don’t need it or often can't afford it! Clothing brands are not launching campaigns every summer and winter, most now release new clothing every month! This means there is always a new look!
An average Australian buys 27 kilograms of new clothing per year, this is double the global average, and then discard approximately 23 kilograms into landfill!!
Our obsession with fast fashion is a sustainable and environmental issue. It is estimated that 20 per cent of water pollution comes from the treatment and dyeing of textiles with harsh chemicals. The carbon footprint isn’t great either, 10 per cent of global carbon emissions can be attributed to clothing production’s long supply chains, and cheap synthetic fibres emit gases like N20—which is 300 times more damaging than CO2.
Textiles made by natural fibres are biodegradable so when they get to landfill they will break down over time. This would include natural silk, wool, cotton, alpaca, hemp to name a few! However, this is not the case for most Fast Fashion items as these are mainly made from synthetic fibres! On the such as nylon, rayon, polyester, spandex, acrylic and acetate.
If you're interested in how to minimise your fashion impact here are some top tips:
Be mindful of the clothing you are buying - try and purchase products such as wool, although they cost more upfront you will have them in your wardrobe for much longer due to their durability!
Be mindful of where the clothing is made: check out some of these brands that source recycled products or are confident of life time wear out of an item; Salt Gypsy, RM Williams, Nimble Activewear
Check out community social media pages to see if you can sell your clothes for someone to re-buy! Check out What's mine is yours clothing and Maddreamz Vintage
Donate your clothes! Donate to communities or groups including Salvation Army, Savers and RSPCA