At The Fashion Consultants we have been reading a very interesting and very important book ‘The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes’ by Dana Thomas and we feel that it’s something very important for us to know and have an understanding of. This book is all about sustainability and what we are doing to our planet by the way we are consuming fast fashion at such a fast pace.
Sustainability is such an important part of how we work with our manufacturers, our fabric mills and also our clients. It’s usually the first thing we discuss with all new clients as they all mention that they want to have a sustainable brand – and the first thing we always ask is what does that mean to you? What is your understanding of having a sustainable fashion brand? We go through the ways that you can contribute to doing this:
– Fair wages for all workers making your/our clothes
– Renting clothes & swapping rather than buying more new clothes
– Rightshoring & Local Production
– Slow fashion/timeless design
– Organic fabrics and using recycled fibres & fabrics to produce new fabrics
– Custom made clothes
– Repair, redesign and recycle
– Recyclable packaging
All of the above we try to incorporate in some way; we spend a lot of time in particular sourcing organic and recycled fabric. We also work with the right manufacturers who we trust and have worked with for a number of years, so we know treat their employees correctly.
The book highlights all of the above issues and really has an insight into fast fashion and what the future of our planet could look like if we continue to buy and consume clothes at the current rate.
It also gives us an insight into some of the amazing brands such as Stella McCartney, UnMade, Alabama Chanin & Reformation. We also get an insight behind the scenes to organic fibre & fabric producers such as Sally Fox, English Fine Cottons & John Spencer LTD (who is the UK’s last weaver of organic yarns) as well as organic dye houses such as Stony creek colours.
All of these awe-inspiring companies are are working to make a change to the fashion industry & the current model of how we produce clothes. Check them out for some inspiration!
We’re on the panel at the Lone Design Club store in Shoreditch at the LDC Accelerator: How to Create A Sustainable Brand on A Budget, 27/11 @ 6.30pm. We will be alongside sustainable accessory brand From Belo & Fashion Business Consultant Onwards & Up, so if you are a small brand that would like some more information on how to build a brand more sustainably we would love to welcome you and see you at this event.
…but in the meantime please read this book – it’s really good!
The Fashion Consultants 