Sometimes things keep coming at you, and force you to pay attention. I picked up this book, Waredrobe Crisis by Clare Press last year, and somehow it got moved to the bottom of my reading pile. This weekend several articles popped up in my social feeds about sustainable fashion (and of course I was a bad fashion blogger who didn’t save any and can’t find them now), and then this morning Emma Watson and her eco-friendly closet was on the Coveteur, here. So, sustainable fashion, and in particular fast fashion has been on my mind.
Some things to note: I have a thing for fast fashion. In particular, Zara. I just love them, and I’m sure you’ve noticed that a lot of my clothes come from them. I also love sustainable fashion (some faves: Reformation, both Zara and HM have Eco-friendly lines worth checking out, vintage (the ultimate recycling), and Stella McCartney). I care about the environment, about great clothes, and understand that we all want on trend pieces that are affordable. When we talk about sustainable fashion and fast fashion as entities seperate from “fashion”, I don’t know that it serves us, as it is all a part of what we are offered.
I think fast fashion, in particular, is a layered topic. The name itself suggests that “fast fashion” isn’t well made, and not “as good”; and while that can be the case, for my purposes, fast fashion to me means the methods of the making aren’t very environmentally friendly, and the clothes themselves are “fast”, meaning on trend, not meant to last long. Some fast fashion stores offer basics as well (again, I have Zara that’s become my staples), but the tying factor are the trendy pieces offered at a “cheaper” price. And loves, if you begin to google this topic you would be amazed at what can be considered fast fashion. Beyond the trends, some layers to the issue are price, niche, and availibity.
Again, we can’t be mad at anyone who wants to stay on trend and within their budget. And fast fashion affords many this opportunity. I vividly remember reading some fashion magazine when I was 23, and an editor mentioned her “throw away” clothes included pants that were $150. At 23 my entire clothing budget was $150. I was floored that it was cheap to someone. And loves, we need to reconginze that for many, spending 100s of dollars on every item isn’t a possibility. There is a gap in our fashion offerings–we have some at the top, some at the bottom, but the middle is thin–and even the middle is a price reach for some. I’d also argue, that if you have a limited budget your money should go towards basics, not trends; making that fast fashion trend market a niche. Also, there are stores who’s bed and butter are trends, they do them and they do them well. Add to that the fact that designer trends aren’t highly available, Prada doesn’t have a store on every corner; and many lines release limit quantities of pieces. So, there’s a huge hole for fast fashion to fill.
Yet.
As consumers, we should care about where our clothes come from, the working conditions of the manufacturers, what it does to our environment. How do we balance these two things?
This is where I tell you an honest truth. I don’t know. I think until the hole that fast fashion fills is fixed in some way, fast fashion isn’t going anywhere. And for all the reasons listed above, I get it. I’m part of it. But, I also think we have a chance to support businesses that are promoting sustainable fashion, and we should. From Reformation to Emma’s picks to eco-friendly dry cleaners, I think we should buy responsible clothes. I’m a huge fan of vintage for many reasons, but it helps that it is truly the ultimate form of recycling. I love sites like TheRealReal and Vestaire Collective that sell gently used clothing are fantastic and worthy of your business. And maybe the most radical thing we can do is include all fashion-sustainable, designer, fast, etc- into our “fashion discussions, hold the entire industry to high standards.
What do you think? Do you love fast fashion? Sustainable fashion? I’d love to know your thoughts on this issue and get recs for shopping!
XO RA
