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The Culture of ‘Wear-It-Once’
“Clothes mean nothing until someone lives in them.” Marc Jacobs Music festivals have become one of the biggest contributions to cultural life since the 1970s. With annual events, such as Glastonbury, Coachella and Burning Man, popular throughout the USA and UK, it has established an experience that people anticipate towards. A stage that they need to prepare for. People willingly invest in outfits that extend far beyond their daily wear, with the value of importance placed on these occasions. As a result, 350,000 tonnes of outfits end up in landfill every year, equating to the cost of £140 million in total. This increase the carbon footprint of the already eco-anxious…
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The Joys of a Guilt-Free Festival
Anticipation of finally being able to hear live music in a crowd of thousands is at an all-time high. After going through a worldwide pandemic, leaving us all locked inside for almost a year, anybody would daydream about it. There’s something magical about the buzz of picking out an outfit. The glee of arriving at a festival with friends. Bringing us together for the sole purpose of having a great time. Fashion at festivals has been a way of expression over the last 60 years, from a field of flares to all the way to fishnets. Festivals have been an opportunity to flaunt new extravagant summer outfits that lets us…
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Keeping it Circular and Reducing Your Fashion Footprint
We all try to do our bit. Now that the climate crisis is more apparent than ever, and the younger generations are becoming more passionate about looking after the planet we live on. Whether that’s eating less meat to reduce toxic emissions, wearing clothes made from organic cotton to eliminate water waste, or even making that extra trip to the recycling bin for an old milk carton. While studying my fashion degree, it dawned on me that there was much more that we could do to contribute towards saving the planet than just the small everyday things (that are now hopefully becoming second nature to the majority!) Upcycling for example.…
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Can Circular Fashion Save the World?
Undeniably, fast-fashion is a modern day sensation; manufacturers can cheaply mass produce various products that consumers can then purchase without splashing too much cash. In a nutshell, the industry makes money, the consumers save money. Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Well, unfortunately, it is. According to a recent survey, the textile production required for fast-fashion produces 1.2 billion tons of greenhouse gases every year, making fashion one of the biggest polluting industries on the planet. Not only do they eject waste into the air, however, most fast-fashion clothes are made from non-biodegradable materials, meaning that when they inevitably get thrown away they don’t degrade like excess vegetables;…
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Five Tips to Spot and Avoid Greenwashing
Two years ago I stumbled into an H&M and found their conscious collection. As a student, their low prices and promises of eco-friendly products really appealed to me and I ended up buying an item. A few weeks later, articles started coming out accusing the brand of “greenwashing.” Greenwashing is where a brand uses marketing techniques to make an item seem more eco-friendly than it actually is. As we attempt to transition into a circular economy, this practice can be particularly harmful as customers are more likely to spend more on an item that they believe to be sustainable. So, the companies continue to thrive whilst damaging the environment. Here’s…
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The Consumers Role in Circular Fashion
With clothing, many consumers (me included) pay more attention to the price than the environmental impact that the piece might have. It’s mind-boggling to think that each purchase we make could be harming our planet. However, recently the fashion community have become a lot more aware of the knock-on effects our actions have on the environment’s health. Should companies be making us more aware of this? Is there something consumers can do to help? The idea behind Circular Fashion In opposition to circular economy, fast fashion is an all too well-known phrase. Unfortunately, it is also playing a massive role in the amount of textile waste that is produced. The…
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A Fashion Revolution is Coming (If You Want it)
Circular fashion has the potential to change the world. It’s a revolutionary method to maximize the life cycle of our clothes that challenges today’s unsustainable fast fashion market. If I told you that 62% of women in the UK bought clothing online in 2020 would you believe me? Well, probably. We were (and still are) stuck at home, the high streets are closed, and apparel has become a new symbol of hope: “I bought a dress for when the pubs open again!” and “I can’t wait to show off this outfit after lockdown.” Clothing is the light at the end of the tunnel for so many. Unfortunately, the reality where…
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Is Circular Fashion the Way Forward?
Circular fashion is becoming a common term in the fashion world, meaning that the cycle of fashion should have no waste products. It is believed that every use of fabric should be reused/recycled in any way possible, making sure that nothing is being thrown away. It’s becoming a highly respected and important phrase. Eco-Age stated that; “A report by Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) found that extending the average life of garments by just nine months can reduce the carbon, water and waste footprints of UK clothing by 20-30%”. This is why the circular economy in the fashion industry is so important. Since circular fashion is growing popularity, it’s…
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Circular Fashion taking over the Industry?
Circular fashion aims to stimulate the level of collaboration and innovation necessary to create a new textiles economy, bringing together brands, cities, philanthropists and innovators; circular fashion is on the rise. “More clothes are being designed, sources, produced and provided with the intention to be used and circulate responsibly and effectively in society for as long as possible in their most valuable form, and hereafter return safely to the biosphere where no longer of human use.” Dr Anna Brismar But what is circular fashion? Circular fashion is a system where our clothing and personal belongings are produced through a more considered model. An items production is equally as important to…
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Fashion. It Makes the World go Round
How circular fashion can greatly improve the planet and fashion industry We live in an age where the fashion industry essentially runs a lot of the world, dressing celebrities, royals, and everyday people – fashion is the thing that connects us all. But what if fashion is also damaging the planet? No matter which way we look at it, fashion is a huge part of each of our lives. Supply and demand has made fashion a conveyer belt of making clothes to supply to people, only for them to be discarded as waste when they are no longer needed. This in itself is creating a huge problem for the planet…
