What is slow fashion?
Slow fashion encompasses awareness and an approach to fashion that considers the processes and resources required to make clothing. It advocates buying better-quality garments that will last longer and values fair treatment of people, animals, and the planet along the way.
Slow fashion becomes a movement.
‘‘Slow Fashion’’ movement has taken its cues from the now-popular ‘‘slow food’’ movement, which – besides emphasising slow cooking methods – has also made efforts to support small, local farmers and to promote the use of local and seasonal produce.
Slow fashion does not refer to time as its name suggests, but rather to a philosophy of attentiveness which is mindful of its various stakeholders’ respective needs (with ‘‘stakeholders’’ referring to designers, buyers, retailers, and consumers) and of the impact producing fashion has on workers, consumers, and eco- systems. There is a compelling need for a slower pace in the fashion industry. As research shows, 19% of the top fast fashion-related searches are linked to the environment, ethics, and sustainability. As awareness and popularity in sustainability increases, the planet and all its inhabitants are set to benefit from this slower and more considered approach to fashion.
Indeed, slow fashion is the opposite of fast fashion that emerged around 20 years ago, in which clothes became cheaper, and trend cycles sped up. With brands like H&M burning many tonnes of unsold garments per year despite ongoing sustainability efforts to close the loop in fashion. Fast fashion retailers have two main goals: to reduce lead time, provide fashionable merchandise concurrently as trends emerge, and promote continual economic growth.
Conversely, the slow fashion process challenges apparel firms to make the effort to include sustainable, environmental, and ethical practices into their designs, to select production methods that emphasise quality, craftsmanship, and experienced labour, and to educate consumers so that they can play an active role in making informed decisions regarding their apparel selections.
Initially, slow fashion asks us to take a step back and decide if we really need something new, or if we can shop our closet for some forgotten piece that maybe just needs a small repair. It then encourages us to buy fewer garments less often, and opt for a second hand when we can. When it comes to buying new, instead of purchasing six cheap polyester tops that will unravel after one or two wears, for example, conscious consumers invest in higher quality pieces. Finally, slow fashion asks us to stop treating our clothes as disposable and to make an effort to repair, upcycle, pass along, or responsibly dispose of them when they no longer serve us.
Some characteristics of a Slow Fashion Brand:
Made from high quality, sustainable materials like linen
Garments are more timeless than trendy
Often sold in smaller (local) stores rather than huge chain enterprises
Locally sourced, produced and sold garments
Few, specific styles per collection, which are released twice or maximum three times per year, or a permanent seasonless collection
Often made-to-order to reduce unnecessary production
Source: Kate Fletcher, Good on You, Slow fashion movement: Understanding consumer perceptions—An exploratory study by Sanjukta Pookulangara, Arlesa Shephard.
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