The 3 Rs Roll Into Fashion
Over the past few years, there’s been a massive growth in the amount of people super interested in sustainable fashion. According to the State of Fashion Report, 2019 was ‘the year of awakening’ – the time that we all woke up and started demanding radical transparency and social responsibility from fashion brands both big and small. We are repairing our clothes more often. There’s been a boom in secondhand.
The fashion industry as a whole has been adapting and coming up with new ideas to tap into our desire to be more eco-friendly. Well-established labels are innovating, with new techniques for manufacturing and new fabrics and materials that don’t harm the environment as much as the old ones. New brands like LØCI has sprung up to offer more diversity in sustainable fashion by using sustainable materials like recycled PET plastic and bamboo. What’s more, LØCI sneakers are timeless fashion that go with any and every outfit. Sneakers are the new little black dress and with so many styles out there such as all white sneakers there's a style for everyone.
One of the ways that the latest fashion trends are tapping into the green revolution is by using “The 3 Rs”!
Reduce, reuse and recycle – that should be the mantra for all consumerism. These three methods are helping us to cut down on waste and they’re all relevant to our sartorial choices.
As I’ve already pointed out, secondhand is making a comeback. There’s nothing cooler than finding a bargain in a thrift store and giving it a second lease of life. It’s even better when you buy from a charity shop. Not only are you extending the life of the garments and thus reducing waste, you’re also making a donation to a good cause.
On the flip side of that, we’ve stopped throwing away as many fashion items too. If we’re not donating them to shops for secondhand purchasing, we’re looking at ways our old fashion can make us money. Resale is a great way of boosting your bank balance and being sustainable at the same time. There are plenty of websites and apps to help with every niche – like marketplace app Depop for vintage and Rebelle focusing on high-end items.
Also becoming ever more popular is rental fashion. Trends are constantly changing and rather than spending so much of our hard-earned dough to keep up, lots of us are looking for a temporary fix. So, than throwing our wages at a brand new dress, we search for the same thing on a rental site. This is a great solution for clothes that we naturally won’t be wearing for too long. Think party wear, maternity wear and children’s clothes. It also stops us indulging in cheap, throwaway fashion that is produced in less developed countries in situations that may not be ethical, for example, factories where workers don’t get a living wage.
The most sustainable outfit is the one already in your wardrobe. Up-cycling is all about transforming by-products, waste materials, useless, or unwanted products into new materials or products of better quality and environmental value. So, get customizing, redesigning, adding and amending to give your old outfits a new fit, style or colour. The environmental impact of jeans is very high, so it’s great that the current trend for up-cycling denim has created some unique items including bags, jackets and even other pairs of jeans.
