{"id":8360,"date":"2020-10-05T10:06:58","date_gmt":"2020-10-05T09:06:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=8360"},"modified":"2020-10-05T10:07:48","modified_gmt":"2020-10-05T09:07:48","slug":"sustainable-fashion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=8360","title":{"rendered":"Sustainable Fashion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sustainable Fashion<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Since the Sunday Times investigation in July of this year, which uncovered that workers for the clothing brand Boohoo in Leicester were being paid as little as \u00a33.50 an hour, a discussion about sustainable fashion has begun online.<\/p>\n

For many young people, the conversation began a long while ago. Sustainability in fashion has been a longstanding issue, with companies having been called out for their use of sweatshops for years. But for many, the Sunday Times\u2019 expos\u00e9 of Boohoo was the turning point. Everyone was forced to face the reality of cheap, fast fashion, within our everyday society.<\/p>\n

Many of us have turned to online shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic, with clothing brands seeing a significant rise in online orders, especially fast fashion brands such as NastyGal, Pretty Little Thing and the infamous Boohoo.<\/p>\n

But more recently, there has been a trend of brands offering sustainable fashion as more and more people begin to fully understand the impact these brands are having on the world. Online websites such as ASOS and H&M now include a drop-down section where it is possible to select clothing that is made ethically, recycled and environmentally responsible.<\/p>\n

The rise in climate activism is no doubt a factor as to why many young people have turned to sustainable fashion and shopping ethically. The clothing industry has one of the highest impacts on the planet; water usage, chemical pollution from dyeing, and disposing of unsold clothing in landfill sites and incineration creates an incredibly hazardous impact on the environment.<\/p>\n

According to a House of Commons report on the sustainability of the fashion industry, the UK WRAP estimated that around \u00a3140 million worth of clothing goes to landfill every year, with items on average only being worn around 7 times.<\/p>\n

Yet, some fashion brands still are not doing enough to ensure their products are created ethically. Although September 2015 saw a global agreement at the United Nations to implement seventeen Sustainable Development Goals, fast fashion, and unethically sourced materials continue to be a big issue amongst UK retailers.<\/p>\n

A 2016 report found that of the seventy-one leading retailers within the UK, 77% were believed to have a likelihood of modern slavery occurring at some stage within their supply chains. Many of the workers work up to six or seven days a week, serving long hours and often being so physically exhausted that they are unable to continue the work past their 30s.<\/p>\n

For the youth of today, those kinds of figures have meant an increase in sales by charity shops, and a boost in the use of the app Depop, where many sell their pre-owned clothing. Apps such as Good on You have become popular, as a way of discovering how environmentally friendly and sustainable our favourite brands are.<\/p>\n

Climate activism has been mostly driven by the younger generation, and for many, there has been a call for more options within sustainable fashion.<\/p>\n

Two sisters from Cardiff even took to making their own Welsh sustainable clothing brand, Clecs, <\/em>over the period of lockdown. Worried about the environmental impact fast fashion has on the world, Imogen and Bea Riley tried their hand at making a sustainable fashion brand, selling t-shirts and jumpers which are ethically sourced, and therefore ensure fair trade.<\/p>\n

Within days of releasing their jumpers, the items sold out in numerous sizes, proving that their audience \u2013 young adults \u2013 are eager to see sustainability amongst up-and-coming brands. The pair have since gone on to continue expanding their product range and have launched accessories such as sustainably sourced phone cases.<\/p>\n

Imogen and Bea are not the only young people starting their own companies, as hundreds of new businesses are emerging ever day to introduce sustainable alternatives to everyday items.<\/p>\n

But why are we only looking at it now?<\/p>\n

Coronavirus has been an opportunity to expose cracks in the system; with time to reflect, many have been more cautious about what it is they are buying into when it comes to the fashion industry. Although low prices and sales are selling points for online fashion brands, COVID-19 and the rise in climate activism have given many the opportunity to research the ethics of the brands they once favoured.<\/p>\n

Sustainable fashion still presides on the higher end of the market in many cases, which can often lead many to stray away from ethical brands. Brands that offer lower priced items are often those that many shop with but are often the same brands which have a troubling, unethical background.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unfortunate, therefore, that the brands many flock to are the same companies that employ under-paid and overworked garment workers. Yet perhaps that\u2019s why consumers have turned to ethically sourced sustainable fashion \u2013 to buck the trend.<\/p>\n

The tide is changing when it comes to fashion, and consumers are being more cautious when it comes to the decisions they are making when shopping.<\/p>\n

As sustainable fashion becomes more accessible, with high street brands like H&M, Zara, Monki, and Marks & Spencer taking further steps to ensure more ethical trading, sustainable fashion could soon become the norm.<\/p>\n

Hopefully, it will soon be an option to shop ethically without having to break the bank.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Tirion Davies<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sustainable Fashion Since the Sunday Times investigation in July of this year, which uncovered that workers for the clothing brand Boohoo in Leicester were being paid as little as \u00a33.50 an hour, a discussion about sustainable fashion has begun online. For many young people, the conversation began a long while ago. Sustainability in fashion has been a longstanding issue, with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[334,274],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-2aQ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14356,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=14356","url_meta":{"origin":8360,"position":0},"title":"\u201cFast Fashion\u201d","author":"Alan Williams","date":"6th June 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"WENVOE FORUM Considering Tomorrow Today \u201cFast Fashion\u201d Some time ago only the very rich could afford fashionable clothing made by a famous designer such as Gabrielle Chanel or Yves Saint Laurent and that to be a skilful seamstress and able to \u201ccopy\u201d the designs was a very useful attribute, though\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wenvoe Forum"","block_context":{"text":"Wenvoe Forum","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=384"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Picture14.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12293,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=12293","url_meta":{"origin":8360,"position":1},"title":"Planning Applications for October 2022","author":"Alan Williams","date":"10th October 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Planning Applications for October 2022 \u00a0 \u2022 Maytime, Port Road, Wenvoe. Replace existing hedge with a rendered block wall 1.8m high \u2022 Unit C and Unit D, Valegate Retail Park, Culverhouse Cross. Amalgamation of Unit C and Unit D to allow use of the units for the sale of a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Planning Applications"","block_context":{"text":"Planning Applications","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=151"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4780,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=4780","url_meta":{"origin":8360,"position":2},"title":"The “Ideal Summer Body”!","author":"Alan Williams","date":"27th June 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 As the idea of a \u2018summer body\u2019 becomes more and more relevant, so does the idea of the \u2018ideal summer body\u2019. 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