Circular Fashion Ecosystem

Source: Vogue Business

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Seems pretty simple, right? Let’s make it happen. If there is something that has set in my head as I devote myself to fashion day after day is that it can’t continue the way it is. Not from a consumer point of view and even less so from a business point of view.

Every day that goes by, climate change worsens. Our beautiful Earth is sick and drastic measures need to be put in place to improve this situation. The fashion industry is responsible for around 5% of all manmade greenhouse gas emissions, and that percentage is set to grow, so what can we do to tackle this massive problem?

REDUCE your consumption of clothes - Let’s go back to the good all days of slow fashion. What was so wrong about that? We’ve got into the habit of the “I want everything and I want it right now” but the reality is that our planet suffers big time from that behaviour. I love fashion, and if you love it as much as you do you will still want to play with your outfits, but perhaps it is worth investing in better garments that will last us longer than buying cheap quality (mostly synthetic fabric) outfits that will not only last very little but you will get tired of very quickly?

REUSE clothing that needs some loving - Instead of buying a new piece of clothing, why not renting it or buying second hand/ vintage? There’s vast amounts of clothing that is donated to charity shops and second hand stores and these are in fabulous condition. I guarantee you that you’ll find every single trend in one of these places and is certainly fun to think you are going back in time by putting somebody’s old clothes as brand new into your wardrobe. What’s the big deal about it? Not to mention that these garments are usually better quality fabric than those that you buy brand new and at a higher price. Think twice on your next purchase! And if you need some recommendations, we are big fans of Vestiaire Collective and our beloved Thanks God I’m a VIP second hand store for all things luxe and vintage and HURR for clothing rental.

RECYCLE those clothes that you no longer love - I am sure as a good fashion lover you will have many things that you either don’t love anymore or want to get rid of in favour of the latest trend. Whilst that is totally OK, be wise in how to dispose of your clothes. First of all, can you pass them on to somebody else? They would probably give it as much love as you did and it’s a great way of recycling and reusing clothes again. If that is not available to you, then of course looking for charity shops or clothing banks to dispose of these would be your best option. Some garments will be more difficult to recycle than others (the biggest problem of this whole process, types of fabric!) but nevertheless worth it.

Change is difficult, but together, we can make great things happen.

This gorj hand bag and skirt are both second hand from a charity shop down the road and i love them.

Caring for the Oceans

Every second breath you take comes from the ocean

Take care of it.

Hello my dearest,

Today I come to you with a matter close to my heart, the ocean. For a girl who has been living 5 minutes walking distance to the sea almost all her life, the sea means a lot. And it was only recently that something that has been happening for decades reality hit me: we are (somewhat) killing it.

Did you know that there’s already around 100 million tons of plastic in the oceans around the world?

Or that each year more than 1 million marine animals are killed by plastic in the ocean?

Yup, neither did I, and it’s really worrying, cause it gets worse. More plastic waste gets into the ocean all the time. On average, one garbage truck per minute. Isn’t that crazy?

As I was paddle boarding a few mornings ago, I encountered a bottle of H&S Shampoo in the middle of the sea. There it was, in the middle of the sea. That just comes to show how much damage has been done and that we as a community need to do something about it.

We shouldn’t allow unclean waters in our local beaches. That is just not OK. We need better systems.

Oil spilling should be condemned. How things like this still happen is beyond me. But not all hope is lost.

Many organisations are committed to combat this massive problem. Ocean CleanUp is one of the most innovative, aiming to develop efficient tools to halt 80% of plastic from entering oceans (as garbage mostly come from rivers) as well as developing a passive cleanup method that will rapidly and cost-effectively clean up the plastic already in the ocean.

There are many others, some of them worth noting, not only because of their initiatives but also their education:

Parley For The Oceans has enabled us to learn more about the global problems around plastic pollution and ways in which we can help avoid it. The organisation has teamed up with big corporate to reuse plastic found in the ocean and give it another purpose. They host webinars and events and you can join your local facebook group to see how you can support them clean-up and take action locally

Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit organisation (US-focused) dedicated to protect water resources and prevent pollution, protect beaches and shorelines as well as to keep beaches free and accessible to all, contributing to the reduction of plastic pollution. There’s a whole network of volunteers that helps to respond to these threats as well as educational activities to raise awareness.

Balloons Blow opened my eyes to something I had never expected: the impact of balloons in the sea. Super fun to play with, specially for big occasions such as a birthday or a wedding, these ballons, even if biodegradable, will negatively impact the marine life. For starters, the ink on the balloon is toxic and takes maaaany years to dissolve and the string accompanying the balloons can strangle animals under the sea. We should avoid this from happening.

5 Gyres Institute is dedicated to reducing plastic pollution through science and education and have already successfully contributed to it with campaigns resulting in the ban of plastic in cosmetic products, for instance. They host webinars and events (mostly US) and their research has been published in several scientific journals

Plastic is a design failure. AVOID single-use plastics. INTERCEPT the plastic that is already damaging the environment. That is by helping cleaning your local area as well as supporting organisations that can achieve greater outcomes. And lastly, REDESIGN plastic into a new premium item. Instead of creating bigger amounts of trash that can’t be erased, recreate something with it. Give it a purpose.