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.