Slow Fashion
Slow fashion is the antithesis to the speed and disposability of fast fashion. It values the process of making clothes and the final garments. It cares about the people who make the clothes and the environmental impact those clothes have over their lifetime.
Quick links
I love clothes, but hate the fashion industry.
When I saw the images from the Rana Plaza garment factory collapse, I knew I couldn’t go back to supporting an industry that literally killed the people making my clothes. So what’s a girl-who-cares to do?
Having an ethical or sustainable wardrobe can mean all sorts of things, so it will help to focus on a few areas that mean the most too you. I’ve broken it down in keeping with Fashion Revolution’s flagship initiatives: #WhoMadeMyClothes and #WhatsInMyClothes. These apply to clothes no matter how you bring them into your home. In the following section we’ll discuss broader systemic issues.
→ More information on each of these points can be found in my Slow Fashion Deep Dive.
Who made my clothes
The fashion industry is at a high risk for modern slavery, gender-based violence, workplace hazards, violence against labour unions, and extremely low wages.
Easiest things to do
Support the little guys. Small businesses and artisans are often the ones doing the most for sustainability. They are finding creative solutions for their textile waste and partnering with researchers to find better materials. Their small and often local manufacturing means they know exactly who made your clothes.
Look for certifications. Fair Trade ensures better working conditions and prices for farmers and workers. B Corp evaluates the whole company, from how their product is manufactured to how sustainable their offices are.
Take a sewing class. Nothing will help you understand the skill that goes into making clothes faster than learning how to do it yourself! Even if you don’t start sewing all your own clothes, you’ll value it in a whole new way.
Look for details. Do they say “we are dedicated to treating our workers fairly” or do they have a whole page about the ins and outs of each of their factories? Do they say “sustainability is a core part of our brand” or do they list specific actions they take?
Did you know?
Where it was made doesn’t mean much. You can’t tell if a garment was made ethically by the country of origin. There are sweatshops in California and good factories in China. That said, there are many advantages to manufacturing goods locally.
What’s in my clothes
The fashion industry creates endangers humans, animals, and the planet through plastic pollution, toxic chemicals, carbon emissions, and ecosystem destruction.
Choose your fabrics wisely!
Check the garment labels before you buy! What does the content label say?
Best: organic cotton, linen, hemp, wool, Tencel.
Not great: recycled polyester, rayon/viscose, and cotton not certified as organic.
Avoid!!!: oil-derived synthetics (like polyester, acrylic, and nylon), real and faux fur and leather.
Easiest things to do
Look for certifications like GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) and OEKO-Tex.
Avoid chemical fabric treatments. Things like waterproofing and anti-wrinkle treatments are highly toxic. (Did you know that waxed cotton canvas raincoats are actually pretty effective? And wool coats can be really warm!)
Skip leather and fur clothes…even if they are vegan. There are many problems with the way animals are farmed for clothing and the chemical processes that turn hide into leather. While there is a practical use for leather in shoes that hasn’t yet been matched by other materials, there is no reason for leather skirts, pants, or jackets unless you are currently on a motorcycle. Avoiding fur is probably obvious, but faux fur is likely made from plastic and is a microplastics nightmare.
The system that makes it happen
The biggest issue in the fashion industry today is the volume of clothing that is produced.
Our current economic system prioritizes profit above all else and that means churning out more clothes faster for less money, which in turn creates many of the risks listed above. This is why I prefer calling it slow fashion. Fashion brands can make a “sustainable” collection made of recycled plastic, but they can’t commodify the concept of slowness.
This is where things can feel mucky, because an organic cotton shirt can be sewn in an unsafe factory. My clarity is: a large multinational corporation cannot be ethical or sustainable. A company whose CEO commissions luxury yachts while workers aren’t paid a living wage is not ethical. A publicly traded company necessarily places shareholders’ profits above all else – because if it doesn’t, the company fails – so any move they make is to increase profit and they can only do that through further exploitation, which is not sustainable.
But before you feel helpless, remember that capitalism has only been around for 500 years. It’s not inevitable. And the definition is not “all buying and selling.” Capitalism is wealth hoarding. We can definitely stand up to that.
“We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words.”
How to be a fashion revolutionary
Wear the clothes you own. This is the easiest one by far! Wear and rewear and rewear again. If you like a goal, consider Livia Firth’s advice to only buy clothing you will wear at least 30 times.
Swap, thrift, and borrow. Yesss let’s keep those clothes in use, baby!
Care for your clothes. Wash in cold water. Don’t use the dryer. Try airing out your clothes instead of washing them each time they just need to freshen up. Spot clean between wears.
Mend and alter. I do what I can to love my clothes as long as possible. This means mending them when they’re damaged and altering them to fit me better if I find I’m not reaching for them.
What to do with clothes you no longer wear. Before heading to the thrift store, try to re-home clothes on your own. Can you swap clothes with friends? Sell them on a secondhand app? Is a local charity asking for gently used winter coats? Or if it’s really worn out, can you use it as a rag around the house? If you must bring them to the thrift store, make sure the garments are freshly washed and in good condition, and only bring clothes that are in season.
Elise Epp is the Executive Director for Fashion Revolution Canada and a senior graphic designer at the International Institute for Sustainable Development.
Inspired by a lifetime of sewing and the devastation of the Rana Plaza collapse, in 2018 she co-founded her local Winnipeg chapter of Fashion Revolution. Since becoming country coordinator in 2021, she has led the organization through its registration as a non-profit and formation of its board.
For the past decade she has been an enthusiastic researcher and communicator on issues surrounding slow fashion. She is particularly interested in decoupling fashion from capitalism, which happens to cover most issues.
Quoted
“When people want to make their wardrobe more sustainable, they think of it like a shopping list. But it isn’t. Mend [your clothes] when they need it—if there’s a tear, patch it, or when a button falls off, sew it back on.”
In Canadian Living, 10 ways to make your wardrobe more sustainable“The fashion industry’s biggest problem—the root cause of all its troubles—is the sheer number of garments it produces. Putting out a new collection to sell more clothing is the polar opposite of sustainability.”
In Elle Canada, Are Fashion Brands Getting Greener?“I’m not working towards a world in which H&M has an upcycled collection. I’m working towards a world in which there are thriving small businesses in every local community around the world.”
In The Georgia Straight, Is upcycling the future of fashion?