What Is Slow Fashion?

We hear about fast fashion time and time again as people become aware of the environmental impact of the fashion industry. But what about slow fashion?

What is slow fashion?

Slow fashion considers the process and resources that go in to making items of clothing, mainly focusing on sustainability. The idea is that you purchase higher quality items that will last a lot longer. The production process also fairly treats the people that make the clothing, the planet and animals.

There has been a rise in slow fashion over the past few years. Consumers are becoming more aware of the effects of fast fashion and they’re pushing for brands to become more ethical and sustainable.

In an ideal world clothing would be made from high quality sustainable fabrics. Garments would be locally produced and sold, and come from smaller stores over global brands. Clothing collections would also only be released two or three times a year rather than continuously.

Considering My Purchases

Recently I decided that I’m fed up of always wearing the same things so I ordered some new pieces online. I picked items that I wouldn’t normally go for to try out a bit of a new look. I browsed a website I’ve never shopped on before because I follow an Instagramer who has a collection with them.

This Instagramer is known for the luxury pieces she owns so I was expecting good quality clothing. I couldn’t have been more wrong. When the dress and knitted top turned up I was really disappointed. The dress was so thin if the light was in the wrong place it would be see through. The knit may as well have been cardboard. Aside from the items being a horrible fit, based on the quality I would’ve sent them back even if they had fit well. I’ve always known the cheaper the item the worse quality it’s likely to be but I was still surprised.

This has made me realise that I would actually much rather go without something than have something that is poorly made. I feel like it would be very unrealistic of me to say that from now on I will only buy from slow fashion brands. However, if I find something I love that is fast fashion and I won’t get the wear, or it’s terrible quality then I won’t buy it. If I buy from fast fashion then I need to know that I’ll wear it out or pass it on.

I think we also need to be careful not to shame people who do shop fast fashion. Not everyone has the means to spend more on slow fashion. Instead, I think the focus should be on shopping sensibly.

I have a post coming up soon on changing the way I shop which goes into more detail on the changes that I’m making. Would you make the move from fast to slow fashion?