What is the Fast Fashion Vs. Slow Fashion Movement?
When we hear the word fashion, the first thing we think about are catwalks and designer labels. But the term describes far more than that. There is Fast Fashion and Slow Fashion.
Remember walking into Zara, H&M and Forever 21, places we frequented to pick up last-minute pieces that were stylish, but also fit within our budget? That's Fast Fashion. Fast Fashion makes shopping for clothes more affordable, but it comes at an environmental cost, corners are more likely to be cut. Fast fashion focuses on speed and low costs in order to deliver frequent styles and trends. We live in a consumerist society, and shopping habits are having a devastating consequences.
Whenever we indulge in shopping therapy, we contribute to global warming, polluted oceans, and growth of toxic landfill sites. A lot of this clothing ends up in the dump. The equivalent of one garbage truck full of clothes is burned or dumped in a landfill every second.
I love fashion but over the years I started analyzing my wardrobe, then downsizing. Clearing out anything I don't wear or need, and started thinking minimalist. I was guilty as charged but now I've adapted a slow fashion mentality.
Slow fashion means to take the time to understand the full impact of clothing with a holistic approach to the way we consume fashion.
True slow fashion products are made thoughtfully with high quality and longevity in mind. This includes the ecology, ethics and sustainability of clothing and versatility. Times are changing, in the digital age – consumers are hungry for more information. They want to make sure that their purchase decisions reflect their ethics.
The first step to slow fashion is reducing what you have and how much you buy.
Don’t buy anything unless you need it.
In my journey to a more simplistic life, I’ve learned to start loving what I’ve got. If I need new clothing I ensure its something that will last and it's comfortable or classic. If it is sustainable materials and socially responsible then it’s a real winner.
When you are shopping, take a mindful approach.
You’ll even start to feel the mindset change across your whole life from fashion, to food choices, to simplicity, to embracing the slow life in general...where less is more.
What are the Characteristics of Slow Fashion?
Here is a list of what what slow fashion is:
- Making mindful and conscious choices
- Reduce shopping consumption
- Locally sourced, produced and sold garments
- Timeless pieces (quality not quantity, classic not trendy)
- Think simplicity
- Made from high quality, sustainable materials
- Few, specific styles per collection, which are released twice or maximum three times per year from company