This time I’ve created my collection with a roleplay attached. I’m putting myself into the role of the „Fashion-Fairy” who shows and tells you how big the impact of fast fashion to our environment is. The fairy might look evil, because who loves to hear, that what we are doing is harmful, but I assure you it’s only a battle-look to fight against the deteriorative side of the fashion industry for a better change.
The inspiration came, when I ordered some leftover fabrics from a retailer (yes, trying to use every opportunity to not get things dumbed into trash lands) and next to nice and fun fabrics I received a bunch of plastic net-like stuff. It was so horrific for me, that not even to mention the fact, that these were produced, but also that they been sold, so the leftover landed in my package. So crazy, what this industry is producing and how unnecessary these items are and would be easy to replace with some more healthy options.
The idea came, that I’ll sew these items to my some of my old clothes, that were not worn for a long time and received a second chance to have a new purpose. The leftovers are representing the smog, the fog that is around us silently and covering our skin, our life, our health…
Here are some sad but true facts about fast fashion (source https://goodonyou.eco/fast-fashion-facts/):
- “93% of brands surveyed by the Fashion Checker aren’t paying garment workers a living wage” (Fashion Checker, 2023)
- “Clothing production is the third biggest manufacturing industry after the automotive and technology industries. Textile production contributes more to climate change than international aviation and shipping combined” (House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee (UK), 2019)
- “A mere 12% of fashion companies, down from 15% the previous year, disclose the quantity of products produced annually” (Fashion Transparency Index, 2023)
- “Videos tagged with #haul on TikTok have cumulatively been viewed more than 49bn times as of writing, and that number increases every minute” (Good On You, 2023)
- “Fast fashion brands like SHEIN, REVOLVE, and Romwe all score less than 10% on the Fashion Transparency Index” (Fashion Transparency Index, 2023)
- “The fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of carbon emissions” (UN Environment, 2019)
- “45% of the large brands we looked at had set greenhouse gas emissions targets covering at least some of their direct operations or supply chains, but only 21% of large brands had science-based targets” (Good On You, 2022)
- “The textile sector still represents 10-20% of pesticide use.” (The State of Fashion, McKinsey, 2020)
- “Each year millions of tonnes of clothes are produced, worn, and thrown away. Every second, the equivalent of a rubbish truck load of clothes is burnt or buried in landfill.” (Ellen McArthur Foundation)
- “16 out of 21 items from 10 fashion brands donated through their take-back schemes were either destroyed, left in warehouses or exported to Africa, where up to half of used clothing are quickly shredded for other uses or dumped.” (Changing Markets Foundation, 2023)
- “Three out of five of the 100bn garments […] will end up in landfill within a year” (Clean Clothes Campaign, 2019)
- “The production of synthetic fibres for the textile industry currently accounts for 1.35% of global oil consumption. This exceeds the annual oil consumption of Spain. ” (Changing Markets Foundation, 2021)
- “Plastic particles washed off from products such as synthetic clothes contribute up to 35% of the primary plastic that is polluting our oceans. Every time we do our laundry an average of 9 million microfibers are released into wastewater treatment plants that cannot filter them.” (Ocean Clean Wash, 2023)
- “Synthetic fibres have dominated the fibre market since the mid-1990s, when they overtook cotton volumes. With around 72m tonnes of synthetic fibres, this fibre category made up approximately 64% of the global fibre production in 2021” (Textile Exchange, 2022)
Another great article, which is not only summarizing some other facts, but also giving a guideline at the end, how we can act on our everyday, to make a change: https://earth.org/statistics-about-fast-fashion-waste/
My favourite two are here:
“🌱 Embrace Sustainable Habits: Make sustainable choices in your everyday life. Reduce single-use plastics, choose eco-friendly products, prioritize a plant-based diet and reduce meat consumption, and opt for sustainable fashion and transportation. Small changes can have a big impact.
💬 Be Vocal, Engage and Educate Others: Spread awareness about the climate crisis and the importance of environmental stewardship. Engage in conversations, share information, and inspire others to take action. Together, we can create a global movement for a sustainable future.”
So next time when you go shopping, let my fairy be your companion and whispering to you ears: Does this piece feels good on your skin? You might though need to check the label before you shop. Unfortunately, even “bad” fabrics can have fantastic touch and feel soft, so we really need to be aware, what we purchase. With love: The Fashion Fairy.