Slow fashion, a new way of making and wearing clothes
The term slow fashion , slow fashion or ethical fashion was coined in 2007 by Kate Fletcher , professor of Sustainability, Design and Fashion at the Center for Sustainable Fashion in London.
Behind the concept of slow fashion there is a different way of understanding the textile sector , from the origin of the garments to their use by users.
About two decades ago, large textile brands implemented the fast fashion model, a model based on the mass production of low-quality garments with high environmental and social impact.
In fact, “fast fashion” has meant that, in recent years, the textile sector has become the second most polluting sector on the planet (responsible for 10% of carbon emissions).
For this reason, slow fashion arises as a reaction to this little or no responsible way of understanding the sector, advocating for a more sustainable, conscious and responsible producer-user model and relationship.
How did slow fashion , slow fashion or ethical fashion appear?
Slow fashion began to gain strength after the tragedy that occurred in 2013 in a textile factory in Bangladesh.
The facilities, which did not comply with basic safety measures, collapsed and collapsed, causing the death of more than a thousand workers, more than half of them women.
After the tragedy, which was broadcast by several global television networks, users began to opt for slow fashion , that is, to purchase fair trade and higher quality clothing, to the detriment of cheaper but more harmful clothing for the planet.
The bases of slow fashion for producers
Any brand or fashion designer who wants to create their clothing following the slow fashion or ethical fashion model must base themselves on the aspects we talk about below.
The origin of the materials
Ethical fashion promotes the use of kilometer zero materials compared to materials from more distant places (especially Asia).
Local production of materials reduces costs in environmental terms by avoiding the long journeys involved in importing them.
The quality of the materials
The origin of the materials is key, but so is their quality.
Unlike fast fashion, slow fashion is committed to the use of high-quality materials that extend the useful life of garments, mainly organic cotton .
Clothing should be a long-lasting product, not one that, due to poor quality materials, deteriorates quickly and ends up in the trash.
Local, ethical and quality work
Faced with the relocation of production to developing countries, slow fashion and its local production is a source of work for people in the area , who receive a fair salary.
In this way, labor exploitation is avoided in countries with lower production costs, the result of which is also low-quality garments with enormous environmental impact (since, in these countries, environmental laws are usually more lax or non-existent). .
A production with a “zero waste” objective
Another of the bases of slow fashion is to continue improving production processes to achieve “zero waste”.
That is to say, ethical fashion must be an increasingly less polluting activity, with the consequent benefit for the planet.
Limited and timeless production
Slow fashion rejects large-scale industrial production and the temporality of garments . Instead, it focuses on smaller, more artisanal production that prioritizes quality over quantity.
The traceability of garments
The traceability of slow fashion garments means that the user knows who, where and under what conditions the garments they purchase have been made.
This way, you ensure that you are purchasing sustainable and ethical clothing.
The bases of slow fashion for users
Ethical fashion is not limited to producers: we, the users, must also do our part to continue making slow fashion and its responsible model possible.
Conscious clothing consumption
Users must change the fast fashion mentality that makes us see textile products (clothing, cords, accessories...) as “use and throw away” products after a few uses.
Rather, we must begin to view clothing as a long-lasting product that can be fixed, reused, and even recycled. This is how we fulfill the famous 3 Rs of everyday sustainability: reduce, reuse and recycle .
Prioritize locally produced clothing
Although the price of slow fashion may be higher, we must keep in mind that, by purchasing that garment, we are supporting local, fair and quality work .
Likewise, and as we have seen, the planet will thank us for saving it from the enormous amount of polluting gases that it receives each year only from the textile sector.
In short, what slow fashion pursues by both producers and users is, in a certain way, the return to the traditional business model prior to the last industrial revolution.
And this model is the local production, sale and consumption of clothing that we will use much longer than the fast fashion of the big brands has imposed, women's jeans , men's jeans or any other type of denim garment that will be capable to last even years.
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Bustins Jeans, the slow fashion brand from the Costa Brava
At Bustins Jeans (formerly Bustins Stock) we are a pioneering denim clothing brand that has followed the slow fashion or ethical fashion model for more than fifty years:
- Because we are committed to the local and ethical production of our garments, created with quality and kilometer zero materials.
- Because the catalog of our women's denim clothing and men's denim clothing is small and timeless , since, for us, quality is above quantity and mass production.
- Because we continue to improve our manufacturing processes to make them increasingly more environmentally friendly. This is how we adjust to sustainable development goal number 12 "Responsible Production and Consumption" of the United Nations 2030 Agenda .
But, above all, we are slow fashion because our planet needs it more than ever.
Denim store