Why Slow Fashion is the Only Choice for Sustainable Fashion Clothing

‘Slow fashion’ is the current buzzword – and the opposite of fast fashion. Fast fashion retailers like Zara and H&M flood the market with low-quality clothes. They sell garments for people to wear only a few times until someone sets a new trend.

As people buy fashion they only use now and then before discarding it, landfills globally are full of discarded ‘slow fashion’ items; this affects the environment exponentially.

Sustainability is an equally important buzzword, so many savvy consumers and designers in the fashion industry have become aware of creating sustainability practices for non-fast fashion garments that will withstand the test of time. They create timeless, classic ‘slow fashion’ garments that don't harm the planet.

Thus, biodegradable and ethical fashion has become another important trend. Slow fashion trends focus on reducing the amount of unethical fashion that manufacturers produce in bucketloads.

Slow Fashion Clothing is Ethical Fashion

Slow fashion is, in essence, sustainable clothes. Slow fashion UK brand manufacturers produce clothes that are high quality.

The ‘slow fashion’ trend follows on the heels of the slow food movement, created in 1986 by Italian Carlo Petrini. The ‘slow food’ movement focused on educating the public about fast food and promoting local food cultures and traditions instead.

In the same vein as the fast food movement, slow fashion suggests we buy more biodegradable garments and avoid fast fashion consumption.

Sustainable or ‘slow fashion’ advocates creating and selling a fashion brand that will withstand the test of time. To manufacture slow fashion brands, companies use biodegradable materials that are long-lasting and designed in classic styles. This way, the clothing lasts longer than the current 5-minute trends advocated by fast fashion.

Manufacturers producing eco-friendly fashion brands are manufacturing slow fashion items with a much lower environmental impact that won’t end up in landfills.

Many people discard used clothes. But if you were to consider sustainability, you would think about recycling your ‘slow fashion’ items and reusing them. After all, the material used to make these items is long-wearing. Popular eco-friendly brand textile choices include organic cotton, linen, and Tencel.

What are Slow Fashion Clothes?

Not only do we make more environmentally safe fashion brands out of eco-friendly raw materials, but we also produce sustainable fashion:

· Brand factories dye the fabrics and print on them using eco-friendly methods that utilise far less energy and water.

· They use fewer chemicals in the manufacturing process.

· Manufacturers consider the environment when they produce a ‘slow fashion’ brand so that there is little, or very little waste. These manufacturers also treat their workers well and offer them a clean, safe working environment.

· ‘Slow fashion’ is clothing that factories don't mass-produce: manufacturers create sustainable fashion clothing in small batches to reduce waste and ensure good quality control; this is very important in the ‘slow fashion’ business.

· Sustainable garments are long-lasting as they are of good quality and manufacturers make them using excellent materials.

The Emergence of Sustainable Slow Fashion Clothing Brands

Nobody used the term ‘slow fashion brand’ until way back in 2007, when Kate Fletcher, Professor of Sustainable Fashion at the London College of Fashion came up with the term and started a fashion revolution.

A professor, activist, and designer, she reacted to the effects fast fashion is having on the planet. In an article she wrote for The Ecologist way back in 2007, she certified fast fashion as emphasising quality over quantity. "People use traditional craftsmanship techniques to create long-lasting clothing”, she said. 

Sustainable clothes are not based on time, but quality, she continued. “Slow is not the opposite of fast – there is no dualism – but a different approach where designers, buyers, retailers, and consumers are more aware of the impacts products have on workers, communities, and ecosystems.”

Sure, fashion that is not sustainable is a lot cheaper, but as Ms Fletcher explains: “Of course, quality costs more. We will buy fewer products, but ones that are higher in value. A fairer distribution of the ticket price through the supply chain is an intrinsic part of the agenda.

"...More sustainable design enables a richer interaction between designer and maker; maker and garment; garment and user.”

The Key Principles of The ‘Wear Slow Fashion’ Movement

Kate Fletcher’s points, made so long ago, are the gist of more eco-friendly fashion today and made many people and businesses like maake join the ‘slow fashion’ movement and use fabrics that are certified sustainable. (Read our guide on textile certification here). As part of today’s sustainable fashion trend, people take consider the following:

1.     Sustainability: This involves being environmentally aware throughout the lifecycle of the garment, from the moment a business has made pieces to when they dye and print on them, design, use, and finally discard them.

2.     Fair trade: Involves promoting good fair labour practices in every sphere of the fashion industry. Every business has to ensure they treat their employees well and give them fair, healthy working conditions.

3.     Local production: Part of being environmentally safe is looking after small local businesses and using locally made materials and resources. Buying locally means that we can reduce carbon emissions created by transporting those pieces.

4.     Quality manufacture: It’s important to emphasise the importance of focusing on good quality over quantity. It’s all about buying fewer quality clothes than cheaper fast fashion brands made of poor quality materials.

5.     Transparency: Manufacturers and retailers need to be transparent about how they make these items, where they make them, and what they make the clothing from. That's ‘fast fashion’ versus ‘sustainable fashion’.

The Sustainable Fashion Movement asks you to:

· Choose fashion items that you already have in your wardrobe.

· Buy good, gently worn vintage garments so that you’re recycling.

· Purchase fewer items less often – choosing quality pieces over quantity for your wardrobe, more sustainable items over fast fashion brands.

· Purchase good quality pieces over quantity.

· Find natural, organic, and environmentally safe fabrics.

How to Adopt Fashion Sustainability 

If you shop for good quality ‘slow fashion’ clothing that is classic, you’re making a conscious decision to buy pieces that will last and will withstand fashion trends.

This is the antithesis of fast fashion, which is on trend today, and out of fashion next week. Fast fashion brands produce low-quality clothes. They make these mostly out of cheap synthetic materials, cheap labour, and manufacture unethically.

Sustainable brands fall into a more expensive price range because:

1. · Factories manufacture them sustainably.

   · We make sustainable fashion clothing from quality natural and organic environmentally safe materials. 

   · Local artisans create sustainable fashion with impeccable craftsmanship. 

   · The sustainable clothes industry wants to be long-lasting.

   · Production costs are higher for the eco-friendly fashion industry, which is also why it’s more expensive.

   · When we make clothes ethically, we pay our workers good wages and they work in safe, healthy conditions. 

4 Important Questions to ask About Clothing

Before you buy any brand, ask yourself these 4 questions to find out whether you are looking for sustainable materials and clothes. If not, follow these tips to choose more eco-friendly brands:

1. Am I buying from a store that sells a quality clothing brand? Fast fashion outlets abound, so be more discerning. Find retailers who offer quality brands with craftmanship involved in their manufacture, or garments made by designers or brands known for their environmentally friendly fashion ethos. 

2. Have I read the label and taken note of what it says? Check whether the textile is organic, synthetic, or both. Natural and organic fibres such as cotton, wool, linen, hemp, etc all feature more hard-wearing, comfortable clothing.  

3. How much does it cost to clean the garment? Check the washing instructions. If you have to dry clean an item, only purchase it if you will wear it several times. If you’re planning to wear it regularly, caring for the garment will be expensive.

4. Do I know enough about fashion sustainability to make an informed decision? Do you know which clothing people consider fast fashion, and, in contrast, which are the more environmentally safe fashion brands?

If you’re unsure about fashion sustainability, why not read the comprehensive blog we compiled on fast fashion, The Problem with Fast Fashion. We also put together an explanatory blog on Why Sustainability in Fashion is so Important, which will put details about sustainability into perspective for you

Help Bring Down Fast Fashion Numbers…

We recently researched some sobering statistics which are worth taking a look at here:

· Statistics in an article in Waste Managed showed that the UK produces the fourth largest amount of textile waste in Europe. We generate approximately 206,456 tonnes every year. And, as further statistics show, it’s expected that by 2050, £140 billion worth of clothes will end up in UK landfills. That’s bad news for the fashion industry.

· Talking of 2050, other stats tell us that by that year, fast fashion will account for 10% of CO2 emissions on a global scale. And manufacturers will use 25% of carbon emissions to make these garments. That’s before people discard those items which then end up in landfills.

Make the Transition to Slow Fashion

Some guidelines on understanding the importance of choosing a biodegradable fashion brand and shifting your mindset:

1. 1.     Love what you already have

   It’s time to fall in love with your wardrobe and take care of your clothing so that items last a long time. There are several ways to extend the life of your clothes: wash with care, sew on missing buttons, or replace broken zips. Remove stains the moment they happen. 

   2.    Buy second-hand

   Discover some of the many second-hand and vintage stores; they are veritable treasure troves of quality, sustainable slow clothes. You’ll often find garments that still have their labels on because in this era of excess, many of us buy too much and never get around to wearing some pieces.

   Aside from ‘new old clothing’, gently worn garments are cheaper than purchasing quality pieces first-hand. After all, websites like Etsy and Amazon have made a fortune selling used goods to their customers. So check out what they have to offer.

   3.        Buy British

   Support local brands, choose a manufacturer who specialises in eco-friendly fashion for its customers, a sustainable brand that produces quality clothing.

   4.       Take a sustainable perspective

   Think about your wardrobe in a different light. Keep your clothes rather than discard them. These garments should last; you should be part of the slow fashion movement and wear this type of fashion for years. You should only buy fashion items you love, brands you will cherish in years to come in a size and style that will suit you.

   Think about your clothing from the perspective of more biodegradable fashion. Value your sustainable slow fashion items and how manufacturers produce these brands. After all, the craftmanship and care taken in producing sustainable and ethical brands are what matters. 

   Follow our Lead Towards Ethical Production

   We are textile manufacturers and printers, and we focus on the supply of sustainable products. We are the winners of the 2023 Awards for Most Ethical Fabric and Best Custom Printing! We focus on creating a sustainable world with seamless custom textile printing and ethical production, and where we produce and supply clothing that we tailor just for you and made only when you order it. We take slow to heart.

   • maake has a zero waste policy– we don’t waste any of the material we print. Instead, we supply local charities, schools and educational establishments with excess fabrics and cut-offs for them to reuse. In addition, we supply our customers with upcycling bagsof various sizes, filled with cut-off fabric – free of charge.
   • We fit all our printing machines with energy-saving cut-off switches to reduce energy consumption. That’s how we stay sustainable.
   • We only use biodegradable inks when we print designs on fabrics.
   • We only print what you need to ensure no waste fabrics sit on shelves. 
   • We don’t resell or restock any printed material that people return to us. Instead, we donate the fabrics or offer it free of charge to our customers – see above.
   • We source all our materials ethically from UK-trusted mills. This helps the local economy.
   • We believe in local production – we produce your entire order in our NW London mill. If you prefer, you can pick up your order to reduce our carbon footprint.

   Read all about our focus on social responsibility here.

   Non-fast Fashion: Sustainable Design & Printing with maake

   When you shop with us for fabrics and textile printing, you can also make use of our innovative design tools that will assist you in being more sustainable. They will make your products more cost-effective, too. These include:

   • A Sample Bookof every fabric we offer, featuring small-size swatches of each fabric to give you an idea your product’s look and feel when we have printed on it.
   • A handy Colour Atlas, a 1-metre size piece of fabric printed with the 2,400+ colours we use when we print. It gives you an idea of each colour and its code.

    Design your own fabrics

   Choose from our wide selection of beautiful fabrics