As you’re reading this, you are probably wearing at least one thing made out of fast fashion. But I bet you didn’t know the harm that was put into it. Fast fashion is environmentally harmful, abusive towards animals, and damages resources. But there’s something called slow fashion, which has mindfulness of resources, refrains from using animal products, has good pricing, and will last you a lifetime. As the world progresses, fast fashion is more commonly used, and slow fashion is fading away. However, some of us have come to see the importance of slow fashion and why we need it in our wardrobe.
Firstly, fast fashion consists of resource-damaging fabrics. The fast fashion industry uses 93 billion cubic meters of water every year on clothes. That’s enough to meet the water consumption of 5 million people. Not only that, but every year, 150 million trees are cut and used as fabrics for fast fashion. It doesn’t even end there, because every year, disposed fast fashion clothes release 500,000 tons of microfibers into the ocean, equivalent to 50 billion plastic bottles. It’s harmful for animals too. Believe it or not, even child labor is involved. According to the International Labor Organization, 170 million children worldwide are forced into doing labor, mostly for manufacturing clothes for fast fashion brands. Clearly, fast fashion has more to hide than a new season of clothes.
On the other hand, slow fashion’s aim is to reduce the amount of clothes ending up in landfills, and sticks with traditional patterns to reduce having people continuously buying trend after trend and encourage a wardrobe free from unneeded clothes. It also refrains from using animal ingredients, and doesn’t support animal testing. For example, clothes made from slow fashion are made with organic ingredients and dyes. This world needs saving, and buying slow fashion clothes is the perfect way to do so. If you are now coming to realize the cruelty behind those elegant silk sarees and cozy cashmere sweaters, here’s what you can do. You can replace wool clothes with non-damaging fabrics. If you need some help, Suva is a slow fashion store, so you can shop there. Secondly, choose toiletries, personal care products, cosmetics, and accessories containing no animal ingredients and free from plastic. Finally, warn others. Doing all this would help save the planet. Every choice you make counts, and it’s up to you to create a beautiful, eco-friendly future.
Written by
Myiesha Jain