“What my friends and I think about sustainable fashion”
At SFW we’re interested in people’s lived experience of sustainability in fashion and what the barriers might be to becoming more sustainable. Anouk Trethowan is volunteering with us for her Duke of Edinburgh Award and here she shares what she and her friends think about sustainable fashion.
The climate crisis’ negative effects have been becoming more and more visible as I’ve grown up and this is worrying for many people, and particularly young people. Personally, I think about it a lot and my friends and I often discuss it. One aspect that is contributing significantly to the current issues is fashion - as clothing production is the third biggest manufacturing industry and is often corrupt. Fashion is important to me because I love having fun with it and I especially like sharing it with my friends by talking about outfits, going shopping and trying on clothes. I also think fashion is significant when you are a teenager because you can experiment and find ways to express yourself. However, when the clothing industry is responsible for 8% of carbon emissions and have workers who aren’t payed a living wage, it can’t be enjoyed. A solution to this is to shop sustainably however it doesn’t always feel that easy.
My friends say that shopping sustainably is great but a lot of them don’t do it. One of the main things stopping them is price; so many shops that have ‘reasonable’ prices are unsustainable and shops that are ethical are much more expensive. Even though it is obvious why they are more expensive and we know that these shops are better, it’s much easier to just buy cheaper clothes from unethical shops, and this is especially relevant because most of my friends don’t have jobs yet. However, they have all told me they would like to improve the sustainability of their shopping.
Another point is, we often find it difficult to know what shops are not good to shop at and to what extent are these shops good or bad, especially with greenwashing making this unclear. One way, that we shop without feeling guilty or unsure is charity shops. These are our favourite shops and have so many benefits. It’s reusing old clothes, making clothes affordable so they are accessible to lots of people, raising money for charity and also I like how unique the things you can find and how it’s fun finding things you like.
Also, my friends and I have talked about trends. We think they are a negative thing because of how wasteful and un-inclusive they are but we have all bought something that was trendy at the time and don’t like now. Also, trends encourage you to buy more which is unnecessary and harmful to the environment and fast fashion means many clothes get thrown out, are unethically mass produced with materials that are not environmentally friendly and there are bad working conditions for workers in the industry.
Overall, my friends and I think sustainable fashion is very important and want to get better at shopping ethically. We think it’s a fun way to look after the planet but also crucial.
Written by Anouk Trethowan