To put it bluntly, Fast Fashion is not sustainable. While Fast Fashion offers inexpensive, accessible, and trendy clothes and accessories through a never-ending stream of new and enticing products, its “fast” approach of consumption on a massive scale is a serious problem for the environment and society. I’ve been guilty of shopping at Zara and H&M countless times over the years. It’s super convenient to shop Fast Fashion, especially when I’ve neglected to pack something while on travel, which happens a lot. Take for example, the last time I was in London where I pretty much replaced everything I packed for warmer clothes at Zara, so I could be comfortable while still looking presentable and fashionable. However, as a minimalist and someone who clears out my closet ALL the time (I just don’t have the space in my city condo), my Zara and H&M clothes are literally worn once and then donated. So, gradually, I’ve almost entirely abandoned fast shopping for items that will last, and I know I will wear repeatedly, despite being more expensive. Cost per wear is something I value more and more, and so has sustainability.
What is Sustainability?
What is sustainability and what is sustainable fashion? There are so many definitions, aspects, and principles/philosophies for sustainability from efforts to save the planet, to business models, to accounting principles. I am not an expert on sustainability, but I think I grasp the general concept, and here’s my take.
According to Merriam-Webster, to be sustainable is defined as, “of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently changed” or “of or relating to a lifestyle involving the use of sustainable methods.” In a nutshell, sustainability means the process by which something is sustained or maintained at a certain level. Because of growing concerns for the environment, sustainability has more recently and specifically been applied to the processes, actions, and commitment of people to avoid depleting natural resources unnecessarily in pursuit of ecological balance without compromising the quality of life of modern and future societies. For corporations, such as fashion brands, there are three pillars or foundations of what sustainability represents: (1) the economy (profit); (2) society (people); and (3) the environment (planet).
Fast Fashion
Sustainability applied to corporations and fashion brands attempts to function by focusing not only on the bottom line or profit but by considering societal and environmental needs to be just as important. Fast Fashion contributes to massive consumerism that quickly gets tossed away because fashion trends change so quickly. As a result, landfills fill up. Also, fast clothing is typically made with synthetic fibers or virgin fabrics that constantly require the Earth’s fossil fuels like coal and gas instead of using recycled materials or natural fibers like bamboo. Because the bottom line for Fast Fashion is an obsession with profits, mass-production from cheap labor instead of fair labor is tempting and often practiced. To give Fast Fashion brands such as Zara and H&M credit, while they did not start off as sustainable brands, both companies have since launched sustainable or eco-friendly collections. H&M and Zara offer a “Conscious” line and a “Join Life Collection,” respectively. So, consumers who prefer to shop sustainably have those options at Fast Fashion brands now.
Slow Fashion
Slow Fashion is a conscious alternative to Fast Fashion that is a sustainable approach from its inception to creating fashion and accessories not merely for the highest profit. In our society, anything “fast” immediately jumps out as being better, more efficient, and responsive. But don’t let the word “slow” fool you into thinking it’s inferior! Slow implies care, thoughtfulness, and quality time. Slow Fashion attempts to improve society through its design processes of using scarce global resources wisely and employing fair labor practices that provide higher wages to workers, all while providing a product that can be enjoyed and consumed ethically. Slow Fashion isn’t just preoccupied with the latest trends that move through fashion rapidly but creates durable products with greater care and higher quality that are designed to last and minimize waste, and therefore, be sustainable.
Alterre
One fashion brand that is leading efforts in sustainability and Slow Fashion is Alterre, a New York City-based footwear company founded and designed by Shilpa Iyengar and Harmony Pilobello. Alterre not only stands out for its genius design of interchangeable shoes (see my other blog post here), its mission and operations were founded upon the three pillars for sustainability: profits, people, and planet all acting in equal harmony. Iyengar and Pilobello have “…made it their mission to design ethically made shoes that don’t have to sacrifice comfort or style.” The innovative design of Alterre’s interchangeable straps allows for one pair of shoes to be like a chameleon by adding multiple straps in various designs, textures, and colors onto it, thus looking like an entirely different pair of shoes. In other words, a consumer can purchase one pair of Alterre shoes and wear it repeatedly with multiple versions of itself simply by changing the shoe straps. It’s like having many shoes in one. As a result, Alterre sustainably designs fashionable shoes for the modern woman who can avoid unnecessary purchases, and thus later waste, thereby empowering women to also be sustainable shoppers. Alterre shoes are also manufactured according to fair labor practices because people are always more important than profits, and its heels are manufactured with recycled plastic (see again my other blog post here) because the planet is important too. As such, Alterre is taking care of both people and the planet while designing fashionable shoes and earning a well-deserved profit for doing so sustainably.
Paid for post by Alterre.
