The optimist in me hopes that the high frequency of news on the unethical and unsustainable practices the fashion industry is in turn encouraging a greater appetite to learn about the origins of our clothes, and fostering an openness to change. But how to start tackling shopping habits that have been conditioned in us for years? The time couldn’t be better to publish the advice section of my confessions series, in the hopes that I can guide fledgling fast fashion boycotters into the warm, open embrace of slow fashion and independent businesses.
There are almost too many reasons to list for why you should axe fast fashion from your lifestyle and seek sustainable and ethical alternatives. But they need to be said.
You might be thinking: at what point does shopping online become an addiction? Where does one draw the line between being a fashion savant with a budget, and being a hoarder of wasteful textiles taking advantage of that ASOS free delivery membership in an unsustainable, unethical and, on reflection, unhealthy way? Full disclosure: I am a self-acclaimed shopping addict in recovery.
We reached out to women from all over and invited them to take part in a flash interview: Who are they inspired by? What challenges do they face? How do they celebrate being a woman?