by Sonja Kraft
What is Slow Fashion?
“Slow fashion is about designing, producing, consuming and living better. Slow fashion is not time-based but quality-based. Slow is not the opposite of fast – there is no dualism – but a different approach in which designers, buyers, retailers, and consumers are more aware of the impacts of products on workers, communities, and ecosystems,” according to Kate Fletcher in the Ecologist.
Fast fashion is about buying the newest trend, even if the trend changes every few weeks. Slow fashion is about buying items that are timeless and will still be stylish in seasons to come. It’s about buying clothes that are well made and will make it through more than one season. It’s about taking care of people and the environment.
What Impact Does Slow Fashion Have?
Well the short answer, it has less of an impact!
It is better for the environment
Slow fashion calls for the re-wearing of clothes, which leads to less clothes being thrown away. The fashion industry is one of the leading industries in pollution in the world, and part of that comes from all of the clothes that get thrown into landfills every year. Slow fashion allows for clothes to be made with material and fabrics that will last, so the clothes don’t get worn out after just a few uses. At Purnaa we are committed to working on long-term sustainability strategies to ensure we minimize our impact on our world. Our supply chain strategy focuses on responsibly sourcing our growing library of sustainable fabrics. Some of the sustainable fabrics that we use are bamboo, vegetable dyed leather, and organic cotton, which is used in most of our Custom Print Gear products.
Your clothes stay in style
If you purchase clothes that are timeless, you don’t have to worry about keeping up with the latest trends that come and go so quickly. You will have clothes that you can wear any time. Creating a wardrobe of fewer, but classic pieces is a different way of thinking. Having pieces that you can mix and match, along with accessories to accentuate them, will help a wardrobe of less pieces not feel that way. If you own items that go well together, you can create many different outfits with just a few pieces. Clothing items that are made well (perhaps by Purnaa) and go together will be the items that you want to keep wearing over and over again. While Purnaa’s CPG has the design and print feature, you can also order blank products that will last a long time and can be added as a timeless piece to any wardrobe. Our products are offered in neutral colors that can be worn in any season.
It is better for people
Slow fashion is about creating timeless pieces, not keeping up with the latest trend, so it does not demand ultra fast turnaround times from producers. When fashion brands demand manufacturers to go faster for less money, they often cut corners in the area of employee salaries. With slow fashion, there is the time to make good, high quality products at a fair price because the clothing is not needing to be rushed out the door to meet the newest trend. If the brands are paying a fair price to the manufacturers, then the manufacturers are able to pay a fair price to their employees. In our blog, What is the True Cost of a T-shirt, we go into detail about the wages paid to a worker at Purnaa compared to the average wages of a worker in a Bangladesh factory. We believe in paying all of our staff a living wage, and by having customers who do not demand fast fashion prices, we are easily able to do so. When you are out shopping, don’t forget to ask yourself the question, #WhoMadeMyClothes? In our blog, What is the Fashion Revolution, we discuss the importance of knowing who made your clothes and how we are committed to improving the fashion industry.
Slow fashion is clothing that you can feel good about. Instead of buying cheap items, throwing them away quickly, and then buying more, let’s all slow down and think about what each of our purchases mean.
As you are building your business, keep these principles in mind and find a production partner that has the same values. Submit your design for our Custom Print Gear or tell us about the product you are looking to produce.