Join The Slow Fashion Movement

The unsustainable Textile Industry is one of the biggest challenges in the 21st century. Globally 90 million tonnes of textile waste is generated annually and a significant portion of this is new unsold clothing from retailers! With the massive overproduction of items it is easy to see how the industry is also responsible for 5-10% of all global emissions. Many of the processes used are seriously toxic to all life on earth and incredibly wasteful. For example, it takes over 2000 litres of water to make just one T-shirt! Add on to this the known exploitation of humans, including children, and we have to ask ourselves why we are still tempted to buy?
A major reason, and one that we have been conditioned to see as a main overriding factor in all our decision making, is money. When it comes to clothing there seems to be a widely held, subconscious belief that, if we cannot afford something, we must continue to look to the same large corporate companies for a solution. But is this really true? Do we really need to support a large corporation just because it happens to be selling 'cheap' recycled polyester?
I would argue that what we really need to do is educate ourselves about Slow Fashion and how we can all become a part of the movement. Slow Fashion is a conscious movement that teaches us to focus on producing and consuming clothing ethically and sustainably. It encourages a mindset where we buy less, repair more and redesign our existing wardrobes, and where we cherish people and the planet over fleeting trends. It is not about facts or figures and depressing landfill footage, but rather finding out about what alternatives we already have at our disposal and how we can work with them, this is not hard as humans are innately creative beings.
We are all capable of living this way because it is just about swapping old habits for new. Some of us might chose to make and mend, others to shop second-hand; we might enjoy clothes swaps or reinventing our own wardrobes, and, when we do have hard earn cash to spend, we will hopefully choose to shop local or to support small, sustainable businesses online. These changes are not only easy they are low cost and can even be free at times! This is how the slow fashion revolution truly starts not somewhere out there but in our own homes and communities!
Ultimately there is plenty of choice in how we decide to join the Slow Fashion Movement, however what is not, and should never be a choice is to take away our children's right to a clean, healthy and happy future.