Here at Mollie we are always striving to spread awareness for sustainability in fashion. In the last 5 years the accessibility of cheap affordable clothing has generated a problem in society which is harmful to our planet.
Cheap affordable clothing with fast delivery options gives anyone in any financial situation the opportunity to buy an outfit for one particular occasion. (i.e a night out for the weekend) Then simply throw it away once the occasion has passed.
Throwing clothes away can be extremely toxic for the environment. Clothes end up in landfills and synthetic fabrics such as polyester take AGES to decompose. Decomposing clothes release methane. Methane heats up the earths atmosphere , there for resulting in global warming.
You see the issue here.
This is why we have devised a 10 step plan for UK Fashion buyers to adhere to in order to fix up there fashion choices for a cleaner planet moving forward. The planet is in a state of environmental emergency. And we need to act now.
Step 1.
Resell.
If your want to clear out your wardrobe and start again or weather you have a bunch of old clothes taking up too much space. Your first port of call should be to resell.
Platforms such as Depop, eBay & Amazon Seller central are great tools to use to resell items at profitable prices. Grab yourself a good camera and learn some easy editing techniques on photoshop and you'd be surprised at how much you can actually earn from clearing out your closet!
Step 2.
Never throw your clothes in the bin. We repeat NEVER throw your clothes in the bin.
If you clothes cant be reused or resold then please find your local textile bank. You can search for your local recycling options here https://www.gov.uk/recycling-collections .
Step 3.
Buy things with longevity in mind.
That irrational mindset of buying things quickly needs to be eradicated. If we were all more thoughtful and decided to buy better quality garments less frequently. We wouldn't have hundreds of unwanted cheap clothes that filled a hole at the time, but now have actual holes in!
Step 4.
Try your best to shop for organically manufactured products.
Many fast fashion brands use synthetic fabrics which are WAY cheaper to buy in masses , but are WAY more damaging to the environment. Using unethical practices to promote crop growth,
Pesticides used to speed up cotton production run off crops into fields and into local rivers, polluting fresh water for small villages surrounding yields.
Look more carefully at product descriptions , companies whom support sustainability will usually be shouting about the manufacturing process of the products oh their store.
Step 5.
Alter pieces you already own
Watch a few tutorials on YouTube on how to sow, grab yourself some thread and a needle and fill a Sunday afternoon with textile craft.
Patch up damaged garments [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ULhv5dNeew]
Or get creative and make forge a new outfit out of two dead items taking up wardrobe space.
Check out https://www.seamsbymaddy.com/ for come creative inspiration on this.