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Sunday 2 December 2018

Ethical fashion - what's the issue & what you can do

As a serious serial-shopper, I have to confess that I don't ever go a whole week without placing an order for new clothes, or popping into a store to pick up a new item. It's an unhealthy habit, and not just for me, but 99% of the time, it's an unhealthy thing for the planet.


Along with half of Britain, I was sucked in to watching Stacey Dooley Investigates: Fashion's Dirty Secrets on iPlayer, and I was so pleased that I watched it. Before seeing the documentary, I had absolutely no idea that fast fashion had the largest impact on the environment, even more so than cars and beef production. Fast fashion essentially refers to frequent new collections to keep up with catwalk trends, and these collections are produced at high speed and extremely low cost. If you think about your favourite retailers, I'm sure you can confirm that they have bought out more than one new collection per season, whether this is a new celebrity collaboration line or a partnership with another brand.



I'm not really one for having TV shows affect me and my way of thinking, but I was devastated when I saw the effect that fast fashion is having on the countries where the materials and clothes are being produced. It blows my mind that the industry is so caught up with firing out new lines every month, or even more often than this, that the impact on the planet and even more shockingly, other human beings, is not being taken into consideration. For example, in the documentary it shows toxic waste and chemicals being pumped from a factory into a river that is used for not only drinking water, but for bathing as well. Imagine going to wash in water that contains chemicals that can eventually cause medical issues?!

Speaking of water, you'd be absolutely amazed at how many litres of water is used to make one item of clothing! The production of cotton uses so much water that it has in fact dried up an entire sea, isn't that just ridiculous?! For clothes!

It's almost impossible to say that you won't ever shop with the companies who are not sourcing their materials sustainably, as not all of us have the funds to shop with more ethical brands all the time. However, there are definitely things that we can do, and I'm really hoping that the influencer world and fashion blogging industry jumps on board to help push this.


outfit from Missguided, shoes from Boohoo - sustainable clothing haul to come! Sorry I just didn't have any other pics for this post!


Here are some great stores you can shop from if you want to buy from retailers who are trying to be a bit more sustainable, and my top picks from each store:

- Nobody's Child

I've shopped at Nobody's Child a few times before, in fact I bought option 1 of my Graduation dresses from them for only £8 (ironically I didn't actually wear this one and it's still sat in my wardrobe crying to be worn...and after many hints, the boyfriend still hasn't taken me out for a fancy dinner...). They have an insane range of clothes, and as there isn't a huge number of items on the website you can pretty much browse through the whole store in 10 minutes. I couldn't find much on their website directly regarding their sustainability, but there are lots of articles online about them being sustainable. They own their own factories and therefore control all the processes in the production, from the designing to the manufacturing of their clothes. They ensure that all processes are done as sustainably as possible, reducing waste, whilst staying affordable for their customers. I'd love to know a bit more about what they do so I think I'll drop them an email and let you guys know the updates.

I picked out some lovely pieces from their site that I think you guys will love too - how cute is this jumpsuit please?!


Purple Brushed Chunky Stitch High Neck Jumper - £32.00
Red Funnel Neck Split Front Mini Dress - £26.00
Spot Wide Strap Culotte Jumpsuit - £28.00

- H&M’s Conscious collection

I'm pretty sure H&M have had their fair share of bad press, not necessarily on the sustainability front, so it's nice to see that they are taking a step in the right direction when it comes to fast fashion. They launched their Conscious range in April 2018, and began with a range of clothing made from ECONYL®, a 100% regenerated fibre from fishnets and other nylon waste. Although not all of their clothing range is necessarily classed as sustainable, it is clear to see that they are really trying to make a difference by creating this collection of pieces made in a more sustainable way. 

It's not only their sustainable range that H&M are aceing, but they also are one few stores to offer a clothing recycling scheme, where you can drop off clothes and textiles from any brand, in any condition, and you'll be rewarded with a voucher. If i'm not mistaken I believe & Other Stories do something similar, but don't quote me on that.  Below are some things I really want to get my hands on, this coat in particular is gorgeous!


Fine-knit jumper - £17.99
Wool-blend coat - £119.99
Patterned blouse - £14.99

- Lindex

I'd never actually heard of Lindex before I was researching sustainable brands after watching the show, but they have some great pieces, and are really making waves in the sustainable fashion market. They have an entire sustainability report on their work in 2017, which shows amazing stats such as 95% of their cotton comes from more sustainable sources, 55% of their garments are made from more sustainable fabrics, and also 100% of their denim is made with more sustainable production processes. I love these pieces, and I am so tempted to order this sweatshirt, I think it would look gorgeous with a silky midi skirt!


Jumpsuit in Tencel® - £49.99
VERA Skinny High Coated Jeans - £39.99
White Scuba Sweater - £29.99

I hope that this has inspired you to think about shopping from sustainable brands a little more often, not necessarily all the time - or at least think a bit more about what you buy before you buy it. I'd love to hear whether you watched the documentary and what your thoughts were. Has it changed the way that you view shopping?

2 comments:

  1. Hey Daena! I have really enjoyed reading this blog. I have also seen Stacey's documentary. It is such an important topic and there needs to awareness about it.

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    Replies
    1. Aw thanks Rachel! It's SO important and I think more people need to talk about it!

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