Putting the brakes on fast fashion
Shockingly, the fashion industry is responsible for 10 % of annual global carbon emissions, more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined and every year it uses 93 billion cubic meters of water — enough to meet the consumption needs of five million people.
How can we combat this?
Cherish what you have
We can care for our clothes the way our grandparents did.
Learn easy hand-sewing skills, darning and mending at one of the Repair Repurpose Revive evenings organised by with Sustainable Wells or take a look at some really helpful videos form the Ministry of Mending here so that you can patch or darn a hole, mend a seam or sew a button on.
You can use sewing skills to scratch the itch for new clothes by jazzing up something you already own.
It needn’t be a full-on transformation like on Sewing Bee, though it could be! It’s easy to shorten clothes or embellish them with interesting buttons, patches and/or stitches like these below.
Or you could try exciting transformations like this shirt below. Cloth in Broad Street will help with alterations and mending too.
Hand sewing is a lovely mindful activity to do while listening to music or chatting to a friend, and it gives a great sense of satisfaction.
Have fun swapping
Hand-me-ons from family and friends can provide the buzz of something new. Alternatively, clothes-swaps are becoming more popular.
From 25th September to 8th October it’s Sustainable Fashion Week and you’ll find clothes swops taking place in Bristol and Frome - check here for details. Watch this space for the Sustainable Wells Clothing Swop and our Jumble Sale too! We’ll be holding a Repair, Repurpose, Revive workshop at Portway Annexe on Wednesday 27th September
Hire - for lower emissions
Why buy an outfit you will only wear once for a special occasion? There are now lots of online companies specialising in clothes for hire. Check out Hirestreet and By Rotation. Major department stores like Selfridges and John Lewis are moving into this area too.
Re-love pre-loved
As well as charity shops, did you know you can buy a huge range of second-hand clothes online from Oxfam and companies like Re-Fashion, Vinted and depop? Or visit the Changing Room in Queen Street which specialises in pre-loved fashion.
Reduce What You Buy & Buy sustainably
We talked in an earlier email about unsubscribing from emails which tempt you to buy what you really don’t need. Before buying something new why not wait for a few days and then see if you really do need it.
Make sure anything you do buy new is produced sustainably, minimising carbon emissions and harm to workers, the environment and water supplies. As with all purchases, every pound you spend is a vote for the world you want to live in.
Cherish your new garment for years and eventually pass it on so that it can be re-used or repurposed.
Author - Amanda Phillips