According to EcoWatch, fast fashion is the second dirtiest industry in the world, after oil. Luckily, there’s recent exciting developments. Here’s one.
London and New York fashion week kicks off every February. On the one side, they signal creativity and a significant ability to change (fashion-wise). On the other, being deeply involved in underpaying, child labour and pollution, does not signal an ability to change, in an industry that really needs to. This year, NGOs demonstrated alongside with the models and fashion moguls. Climate change oriented Extinction Rebellion is one of them, with one of their supporters wearing a green furry grass jacket in London. I liked the creative twist to it!
Undressing the dark side(s) of the fashion industry is an inevitable result of so many revealings of the media and reckless use of both workers and resources. Now, big players in the industry try to cooperate with novel initiatives:
Fashion is, amongst many things, a big waste problem when we constantly buy new items and then get rid of them. To combat the massive problem of clothing waste, fashion brands, authorities, collectors, recyclers and resale companies in New York are working with a #WearNext campaign to collect donations from across the city, giving old clothes a new lease of life. The campaign is part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Make Fashion Circular initiative, a global effort to establish a circular business model for the apparel industry.
Until June 9, New Yorkers can drop off their old clothes at participating stores and other locations across the city. And to make it easier, the NYC Department of Sanitation has created an online map of more than 1,100 collection points.
The campaign has support from major brands including Gap, Banana Republic, Zara and Asos. It encourages New Yorkers to swap, sell or repair their old clothes and post their experiences on social media using the #WearNext hashtag. Let’s hope that the undressing of the industry makes them more fashion forward – in a future forward kind of way.
