Fashion Done Right: A Deep Dive of Slow Fashion

Have you heard about fast fashion? If you buy cheap and disposable clothes and try to keep up with the latest fashion trends by buying clothes very often, chances are you are already patronizing fast fashion. At first glance, it seems like there’s nothing wrong about it, until we are presented with the impacts of fast fashion on the environment and on people.However, there is hope. Thanks to progressive-thinking people, a new movement rose to counter the effects of fast fashion, and this is what DulcieDot is all about: encouraging slow fashion. In this blog, we will:

• Discuss the negative impacts of fast fashion
• Define slow fashion
• Identify the characteristics of a brand that encourages slow fashion
• The supply chain of a slow fashion brand
• How DulcieDot practices slow fashion

Fast Fashion and Its Effects

To understand what slow fashion is, let’s explain first what fast fashion is. Sustainyourstyle.org presents a very simple yet accurate definition of fast fashion:

“This is Fast Fashion: Mass-production of cheap, disposable clothing. Countless new collections per year make us feel constantly out of date and encourage us to keep buying more”

Fashion trends change so fast, and our tendency is to keep up with it. Fast fashion encourages people to purchase fashion items very often to keep up with the trends. Sadly, fast fashion is a problem because it poses several negative effects which we can group into two: on the environment and on people. 

First, it has a lot of impact on the environment. Cultivating cotton consumes a lot of water. On the other hand, washing synthetic garments releases microfibres into the water, hence causing water pollution. The biggest negative environmental impact that fast fashion does is waste. The fashion industry is the second largest contributor to pollution, next to the oil industry. A lot of greenhouse gas is also emitted related to producing, manufacturing and transporting garments. 

Second, fast fashion encourages inhumane working conditions. To produce cheap clothing, costs are cut and that includes labour. Wages of most factory workers in most manufacturing companies like China and India equate to between half to a fifth of the actual living wage. They also work 14-16 hours a day, and are exposed to hazardous working conditions. What’s worse is that some of these workers are actually children. 

A New Hope: Slow Fashion

Fortunately, a new movement rose from the need for ethical and sustainable standards when it comes to producing and purchasing garments. The term “slow fashion” was coined and explained by design activist Kate Fletcher in 2007. To her, it is “quality-based”, not “time-based”. It starts with the awareness of the impacts of such fashion on “workers, communities, and ecosystems”. Beautifully explained by Fletcher, slow fashion does not only concern on the manufacturing side, but also on the consumer’s side: the purchasing and consumption choices they make.

Slow fashion, however, does not compromise fashion expression, rather it encourages innovation. It challenges brands to implement production practices that are ethical and sustainable while executing their vision.

It also encourages consumers to buy and wear clothes that are made to last and transcends the fast-paced change of fashion trends. This is the beauty of slow fashion: it is not limiting, rather opens opportunities for better producing, consuming and ultimately, living.

Characteristics of a Slow Fashion Brand 

Goodonyou.eco enumerates qualities of a slow fashion brand, although for this blog, we have chosen three which are applicable to retail brands in particular:

• Uses high quality and sustainable materials

• Styles are classic rather than trendy

• Fewer collections per year

First, slow fashion brands use durable materials. They are often organic and biodegradable. Ideally, they are certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard. Second, styles are more timeless and transcend fashion trends. Slow fashion brands invest in classic styles rather than trendy outfits. Lastly, they have fewer collections per year. These brands release around 1-3 collections per year and are usually tied to the seasons in their country. They may also opt for releasing a capsule collection. 

The Supply Chain

Aside from the three characteristics discussed above, a slow fashion brand also has a sustainable and ethical supply chain. From design to consumption, slow fashion brands take into consideration the effects of every stage of the chain on the environment, on ecosystems and on people. Here is how a supply chain of a slow fashion brand looks like: 

Design

The supply chain of a fashion brand starts with the design of the pieces in the collection. In the design process, the silhouette, material, trims, and other design elements are chosen. Aside from aesthetic preferences, designers of traditional fashion brands consider cost and convenience as main factors, and keep up with fashion trends based on research through fashion shows and expos. A slow fashion brand, on the other hand, prioritises sustainability over the two factors mentioned. They choose materials that are not only durable, but also do not use harmful chemicals when producing and acquiring the fibres. The brand also opts for timeless styles. They make sure that the styles are designed to transcend fashion trends.

In recent years, however, there are fashion trends that make a comeback on the runways. This can also be taken into consideration in the design process.

Material and Garment Production

After the design process follows the production. Manufacturers can either produce their own fibres or acquire from a separate fabric supplier. For those that grow their own fibres, slow fashion brands make sure that fibres are produced with the lowest possible carbon footprint and waste. Ginning, spinning, weaving and knitting are among the processes involved in producing a brand’s own textile. For slow fashion brands that partner with textile suppliers, they make sure that their supplier meets their own ecological and social standards.

Garment manufacturing involves cutting, sewing and finishing of clothes. Fashion brands can do this on their own facility or outsource it from large manufacturing companies. As mentioned above, unethical working conditions are rampant in these countries. Slow fashion brands avoid this problem by either implementing safe and sustainable manufacturing processes, or by partnering with an ethical supplier. Slow fashion brands can also minimise waste in the production process through different ways such as upcycling old styles and recycling materials.

Distribution

After clothes are produced, they are stored, transported and sold to the public. Slow fashion brands do these processes in ways that are safe for people and the environment. For smaller brands can opt to sell online, and sort and ship their orders on their own. 

Consumption

Often overlooked, the consumption phase is still part of the supply chain. Slow fashion brands keep in mind how their customers will use the products. They will ask these questions to themselves:

• Will our products produce harmful microfibres when washed and heated?
• Are our products durable enough for consumers to keep it, or will they just dispose of it after a period of time?
• If our consumers will dispose of our products, how will they do it? Will they throw it in our landfills? Will they donate it?

DulcieDot: Designed to Grow With Your Child

Good news for you: aside from giving tribute to our roots, our brand is all about sustainability. Our products are also handmade in Sydney and in India implementing ethical working standards, and we are partnered with The Social Outfit in Sydney, a social enterprise empowering people from refugee and migrant backgrounds.

Our garments are ethically made under FairTrade conditions from GOTS certified organic and natural biodegradable fibres.

Our key pieces are consciously designed to grow with your child to ensure they get that extra length of wear. To learn more about our ethical practices, visit our ethos page.

So if you want to join us in creating a more sustainable and ethical fashion industry, as consumers, you can start by supporting slow fashion brands. Join us in the slow fashion movement.