Fashion changes so frequently these days that it seems impossible at times to keep up with what’s in and what’s out.

What’s hot today might not be tomorrow. Then again, that might become hot once again given the fashion industry’s occasional lean toward that which is seen as retro.

Even in recent years, we’ve seen 80s and 90s revivals aplenty, which leads us to wonder what a 2020s revival might look like in 30 years or so.

The likes of Coco Chanel revolutionised women’s fashion to begin with, paving the way for the more modern likes of Donatella Versace and Miuccia Prada, amongst a host of other inspirational women. But with the climate crisis reaching boiling point, there has to come a point where we ask questions about just how sustainable the fashion industry is. 

Where the more blatant polluters take a lot of the environmental flak, and rightly so in many cases, the fashion industry perhaps goes under the radar in terms of the overwhelmingly damaging impact it has on the environment, particularly when it comes to so-called ‘fast fashion’.

We only have to look at some of the shocking statistics – for instance, 10% of global carbon dioxide output can be attributed to the fashion industry, which is more than shipping and flights combined.

It’s a sign that things need to change and fast, but how do we go about doing that? First, we must examine the problem.

What is fast fashion?

Much like fast-food, fast fashion is the result of an increasingly consumerist society, through which speed and convenience are valued above all else. As well as damaging the planet considerably, the trend is responsible for exploiting workers and harming animals. 

In terms of a definition, it is essentially that which is cheap and ‘trendy’, often based on celebrity culture and that which is modelled on the catwalks of Milan, New York, and Paris. The problem with this is that products are made at such breakneck speed that workers are exploited massively just to clothe others in faraway lands.

It boils down to our fast-food culture – everything is temporary, and fashion is without a doubt the worst offender when it comes to this principle. You only have to look at the other ways such an environmental catastrophe was made possible to realise that fast fashion is very much a part of this toxic trend of placing profit over people.

The trick of fast fashion is keeping this reality hidden from consumers. Though our clothes may say ‘Made in Bangladesh’ or ‘Made in China’, that fails to reveal the full-scale reality of fast fashion – the dire working conditions, the exploitation, and the overall toxicity of these ‘quick-fix’ societal practices.  It’s possible you may not have even been aware of these issues.

That said, you can change your shopping habits and discover women’s sustainable jeans to suit your wardrobe, without the burden of fast fashion guilt riding on your conscience.

Slow fashion: changing the world, jean by jean

The question remains, then; how do we slow this fast fashion juggernaut, or better yet, stop it completely? Is it even possible to do such a thing on such a wide scale? Well, many small steps make a huge difference, and sustainable fashion is becoming a huge part in that process. We can make the world a better place, and given the aforementioned scale of environmental damage caused by fast fashion, slow fashion could be huge for the planet.

But what does it entail? Essentially, it’s an awareness in the approach to fashion that is both careful and considerate of both processes and resources when making clothes. The focus moves away from trends and toward sustainability – timelessness is very much of the essence when it comes to slowing down the fashion industry. 

Above all, slow fashion takes the processes into account – are they carbon neutral or negative? In which case, they are promoted and supported considerably. Resources are also crucial in fighting the scourge of fast fashion, in that longer lasting garments are favoured over the short-termism of fast fashion garments. 

Furthermore, ethics are of paramount importance in slow fashion, whether that’s in terms of how people are treated, or animals. In any case, slow fashion steps in where fast fashion fails so many of us. We can’t afford not to take slow fashion seriously if we are to be truly serious about tackling the issue of global warming. After all, there is no fashion to celebrate at all on a planet that is uninhabitable.