Slow Fashion

Hello slow fashion

Wastebusters made March Slow Fashion Month. A whole month dedicated to celebrating our love for clothes, while sharing practical steps to making your passion ethical and environmental. 

Slow fashion is a conscious movement in which we slow down the pace we’re consuming, and start thinking before, and after we buy. 

It’s about respecting the planet’s resources that go into our fabrics and protecting the people who are behind the sewing machines making our clothes. 

It’s about the journey the piece of clothing has taken to reach you, and the journeys it will go on with you. 

Our community’s responses from the 2022 Slow Fashion Survey identified four key ways in which we are ready and able to get more conscious.

1. Care and repair 
2. Buy less 
3. Shop second hand
4. Choose well

Care and repair

Clothes that are worth wearing are worth caring and repairing. You are the guardian of your garment, so treat it with love for its entire life. 

• Wash less – try cut your washes in half by giving your clothes an airing between wears
• Wash gently – follow the care guidelines to avoid washing accidents, like shrinkage and colour bleeding
• Mend when it’s broken – Youtube is your best friend for DIY repairs. If it’s out of your comfort zone, contact a local repairer or bring it to a Wastebusters’ Repair Revolution event 

Buy less

Slow fashion is all about slowing down the rate at which we buy, which starts with being mindful before you leave the house or open a browser. 

Take a journey through the ‘buyerarchy of needs”, asking critical questions before you reach for something new: 

1. Can I wear what I already have? 
2. Can I borrow it from someone else? 
3. Can I find it at a second hand shop?
4. Can I make it?

Shop second hand first

The most sustainable item is the one that already exists. Shopping second hand is fun and always full of surprises. It’s also the best way to develop your unique style. 

Here’s three reasons buying second hand clothing is sustainable:

1. Fewer new clothes are sold and therefore produced 
2. It keeps clothing out of the landfill and from being shipped around the world to secondhand markets
3. Your money is going to a local business or charity

Choose well 

If you decide you need to buy a brand-new item, make it count. 

• Research brands that have ethical practices. The Fashion Transparency Index is a great resource to understand how brands rank when measured on their social and environmental policies, practices and impacts, in their operations and supply chain 
• Shop your individual style and buy investment pieces. Ask yourself; “would I be happy wearing this 30 times?” If yes – then commit! 
• Support smaller local brands that are transparent and knowledgeable about where their clothes come from

Our actions have the power to change everything
Join the fight against fast fashion and celebrate style that’s sustainable. Tell us how you’re slowing down your wardrobe and showing your love for people and our planet on Instagram and Facebook.