What is Slow Fashion?

Slow fashion is dedicated to coming up with innovative ways for slower, more sustainable clothing.  

As we prepare to welcome Earth Month, let's take a pause for the cause and talk about the vital role of slow fashion. Beyond blowing up the internet with the hashtag #slowfashion, the movement is a lifestyle and a mindset that profoundly benefits both our individual affairs and the environment. The toxic decades of the endless clothing production cycle are having an alarmingly detrimental effect on the planet. Every year, the world produces 2.01 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste, with at least 33% of it recklessly managed. The annual output of man-made chemicals (in one generation) has risen by 40,000% to 400 million tonnes. A big chunk of this enduring waste can be traced to fast fashion brands, primarily rushing to get the runway trends to the markets at cheap costs. The fast-fashion problem lies in the weakness of this hyper-consumerism era where large collections of clothing and shoes take the front row with low price tags.

Source: the Guardian (Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty)

Unethical brands produce bulk clothing to feed the large fashion appetite of modernity. But there is a serious drawback with abundance— excess water consumption, carbon emissions, and other ecological crises. While a wider selection of clothing at lower prices may appear appealing, the environmental damage is terrifying. The fast fashion game is dirty, and any affiliation with it only means sponsoring the issues while further aggravating the consequences. Fortunately, consumer behavior is shifting from fast fashion items to sustainable clothing. The transition is rapidly happening and businesses must take the right steps.

Related blog: What Are the Environmental Impacts of Fast Fashion?

Meanwhile—

Slow fashion takes concepts from the slow-food movement (think farm to the table) and extends them to the fashion world. Creating fashion with intention and moral standing— combining human and ecological consciousness with the sheer joy of putting on safe, top-quality, and durable clothing. 

What is Slow Fashion? 

Slow fashion means making an effort to capture the fundamentals of clothing and establishing a perspective on how we absorb fashion. The items are thoughtfully created with quality and durability– encompassing the clothing's ecological balance, integrity, and long-term viability. The environmental cost is a big buzz in the slow fashion industry, focusing strongly on minimizing eco-impact while satisfying market demands. Staying away from the depletion of natural resources and emissions, while consciously seeking to improve ecosystems through green clothing productions— using natural fibers like organic cotton and recycled materials. Slow fashion also puts ethical approaches to work as a means to uplift the lives of the people engaged in the production and distribution networks. Conscious brands collaborate with local people and communities instead of outsourcing to larger production lines to produce culture-inspired clothing and accessories. This does not only lead to producing quality garments but also facilitates more job opportunities for the locals. With the slow fashion movement evolving its unique distinctiveness, it also emphasizes minimalist aesthetics. This is an important attribute because if we are to wear a clothing item for years, we'd want something long-lasting that is always in style. And minimalist designs are and have always been classically timeless! 

Related blog: What is Ethical Fashion?

Why is Slow Fashion important? 

Fast fashion is a short-term strategy for financial gain, and during the process, it depletes and pollutes the resources of the world. Clothing manufacturers and retailers in the United States alone generate about 17 million tons of textile waste due to excess apparel production and unsold garments– all of which ultimately end in the landfill when they go out of season.

Sitting on the polar opposite of fast fashion is slow fashion. Slow fashion promotes biodegradable fabric that has minimal negative environmental impacts. These fabrics can be recycled back into the environment upon the end of their life cycle. The textile is returned to the earth mindfully rather than in landfills, resulting in less waste. As a conscious consumer, it is important to purchase sustainable or eco-friendly apparel from brands aware of their ecological footprint.

computer sleeve made with organic cotton

Speaking of brands conscious of their eco-impact— ethical brands do not only focus on reducing their emission but also pay a fair fee to their factory workers. Brands must take into account not just the environment but also the lives of the underprivileged. 

At Terra Thread, we have sustainability built into our bags at every stage of production. Our products are made using organic cotton. 

What does it mean to use organic cotton on our bags?

1. Organic cotton is cotton grown without GMOs
2. Organic cotton is also grown using methods and materials that have a low impact on the environment.
3. Organic (cotton) production systems replenish and maintain soil fertility, expand biologically diverse agriculture.
4. Organic (cotton) production prohibits the use of synthetic toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers

Source: Organic Trade Association 

Related blog: Environmental Efficiency Of Organic Cotton

We don't stop there! Every product of ours, from sustainable backpacks to mini backpack, they are:

1. Made using fairtrade organic cotton
2. Manufactured at a Fair Trade Certified Factory
3. They are GOTS certified
4. They are carbon neutral &
5. Every product gives back!