Slow Fashion is an awareness and approach to fashion, which considers the processes and resources required to make clothing, particularly focusing on sustainability. It involves buying better-quality garments that will last for longer and values fair treatment of people, animals and the planet. But what does it mean exactly?
The beginnings of Slow Fashion
The last few years a wave of change has been sweeping through the fashion industry, powered by real truths about its implications to the planet, people and animals. An increasing number of brands are rejecting the principles of Fast Fashion, as a more sustainable approach to making clothes comes to the fore.
The term Slow Fashion came about quite organically. It was coined by Kate Fletcher of the Centre for Sustainable Fashion, following the phenomena of the slow food movement. As with the slow food movement, Fletcher saw a need for a slower pace in the fashion industry.
Slow Fashion opposes the fast fashion model that emerged around 20 years ago. And it’s fair to say that Slow Fashion is 100% necessary, with mostly well know brands burning 12 tonnes of unsold garments per year in spite of its ongoing sustainability efforts to close the loop in fashion.
Slow Fashion becomes a movement
Before pre-industrial revolution, garments were locally sourced and produced. People would buy durable clothing that would serve them for a long time, or make their own from the textiles and resources available to them. Clothing reflected the place and culture of the people wearing them.
Modern day Slow Fashion has seen some of these old ways come back into the picture. Also in Sport and Watersport. It encourages us to buy less garments at higher quality, made from more sustainable fabrics and using sustainable processes, and less often. It also puts emphasis on the art of clothes making and celebrates the skills of the craftspeople who make them.
Slow Fashion has seen increasing support in the last few years, with an awareness from consumers demanding higher sustainability and ethical standards
Some characteristics of a Slow Fashion brand
• Made from high quality, sustainable materials
• Available in smaller (local) stores rather than huge chain enterprises
• Locally sourced, produced and sold garments
• Few, specific styles per collection, which are released twice or maximum three times per year
Some staple slow fashion brands
These brands implement fair practices for their environmental, ethical and animal impacts and are great starting points if you are looking for some initial Slow Fashion staples.
Mermaid Protector doesn’t design for seasons, it creates for forever. Our brand has been perfect as the slow watersport fashion since 2018; multifunctional, timeless, made from recycled fabrics, free of compromise, full of love for the oceans.
