In my last post, I introduced the slow fashion movement, a seemingly bright hope in the bleak and musty reality of fashion production and consumption. After about twenty odd posts highlighting the negative effects of the fashion industry, we all know that fast fashion is the main bad guy at play—so could slow fashion be our hero?
Before we get into the evaluation of whether slow fashion is truly an ideal solution, let us understand what exactly is slow fashion about?
“Slow fashion represents a vision of sustainability in the fashion sector based on different values and goals to the present day. It requires a changed infrastructure and a reduced through-put of goods. Categorically, slow fashion is not business-as-usual but just involving design classics. Nor is it production-as-usual but with long lead times. Slow fashion represents a blatant discontinuity with the practices of today’s sector; a break from the values and goals of fast (growth-based) fashion. It is a vision of the fashion sector built from a different starting point (Fletcher, 2010, p. 262).”
(Source: https://sanvt.com/journal/advantages-of-slow-fashion/)
As defined adequately by Kate Fletcher, the journalist who coined the term, the slow fashion movement is not merely slowing down production cycles or reduction in the number of garments manufactured. Rather, it is the deliberate effort to discontinue and break away from the philosophies and methods of fast fashion (Fletcher, 2010). It is essentially a whole new kind of fashion paradigm altogether.
To understand the extent of the slow fashion movement, we have to look beyond defining it as just another term for ethical fashion or the antithesis of fast fashion. Instead, slow fashion redefines the direction of the textile and apparel industry by emphasizing the need for conscientious decisions to be made by both producers and consumers alike. To do this, slow fashion seeks to change its entire process, from design, manufacturing, consumption and to end-of-life stages of a garment (Pookulangara and Shephard, 2013).
(Source: Pookulangara and Shephard (2013))
What is slow about slow fashion?
Design
To start off, sustainability must already be conceptualized at the initial design of an apparel (Gam and Banning, 2011). In contrast to fast fashion which adapts popular styles quickly, sustainable designs require reflection and careful curation through the design process. For example, a practice exercised by slow fashion designers would be to design using the ‘cradle to cradle’ concept where the product’s entire life cycle (up till discarding) is considered. This could have implications on the materials chosen, the cutting of the garments and the biodegradability of the final product and its end stages.
Production
During production phases, emphasis on quality and environmentally friendly manufacturing methods are crucial for slow fashion. Instead of churning out garments at a rapid rate while compromising the quality of each clothing, the slow fashion production methods focus on producing quality apparel that is durable. To do this, materials such as organic fabrics are utilized, rather than polyesters which tend to wear and tear a few usages.
Another slow fashion principle is to incorporate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR is directly tied to the accountability of firms which led to the rise in need to be transparent in the supply chain. Such transparency is one of the key elements of the slow fashion movement. In doing so, we can expose existing problems such as vast amounts of pollutants released through the apparel value chain. In slow fashion, it is shown that negative CSR can lead to bad marketing and publicity and a loss of brand loyalty (Perry, 2012). As a result, it makes sense that it is within businesses’ incentive to consider adhering to more sustainable and ethical production methods.
Additionally, slow fashion also requires the need for ethical working conditions. The slow fashion process encourages rapport building with labour groups. This supports better planning and long term affinity to companies rather than continual emphasis on reducing production cost while increasing labor at an unsustainable rate.
Consumers (Education)
Jones et al. (2017) note that while more consumers are growing conscious about their fashion choices, research has found that consumers often believe they lack sufficient knowledge to make ethical decisions. Therefore, a crucial component of the fast fashion process is to ensure that consumers receive adequate education to make perceptive fashion decisions on their own. If consumers are more aware of the drawbacks of overconsumption of fashion, they can better gauge the consequences of their actions, and therefore exercise more ethical consumption habits and become smarter shoppers. For example, consumers can learn how to read garment labels. In contrast to fast fashion shopping, smart shopping practices emphasize on price-quality relation rather than the over-focus on just buying the cheapest option which is often produced unsustainably.
Coming Up
In this post, we have examined the intricacies behind the Slow Fashion philosophy and processes. However, if this movement is so comprehensive, why doesn't the propagation of fast fashion seem to be stopping? In my next post, I will run through the blockers that seem to put the jam on the Slow Fashion movement.
Till next time,
Hui Jie
References
Fletcher, K. (2010). Slow fashion: An invitation for systems change. Fashion practice, 2(2), 259-265.
Gam, H. J., & Banning, J. (2011). Addressing sustainable apparel design challenges with problem-based learning. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 29(3), 202–215.
Jones, P., Comfort, D., & Hillier, D. (2007). Marketing and corporate social responsibility within food stores. British food journal.
Perry, P. (2012). Exploring the influence of national cultural context on CSR implementation. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal.
Pookulangara, S., & Shephard, A. (2013). Slow fashion movement: Understanding consumer perceptions—An exploratory study. Journal of retailing and consumer services, 20(2), 200-206.
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