This week marks Fashion Revolution Week, an annual celebration of all things slow fashion and sustainable design. We need to cure our addiction to fast fashion and start shopping with the planet – and future – in mind.
If you haven't heard of Fashion Revolution, here's the lowdown. Set up in 2013 by Carry Somers and Orsola de Castro, it's an activist movement of fashion insiders, consumers, retailers, policy makers and brands. The aim? In their own words, a 'global fashion industry that conserves and restores the environment and values people over growth and profit.' They campaign for slow fashion, for a rejection of throw-away, poor quality, environmentally-damaging clothing. And they champion workplace and social equity.
Why is fast fashion so damaging?
- Around 92 million tonnes of textiles end up in landfill - every year. And the piles just keep growing. Cheap, poorly-made clothes that either suddenly go 'out of fashion' or fall apart after a few wears will most likely end up in the trash. Across the world we recycle only around 12% of textiles And clothes made from synthetic fibres won't biodegrade. The average American throws away 37 kilos of clothing per year, the equivalent to 2150 items every second.
- The fashion industry uses a staggering amount of water to produce constantly-updated clothing.
- Garments containing nylon or polyester leach microplastics into waste water that ultimately ends up in the oceans, where it enters aquatic ecosystems.
- Some fast fashion brands pay workers poorly and don't ensure safe, healthy working conditions.
How is slow fashion the answer?
Avoiding these damaging effects doesn't mean never buying any clothes! Fashion Revolution brings together brands and retailers who create and sell high quality clothing that's designed to last. They choose natural, sustainable fabrics that use fewer resources to produce and will eventually biodegrade. And they support fair pay and conditions for fashion workers. Buying better means buying smarter. You get something with longevity, and the planet doesn't suffer.
LinenMe: putting sustainability at the heart of all we do
At LinenMe we're proud to be part of this movement. As well as creating beautiful shapes and colours, we design our products with care for the environment in mind.
- Three generations - we're a family-run business with three generations of knowledge and experience working with linen. We respect and support our highly skilled colleagues who make your linen homewares.
- Zero waste & made to order - we make most items you buy online to order, which means there's minimal waste. And we turn offcuts into tote bags, napkins and storage baskets to ensure we use up any leftover fabric.
- Green energy - we use only green, renewable energy
- Packaging & shipping - we wrap products in handy reusable linen bags, and use cardboard packaging. Our couriers aim to minimise fuel consumption through optimised deliveries.
- Linen as a sustainable fabric - linen comes from flax, a natural crop that requires fewer resources to grow and process than other fabrics. It's also long-lasting and biodegradable.
- Quality - we use high quality linen fabric to craft our timelessly beautiful products, which means they not only look and perform better, they keep going for longer.
We are proud to be part of the Fashion Revolution. Each and every product you buy from us goes some way to redressing the challenges we all face from climate change. Thank you for supporting slow fashion.