If you are a Maker and have ever sewn, knitted or crocheted your own clothes, you probably already know there is something deeply broken with the fashion industry. You know how long it takes to make that item and how much it costs for all the fabric, wool, materials. You know that the cost of the materials alone is often much higher than the cost of a similar product you could buy in a store. And that doesn’t take into account the many hours spend making. Beyond knowing that the love you feel for the clothes you have bought can never compare to the ones you’ve made yourself, you instinctively know there is something wrong when a t-shirt from a fast-fashion store only costs 5 euros.
Sewing, knitting and crafting are all hobbies, but for some people, they are more than that – they are part of a movement. The Makers Movement has tends to encompass crafters who also promote values such as environmental sustainability and human rights (under the terms slow fashion or green fashion, in opposition to fast fashion) in addition to creativity and fun in crafting. Fashion itself has become political again, and nowhere is it as political as with the movement #FashionRevolution. I want to tell you more about this movement, but also ask for your support in increasing it’s visibility and showing support from the Makers Movement by posting a photo of yourself with the hashtag #imademyclothes and #makerist.
Foto: Maria from the Makerist team in her selfmade overalls.
ABOUT THE FASHION REVOLUTION
This movement was born following the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 24 April 2013. When the building collapsed, it killed over 1,130 workers in the fashion industry, and injured 2,500 more. This caused a global upcry against working conditions in the fast-fashion or mass produced fashion industry, and expanded to showcase environmental issues as well. If you are active on Facebook or Instagram, you have probably already seen photos and posts as part of the #whomademyclothes hashtag campaign. Since the start of the campaign, there have been over 225.000 posts with this hashtag. The idea is to use the power of consumers around the world to increase the pressure on the fashion industry for transparency by asking companies to provide information on production processes. Some proactive brands have already started to reply, by showing the workers in the fashion industry holding the sign #imadeyourclothes .
Foto: Fashion Revolution
Greenpeace’s Fashion Detox, which underscores especially the environmental costs of the Fashion industry has already had some success – they have reported over half a million supporters on the consumer side have created enough pressure to cause 20 global fashion companies – including Zara and adidas to make a commitment to “Detox” their clothes.
THE RISE OF FAST FASHION
You have probably heard the term “Fast fashion” in the last years – but if you need some context, fast fashion is used to describe the speeding up of the fashion industry. It began in the 1980s when runway fashion began being reproduced for the mass population, but really look off with globalization in the mid 2000s. By moving production to countries with lower wages, regulations and protection for workers and the environment, the fashion industry was able to produce clothes are very low prices – allowing and encouraging the consumer to buy more.
The global fashion industry is worth an estimated $3 trillion has “outperformed the overall market and every other sector across geographies for more than a decade” — more profitable than even high-growth sectors like technology and telecommunications.“ (Fashion Revolution Whitepaper, quoting mckinsey 2015). So this has worked from a business perspective, but at what cost? We must consider ethical practices and environmental sustainability.
Greenpeace’s report has stated that the average person buys 60 percent more items of clothing and keeps them for about half as long as 15 years ago. Whereas fashion companies used to bring out two collections a year, this has rapidly increased to fashion brands bringing out new collections as often as every two weeks, creating false demand for new consumption. Journalists in Denmark have reported that because of this speeding up of the fashion cycle, H&M burning new clothes, over 12 tonnes since 2013 in Denmark alone. The Fashion Revolution reports that 11 million tonnes of clothes that could have been recycled or repaired end up in landfills (timeframe unclear).
This isn’t just a waste, but comes at a high human and environmental cost – most workers are not working under good conditions, there is still the practice of child labour in the textile industry and as the collapse of Rana Plaza has shown – the conditions are unsafe.
The environment pays the price of high energy and high water use, especially with the increase in the use of cheap polyester fabric in manufacturing . CO2 emissions from producing polyester are three times as high as with cotton and the synthetic microfibres are less easily biodegradable .
The Fashion Revolution Movement wants to slow fashion down to change three things : the model, the material and the mindset of the fashion industry such that the environment, people, profit and creativity are valued in equal measure.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Behind the mindset of the fast fashion industry, is somehow the thinking that changing your clothes and style often is a way to express creativity. Let’s show the world that making your clothes is a stronger expression of that creativity.
Download the PDF ‚I made my clothes‘, take a photo of yourself wearing something handmade, and share it with the world on your social channels Instagram and Facebook. Use the hashtags #imademyclothes #fashionrevolution #makerist. We will create a photo album with all your pictures and feature them on our social media channels. If you want to be featured, please use the hashtag #makerist so we can find you.
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
I used two resources to get an extremely good overview of this topic – which I can definitely recommend to anyone who wants to learn more.
– The Fashion Revolution White Paper – can be found online here
– Greenpeace’s Detox My Fashion Campaign – Timeout for Fast Fashion – can be found online here
