Fast Fashion, when fashion pollutes
New York, Milan and Paris have seen the collections of the inverse autumn 2020-21 parade, between glamor, Haute Couture and Prêt à porter it is easy to be enchanted by such pomp and forget the irrefutable reality that the textile industry wants is the second to the world for pollution.
The fashion industry is constantly evolving, the fabrics and textures worn until last month have already gone out of fashion and the temptation to put your hand in the wallet to stay abreast is a lot, helped by the renowned names of the large retailers that allow you to to be fashion and current without spending a fortune. But at what price?
The ecological cost of fashion is high not only for the way the food is produced but also for the poor recyclability of the materials but also for the poor recyclability of the materials, the chemicals used in the supply chain and the high production of waste, without neglect the exploitation of environmental resources and the workforce.
In this dramatic picture, Slow Fashion has developed in recent years, an alternative movement that winks at more sustainable and ethical fashion.
Before talking about Slow Fashion we must take a step back until 1986 when Slow Food was born from an idea by Carlo Pertini, a real cultural movement aimed at “promoting the right to pleasure, defending the centrality of food and its right value.”
Slow Food had the ambitious goal of contrasting the overwhelming development of Fast Foods born to respond to the swirling rhythms of modern life. Carlo Pertini’s idea was to study, defend and disseminate food and wine and agricultural traditions from all over the world, with particular attention to the defense of biodiversity.
The non-profit organization founded by Pertini responded to the maximum agriculture and genetic manipulation by spreading biodiversity and peoples’ rights to food sovereignty at the forefront.
About thirty years later something in the food industry, not only has we been more attentive to the food we bring to the table but realities such as the Salone del Gusto and the University of Gastronomic Sciences have emerged.
Is slow fashion convenient?
The path to Slow Fashion still at the beginning, just think that neologism was created only in 2007 by Kate Fletcher inaugurating a sustainable fashion movement that winks at Slow Food. Slow fashion is a way of “identifying sustainable fashion solutions” while promoting a more ethical and sustainable way of living and consuming.
Among the elements at the basis of the slow fashion philosophy are the redesign of old clothes, the purchase of vintage clothes, shopping from small producers and the production of clothes and accessories at home.
Precisely because of the variety of the elements that compose it, it is difficult to give an unambiguous definition of Slow Fashion. Companies that fall within the slow fashion philosophy commit themselves to greater transparency in the (eco-compatible) production processes, in the choice of materials and in the timeless designs that make up their line.
Buying a slow fashion item of clothing is certainly expensive, however it is a real investment: although the price is a deterrent, in the long term, a well-produced item of clothing will survive any other low-cost item.
