The next big fashion disruption will be sustainibility with clothing resale growing multiple times faster than broader retail. It’s time to re-evaluate your clothing consumption, not only because it’s the right thing to do but because radical changes in the textile industry mean now is the time to start reusing, renting and repairing. Niamh Shields reports.

“Brands and buyers are getting richer while we live in a cycle of poverty and our lives are stagnant. I hope things get better in the future.”

A stark insight from garment factory worker Labonie Akter, from Dhaka, speaking to the charity Oxfam Ireland. Labonie  works long hours for little pay making clothes we largely take for granted while browsing online or instore.  Labonie, her sister and around four million garment workers, mostly women, receive €24 a week, that’s just €4 a day, including overtime. These women workers are amongst the most economically impoverished in the world, living in poor housing with little or no medical care. In the developed world we overstock our closets with cheap, throwaway clothes with little thought for the women who pay such a high price for us to be able to do so. One half of the world goes without, to feed the voracious clothing appetite of the other. 

While popular green trends like veganism and sustainability is embraced by many, attitudes towards low-cost clothes made from materials that are often impossible to recycle remain largely unchanged. But whether we take it on board or not the textile sector is in for some significant changes with a determined shift at national and European level towards sustainable and recyclable clothing with specific reuse targets. So now might be the right time to re-evaluate your choices. 

In the following pages you will find reasons to change and practical advice on some of the ways you can move more towards resale, rental, repair, echanges and durable fashion.  Oxfam Ireland offers compelling reasons for you to shift toward sustainable fashion while stylist, Eoin O'Reilly, gives some practical ways you can mend your ways and we have put together some great places you could try .

5 Facts about Fast fashion

Oxfam Ireland shares five  surprising facts about the  harsh reality of the fast fashion industry. 

Although there is a growing sustainable fashion movement in Ireland, it is not usually the industry people think of when considering climate villains or big polluters. Here are five reasons to make you think again about the impact of fast fashion on the environment.

1. Fast fashion clothes are produced in high volume which means a high cost to the planet: According to the UNFCCC, the textiles industry accounts for more carbon emissions than international aviation and shipping combined – it is the world’s second most polluting industry after oil and accounts for approximately eight percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, clothes are produced cheaply which often means low wages and poor working conditions for garment workers.

2. Overproduction is part of the problem. Shared Cloth published a report that states 20 items per person are produced every year (150 billion garments), and 30 percent of them are never sold. On top of that, cheap production and plummeting prices means the items we buy often end up in landfill before they should.

3. According to Re-dress, 225,000 tonnes of textiles are dumped in Ireland each year – that’s the equivalent of over 5,000 44 tonne lorry loads. This is having a devastating impact on our planet and people. We know that the world’s poorest, who did the least to cause climate change, are most affected, through droughts, floods and extreme weather events.

4. In addition, clothes can take up to 200 years to decompose whereas recycling the 225,000 tonnes of textiles would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 300,000 tonnes per year – the equivalent of taking 50,000 cars off the roads.

5. From growing the cotton to the dyeing process, it can take a whopping estimated 10,000 litres of water to make just one pair of jeans and one t-shirt. To put this into context, it would take more than 13 years to drink that much water. Millions of pairs of jeans are sold in Ireland every year. But with so many people around the world living without safe, clean water – and global demand for water continuing to rise – you’ve got to wonder if such a thirst for fashion can go on. 

The carbon footprint of one new shirt is bigger than driving a car for 55km

For more information please see oxfamireland.com 

Fashion Relief

Fashion Relief hosted by Lorraine Keane raises funds for Oxfam Ireland and offers you the opportunity to bag a bargain from pre-loved designer brands to high street fashion.

Fashion Relief, now in its third year, usually holds annual events in Dublin, Cork and Galway. In the pandemic that has all moved online. All profits support Oxfam’s work helping disadvantaged and economically impoverished people in the world’s poorest countries. 

Oxfam’s global work includes helping to tackle the climate crisis in East Africa, the Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar Camp and the millions desperately trying to survive in Yemen and Syria. Oxfam Ireland told us:  “In addition to our all-island network of shops, we are proud to offer further solutions to ‘throwaway fashion’ through Fashion Relief - our sustainable fashion fundraiser with broadcaster Lorraine Keane.”

“Fashion Relief encourages people to donate pre-loved items - which reduces the amount of clothes that end up in Irish landfills - as well as shopping second-hand to give clothes a longer life. By donating and shopping Fashion Relief, people are reducing their carbon footprint by reducing pollutants that end up in our soil, water and air.”

You can buy anytime through shop.fashionrelief.ie and the Fashion Relief TV (FRTV) shows resume in March.

For queries on how to organise a donation please contact - aisling.wallace@oxfam.org 

Sustainable Style

Stylist Eoin O’Reilly, shares ways in which you can change your buying habits and make more sustainable fashion choices.

How we shop has changed drastically over the past 12 months and with online shopping quickly becoming the ‘new normal’ now is the perfect time to pause and reflect on your own shopping habits. With a few small changes as to how you shop you can do a world of good for the environment. While fast fashion may make shopping for the latest trends more affordable it comes with a devastating cost to the environment. The fashion industry is the second largest polluter in the world, after the oil industry and it’s estimated that 85% of textiles every year go to landfill. This is enough to fill the Sydney Harbour. We can all help combat this in our own small ways. 

Here are my top tips to help you become a more sustainable shopper.

Buy Second Hand

There has been something of a second-hand revolution in the fashion industry recently and it has never been easier to get involved. With global reselling platforms like Depop, to investing in Irish owned small businesses, or browsing your local charity shop there has never been a better time to shop second hand. 

This is a key part of the ‘Slow Fashion Movement’ and can save you some cash at the same time. Most pre-loved items can be found for a fraction of the original retail price. Some of my favourite Irish businesses are Tola Vintage, Siopaella, Spice Vintage and Finders Keepers.

Become a Conscious Shopper

Shopping sustainably is not all about buying second hand. Light research before you buy can go a long way. Try and buy from brands that are making a conscious effort to help the environment through different initiatives and changes to their production process. It is becoming more common for brands to curate collections with sustainability in mind as well as taking part in global campaigns such as the Better Cotton Initiative and the G7 Fashion Pact. The Fashion Transparency Index is a great place to start your research.

Build A Capsule Wardrobe

Try and build a capsule wardrobe. This is a concept coined by Susie Faux in the 1970’s, and involves building up a wardrobe of a handful of essential staple items and rotating them to create the perfect outfit. This will help cut down the amount of clothes you are buying which will save you some of your hard-earned cash as well as ensuring you are investing in pieces that are more flexible and wearable for years to come. Having less clothes in your wardrobe will also save you a heap of time deciding what to wear in the morning and may even earn you that precious extra hour in bed. Some of my key staple pieces are a leather jacket, a versatile pair of boots and good quality denim jeans. As Vivienne Westwood put it “buy less, choose well, make it last”.

Look After Your Clothes

This may seem like a bit of an obvious one but taking a bit more care can ensure you are getting the most out of your purchases. Pay some attention to the fabrics and how they should be cared for, washed and stored. Naturally if you buy better quality clothes they are going to last longer and while this isn’t always financially viable it’s definitely worth it in the long run. Think quality not quantity. While a pair of Levis may be twice or three times the price of a pair of jeans from another retailer, consider the quality of the item you are investing in and the lifespan of the garment.

You can follow Eoin on Instagram - www.instagram.com/eoinyoreilly/ 

Shop Sustainable

The Woman’s Way team find some small made businesses who value sustainability from products to packagin

Aoife Ireland

Founded in 2019, Aoife Ireland are a luxury slow fashion brand based in Limerick with a vision of empowering women through unique garments made consciously in Ireland and designed to last a lifetime of experiences. Founder Aoife McNamara ensures that her clothing pieces are made both sustainably and ethically.  Her clothing brand is inspired by a unique blend of the past and present and the desire to protect and celebrate the natural surroundings. aoifeireland.com

Jump the Hedges 

Jump the Hedges is a sustainable design studio based in Belfast. The small business creates bags from reclaimed materials such as truck tarpaulin, waste life raft material and aeroplane seats. The materials are industrially washed in rainwater and each bag is stitched in a small workshop in north Belfast.  Due to the nature of this reclaimed material each bag is totally unique.  Bags are designed with wild swimmers, yogis, cyclists and urban dwellers in mind. In order to eliminate waste, bags are produced in small batches and sold five times per year via 'Bag Drops' on the website. jumpthehedges.com 

StillWhite 

StillWhite is the largest online global marketplace for pre-owned wedding dresses. Covid-19 is financially difficult for many and at StillWhite the team have over 50,000 wedding gowns for sale. You can find your dream wedding dress at a fraction of the cost of new. Whether you're looking for a designer gown or a custom made one off, start chatting safety with sellers within minutes. Browse through hundreds of designers like Vera Wang, Maggie Sottero, Pronovias and Alfred Angelo. stillwhite.com

Férí  

Designed by Faye-Anna Rochford, the brand’s founder and creative director, who has over 10 years of Fashion Industry experience in Dublin, London, Paris, New York and Philadelphia. This includes time at ethical fashion initiatives Re-dress and Andrea Crews alongside high-end and commercial brands including Diane Von Fürstenberg (DvF), Philip Treacy, Bora Aksu, Primark and Freepeople. Férí comes from a love of making things with an emphasis on being creative and resourceful, which are values that came from Faye’s parents. Faye grew up in Ireland surrounded by antiques, salvaged and re-made furniture. As a result, Faye treasures preloved textiles, over a new roll of fabric, for evoking senses of nostalgia and a curiosity of their history and the new stories they inspire. feri.ie

Made by Lily-Ann 

A mother-daughter duo based in Dublin and have created an online business borne out of the Covid pandemic. Both, having always been environmentally aware, decided to put their heads together to create a small home based business that covered their interests in fashion, thriftiness, upcycling and creativity (utilising their sewing skills) whilst remaining environmentally friendly. Sourcing the materials needed, the duo set out to create sustainable scrunchies. Packaging is entirely made from salvaged wrapping - tissue, ribbons, raffia, cardboard cut into heart shapes as ’thank you’ cards, and so on. instagram.com/madebylilyann

Loopster

Loopster is an online shop based in the UK which sells second hand clothing for women and kids from the high street and designer brands. All the clothes that Loopster receives are carefully checked to ensure that they are in good condition. Only high-quality garments are considered; clothes that don’t reach the strict standards are donated to the charity, Traid a fashion reuse charity working to tackle and solve the environmental and social justice problems caused by the production, consumption and disposal of clothes.

Founder Jane Fellner told us: “The convergence of the pandemic and the global warming crisis has shook the fashion industry to its core, when it re-emerges I think it will build back greener with sustainability at the forefront.”  loopster.co.uk

SVP (Saint Vincent De Paul)

Vincent’s charity shops are an important aspect of the service SVP provides. Not only do they provide people with new and lightly worn items at affordable prices, but they also provide an income source for the charity, which is recycled directly back into the community. Sustainability is at the forefront of what the charity does and the  charity shops are managed by a small number of professionals, assisted by a large number of volunteers and community employment participants. svp.ie

Swapsies 

Swapsies is a sustainable solution for your wardrobe. The team based here in Ireland, are on a mission to help you to Swap over Shop, saving clothes from landfill. On pause at the moment, the initiative is an event, where you bring five items of clothing to an event and you can trade with those around you. Swapsies is people and planet friendly and are now building an online and offline community of like-minded individuals, who want to share their wardrobes with others. swapsies.ie

Depop 

An online app that feels almost like Instagram as you can scroll through the page and purchase second-hand clothing, from retro sportswear to 90s vibes clothes and much more. 

The app is quick and easy to use. The beauty of this app is that it is also home to thousands of budding fashion designers  who sell vintage pieces as they find them and also upcycle and style their wares in creative ways. Definitely the place to go for original, one-of-a-kind, trend-driven pieces. depop.com

Green Outlook 

Green Outlook is for the eco-conscious or eco-curious person. A curated selection of personal hygiene and household products to help you reduce your environmental impact and reduce your use of single use plastic. The team post plastic-free for the conscious consumer, using only recyclable and responsibly sourced paper and cardboard packaging. Green Outlook is continually growing its range of Irish made, eco-friendly products aiming to make sustainability accessible for all ages. greenoutlook.ie