A: Alternatives to mainstream fashion

Ever changing trends, the continuous creation of new must-haves, constant pressures on reducing labor costs. The fashion industry does not generally serve as a model for sustainability. So do we need to develop an alternative fashion system? Some experts are convinced we do – and very soon too.

According to cradle to cradle philosophy, a closed loop system will be infinitely more sustainable than the current linear process. In the fashion industry, this would mean that clothing would be recycled into new products without creating any garbage. That’s not an easy feat, even for vintage loving designers. In fact, for an eco-efficient, cradle to cradle proof fashion system to become a reality, designers would need to take into account the future recycling options (‘designing for recycling’). An example is making garments made of one type of fabric – and using recyclable elements such as zippers and labels – so that they can be re-used in their entirety.

As cradle to cradle is considered to be a rather complicated business model, sustainable fashion pioneers have also suggested other alternatives to the contemporary fashion system. Slow fashion is probably the most popular one. Fast fashion is often associated with trend driven, low quality, cheap items that contribute to labor exploitation in production countries and to throwawayism among Western consumers. In response, slow fashion has produced timeless, high quality collections that are meant to be worn for a long time.

Needless to say, slow fashion cannot compete with fast fashion when it comes to price. What’s more, given the current pace of fashion trends, slow fashion designers have difficulties to increase their market share. In a sense, slow fashion suffers the same fate as cradle to cradle design: if the mainstream fashion system does not change at its root, these alternatives have little hope of keeping up.

Does all this sound abstract to you? Being aware of what you buy can be a first step towards an alternative (in the sense of: more sustainable) fashion style. Items with a price tag that is too good to be true are just that. Someone else – put bluntly: most likely some overworked, underfed employee in a low wage country – will pay the costs. Environmentally friendly fabrics may not sound too sexy, but there are ever more attractive options available, ranging from lyocell to eco linen. And let’s not forget the increasingly trendy swapping parties, vintage stores and upcycling collections.

Adopting a slow fashion attitude will also require cherishing the items in your wardrobe, creating your own style regardless of seasonal trends. Another must-do: hiring or lending special items you’re not likely to wear often, such as wedding party outfits.

In the end , it all comes down to that good old cliché: buy less, choose well. Now that does not sound too complicated, does it?

E: Eco-chic

A fashion paradox. That is how Sandy Black describes ecofashion in her book 'Eco-chic'. How can an industry that thrives on innovation, trends and newness ever be green? It is safe to say that a growing number of sustainable fashion designers have found a way out of this dilemma. They embrace slow design, casting no more than a sideward glance on trends.

Which items are typical must-haves for lovers of slow fashion? Obviously, the little black dress, pencil skirt, trench coat, cardigan and a good pair of jeans are the kind of classics that slow designers happily introduce to today's fashion scene. Designers such as Monique van Heist also remake coveted items such as boyfriend pants, the jumpsuit, biker jacket and leggings. These items sometimes return in her collection in a new color or different fabric, thus expanding the lifespan of her designs.

Slow fashion may be no more than a niche in today's shopping street, its proponents believe in its positive future. In order to become mainstream, slow fashion labels have to overcome at least two hurdles. First of all, slow fashion can never compete with fast fashion when it comes to price. Therefore, in times of economic downfall, slow fashion businesses will not have it easy. Secondly, the pace of slow fashion does not seem to match with consumer attitudes to buying clothing. We're used to buying a new piece of clothing on an almost weekly basis. How can slow fashion, which launches an average of two new collections per year, provide consumers with enough goodies to keep them happy?

It is here that the paradox of slow fashion comes to fore with particular force. As Sandy Black concludes in 'Eco-chic', we need to investigate how much we consume and how we can challenge the paradigm of growth and change that drives current fashion. Therefore, the future success of slow fashion lies in the hands of consumers.

I: Investment dressing

Critics of fast fashion can’t seem to stop talking about the throwawayism associated with cheap, trend driven clothing. They propagate slowing down our consumption habits, which means buying fewer garments that are classic and will last for years. Enter investment pieces, those instant classics that are meant to be a basic, long-term part of every woman’s wardrobe.

With consumers becoming ever more dissatisfied with fast fashion – feeling the constant pressure to buy into new trends every season, and being confronted with low quality garments that quickly fall apart – its slow counterpart is gaining momentum. However, for those accustomed to affordable fashion the price tag of the average investment pieces can be a setback.

A tool called cost-per-wear provides new insights in this issue. How does this work? First estimate how many times a newly bought garment will be worn during its lifespan. Then, calculate how much each wear would cost. (Advanced users of this method also take into account the number of items in the wardrobe that it can be worn with). According to experts, this would often make clear that a high quality, organic garment that you will covet for years actually costs less per wear than a cheaper option that is quickly worn out.

Consumers who are willing to put this theory into practice appear to have one more hurdle to take: finding the right investment pieces. Unfortunately, an ethical production process is no guarantee for a high quality garment. The same goes for designer labels and high retail prizes. In addition, it can be difficult to assess an item’s future-proof design. Will that bootcut jean, colorful beach dress or wedge heel belong to your wardrobe staples for the next five or ten years, or will you soon get tired of them?

A good way to overcome these issues is by taking a long, hard look at your current wardrobe. Which items are more than five years old and still wearable? How come they have retained their value? Are you still wearing them, and why (not)? By exploring these questions, it will become clear not only which elements tend to characterize high quality clothes, but also which type of clothing you’ll be inclined to covet for many years. And with that knowledge, it’s safe to take those exciting new steps towards a sustainable wardrobe.

S: Sustainable shoes in all shapes and sizes

The growing popularity of sustainable fashion has not left the world of shoes untouched. And that means there is now a vast array of eco & fair shoes available in stores worldwide. But be aware of greenwashing. Not every shoe advertised as green is as environmentally friendly as it may appear at first sight. Plus: according to a 2012 SOMO report, child labor is not uncommon in leather production in low wage countries. And in a study of 70 international shoe brands, the Dutch ranking website Rankabrand.nl found that more than half were insufficiently transparent about their sustainability policies.

Check out Tomorrow’s Wardrobe list of favourites & forerunners in people & planet friendly shoes.

The greenest choice for animal lovers
Collections that have been produced by fair trade communities and small producers using organic and animal-friendly materials, including natural rubber and organic cotton. This is what British shoe brands Bourgeois Boheme and Beyond Skin have in common. And they are not the only shoe labels that aim to reconcile environmental concerns, fair production, a love for animals, and style. Cri de Coeur, OlsenHaus, Vegetarian shoes, Neuaura, Love Is Mighty, Mink and Novacas also embrace earth friendly materials such as hemp, organic cotton, natural rubber, recycled fake suede and fake leather. And let’s not forget Stella McCartney, who has created a true luxury collection of leather free shoes.

Heroes in recycling
In September 2012, Spanish shoe brand Snipe launched the Snipe 100, claiming it to be the first completely compostable shoe. In fact it was the Dutch label OAT Shoes who made the first. The first collection of these ‘shoes that bloom’, as they are advertised, won an award at the 2010 Green Fashion Competition. Included in each pair of OAT Shoes is a small dose of flower seeds, which means that the shoes will transform into flowers once they have been thrown away.
Snipe may not have been the first to produce a fully biodegradable shoes, the brand nevertheless makes serious efforts to greenify its supply chain. For instance, its plastics are made from recycled PET-bottles and all metal parts on shoes are nickel-free.

Not as green as it may seem
Chrome-free tanned leather is often presented as an ecological alternative to conventional leather. Leather is usually tanned with chrome, toxic chemicals that are harmful to the environment and make leather non-biodegradable. But according to committed environmentalists, naturally tanned leather is only marginally better for our planet. Leather is often produced in low wage countries under dubious circumstances – not only for the animals, but also for the workers. For example, in its 2012 field study, SOMO found that 12, 13 and 14 year old children play a central role in the leather and shoe industry in India, Brazil, China and Vietnam, which produce for all major European brands. And Greenpeace has repeatedly reported on illegal leather production in Brazil, which involves deforestation in the Amazon, labor exploitation and land grabbing.
Because they still use leather, shoe brands such as Think!, Swedish Hasbeens and Camilla Norrback are probably not as green as they may wish to have us believe. The Belgium shoe brand Brako honestly admits: chrome free leather, water based glues and production within the European Union can only be regarded as the first steps towards minimizing the environmental impacts of our shoes. From this perspective, it’s hopeful that in June 2012, CEO Jochen Zeits announced that Puma should stop using leather in its collections. (He also said we should all stop eating meat, by the way).

Shoes for a better life
The idea behind shoe brand Toms is as simple as it is heartwarming. For every pair of shoes we buy, Toms gives away a pair to a child in need. The brand was launched in 2006 by Blake Mycoskie after he visited Argentina and noticed many children didn’t wear shoes. Within five years, Toms had grown into a company designing 175 styles of men’s, women’s and children’s shoes, selling these in 30 countries and helping children in 26 countries worldwide. Today, the one for one principle has been expanded to include Toms eyewear, and has been copied by Warby Parker amongst others.
In the Netherlands, flip-flops brands Plakkies achieved some success with its do good shoe collections. The unisex sandals, which were launched in 2008, were made in South Africa using recycled car tyre. Part of the proceeds were donated to KidsRights, which supports children in developing countries. The brand was re-launched in 2011 as Kadangas. While its mission to promote recycling and fair trade in South Africa has remained unchanged, the sandals collection has developed into more versatile collections for both women and men.

Slow shoe design
As the slow fashion movement gains momentum, even shoe brands are thinking of ways to make their designs transseasonal. For example, as part of the brand’s sustainability agenda, Snipe’s designer team aim to make each collection worth looking at and wearing for a long time. And dedicated fans of Simple Shoes tended to applaud the versatility and strength of these sustainable casuals.

T: Transseasonal fashion

With fast fashion brands making 30 or even 50 collections per year, the traditional fashion seasons appear to have become obsolete. What’s more, the popularity of fast fashion has made luxury labels and designer brands accelerate their production as well. The average fashion company now presents not just two or four collections per year, but also a cruise collection (between spring and summer), prefall collection (between autumn and winter), midseason or even prepre collection (at any other, apparently random time of year). The slow fashion movement has been fierce criticasters of this trend, claiming that the current pace of fashion creates overconsumption and throwawayism (and hence, the ever growing landfill space).

As slow fashion has become ever more mainstream, its tenets have come to include not just timeless design and high quality products but also a concern with transseasonal items. For instance, slow fashion designers have produced multifunctional clothes that can be used in several seasons. Think of a summer skirt that can be elongated to serve as an autumn dress. Or a cotton, waterproof coat that is suitable on rainy days in spring and summer as well as autumn.

Transseasonal design also relates to the timing of new collections. For Dutch designer Elsien Gringhuis, the pressure to present four or more new collections per year puts at stake her sense of creativity and her ambition to deliver high quality outfits. Because fashion stores expect at least two new collections per year, Gringhuis delivers two collections consisting of fewer items. In a similar vein, slow fashion pioneer Rianne de Witte designs one collection each year, which is presented in spring and fall.

Some designers oppose the idea of seasonal collections as such. For example, in 2012, young designer Sanne Jansen decided to make no more than twenty items per year, which remain available in her online store for several seasons. Each month, two new items hit the stores – one for men and one for women. Each item will be made until all fabric is used up, which has the positive environmental side-effect of preventing unused materials from being discarded.