Despite the proliferation of articles and warnings about the dangers about fast fashion in terms of overconsumption, pollution and sheer waste, the lure of more affordable clothing and accessories appears to be too hard for most people to resist.
There was a recent, and extremely depressing New York Times article examining the spectacular success of the Chinese fast fashion brand Shein, which was reported to have a sales revenue of $US10 billion in 2020.
Shein’s prices are rock bottom, far less than other fast-fashion brands such as H&M, and the startlingly low price tags – $US3 for a bucket hat, faux suede ankle boots for $US16.50 or a wedding dress for $US15.25 – naturally enough leads consumers to purchase more things, more regularly.
One shopper boasted of having 79 things in their cart for US$796 American dollars. What the actual quality of those 79 items is boggles the mind, not to mention other potential issues such as worker’s wages and conditions, copying infringements etc.
Without having ever purchased an item, I can hazard a guess that they are all totally synthetic.
Newly released information from The Woolmark Company reports that every 25 minutes an Olympic pool’s worth of crude oil is used to produce synthetic clothing, which equates to the horrifying number of 350 million barrels per year.
To highlight this awful statistic, and to help educate consumers about the dangers of synthetic fibres on the environment, Woolmark has created an environmentally focused global brand campaign titled ‘Wear Wool, Not Fossil Fuel’.
The campaign features a very impactful video of people trying to
escape an oil-filled swimming pool, peeling off their clothes to reveal clothing made from natural Merino wool fibres, much more sympathetic to the environment and frankly much, much nicer to wear.
Woolmark Company CEO John Roberts says: “It is predicted that in just ten years’ time, 73 per cent of the entire clothing market will be made from synthetic fibres, which are derived directly from fossil fuels.
Buy less, buy better
“The impact these clothes have during the use and end-of-life stages of their lifetime cannot be underestimated.
“In fact, it’s been said that the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles’ worth of microfibres enter wastewater every year just from washing. Science shows that wool does not contribute to microplastic pollution.
“Studies also show that wool clothes are amongst the oldest in wardrobes, with high levels of reuse and donation, along with high levels of recycling and commercially viable end-of-life pathways.”
If we are to be responsible consumers, the key is to buy less and buy better, which means paying a higher price at the outset. A good quality wool jumper or wool coat will literally last for years – this is what should end up in thrift shops, not a $17 synthetic skirt.
I have several coats in my wardrobe that, while expensive at the time (one of those purchases where you need to have a cup of coffee and think about it before you pull out the credit card). I still pull them out
and wear them again and again.
Cost per wear, they were much cheaper than cheap clothes.
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