Fashion brands - Fast-fashion or green initiatives?

Companies who utilize Fast –Fashion

·      Forever 21

·      New look

·      Primark

·      Banana Republic

·      Select

·      Topshop

·      Peacocks

·      Miss Selfridges

·      Gap

·      Uniqlo

·      Adidas

·      Asos

·      Mango

·      Zara

·      H&M

·      Urban Outfitters

·      Victoria Secret

·      River Island

·      Pull and Bear

·      Monki

·      Next

·      Debenhams

Companies who utilize Green-initiatives

·      Stella McCartney

·      Ehaterina Rukhareva

·      Felder Felder

·      Ed Marler

·      Tara MacSharry

·      Julia Korol

·      Made

·      Asos eco edit

·      Fat Face

·      Munna

·      New Balance

·      H&M

·      Mango

·      Matt & Natt

·      Zara

·      Mango

·      People Tree

·      Antiform

·      Beaumont Organic

·      Brain tree Clothing

·      Bibico

·      Komodo

·      Green fibers

·      Noctu

·      Reformation

·      Vivienne Westwood

Brands who utilize both categories

·      Asos

·      Mango

·      Zara

·      H&M

·      Urban Outfitters

·      Gap

·      Monki

Circular economy

Only a few years ago did the ‘cradle –cradle’ concept gain grounds in the fashion industry, and since addressing and endorsing the concept theories behind a circular economy they were shocked and hadnt realise the amount of resources that are needed and the environmental impacts that are generated during the various stages of textile production.

Using the cradle – to - cradle concept would be a way to spot what key areas should be targeted for the companies in – house sustainability work. 

Ellen MacArthur promoted the circular economy concept. She has her own Foundation for the concept and to implicate a positive economic society.

The previous long-distance sailor realized how much we rely on earths finite natural resources and how everything is somehow interconnected. Ellen wants to divide the natural and man-made materials for a more circular economy globally.

“The linear ‘take, make, dispose’ model relies on large quantities of easily accessible resources and energy, and as such is increasingly unfit for the reality in which it operates. Working towards efficiency—a reduction of resources and fossil energy consumed per unit of manufacturing output—will not alter the finite nature of their stocks but can only delay the inevitable. A change of the entire operating system seems necessary.”

Bibliography:

Foundation, E.M. (2015) Building blocks of A circular economy - circular economy design & circular economy business models. Available at: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy/building-blocks (Accessed: 21 February 2017).

In-line Citation:

(Foundation, 2015)

The aim of this major concept is to mainly rely on renewable energy, from renewable sources and to design and promote products that would minimize waste. The distinction between biological nutrients and technical nutrients would be circulated separately to identify which objects should be circulated in the natural process or the man-made process.

The fashion industry would be able to use a rental system, which would shift direct implications for the development of efficient and effective take-back processes.

The butterfly diagram illustrates the processes in which we can create a flow of technical and biological materials through the ‘value circle’. The diagram also explains how consumers are the most important part of the flow of this cradle-cradle concept, they decide how long they keep an object or garment but it is to also explain how we need to slow down the fast fashion.

Prolonging or donating clothing has become a slight problem and is not the most ideal situation to support when trying to be “eco-friendly” because redistributing unwanted items would have to use more energy which encourages even more Co2 emissions and the need of fossil fuels – therefore it is not as sustainable as it sounds. Ellen Macarthur has designed a process in which consumers can lease or rent garments to prevent the need of continually buying a certain garment and then throwing away the unwanted item – which would then be taken to landfill or people in need but this becomes a unsustainable circular process because it would need transportation which supports Co2 emissions and fossil fuels. 

Bibliography:user, F. (2012) Circular economy case study - in depth - washing machines. Available at: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy/interactive-diagram/in-depth-washing-machines (Accessed: 21 February 2017).

Fast Fashion / Fast Food

The Connection between Fast - Food and Fast - Fashion

FASHION CONSUMPTION QUESTIONAIRE

GENDER

·         Male

·         Female

AGE

·         15 and under

·         16-25

·         26-44

·         45-60

·         60+

HOW OFTEN DO YOU BUY CLOTHES?

·         Several times per week 

·         Several times per month    2

·         Several times per year        4

·         Less often

WHY DO YOU MOST OFTEN BUY NEW CLOTHES?

·         As a gift                                  1

·         Replacing warn-out clothes   2

·         To enrich my wardrobe         3

·         Its one of my daily routines

·         Body size/shape changes

WHICH TYPE OF CLOTHING DO YOU BUY MOST OFTEN?

·         Trousers, shorts, skirts               3

·         T-shirts, sweaters, sweatshirts    3

·         Underwear

·         Jackets, coats

·         Boots, shoes, footwear

·         Other

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CLOTHING BRAND?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COLOUR TO WEAR?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE PATTERN TO WEAR?

·      Dice

·      Stripes

·      Dots

·      No pattern   6

·      Other

HOW OFTEN DO YOU BUY SHOES?

·      Several times per month

·      Once per month

·      Once every 6 months           2

·      Once per year                       4

HOW MANY PAIRS OF SHOES DO YOU CURRENTLY OWN?

DO YOU FOLLOW CURRENT FASHION TRENDS?

·      Yes, I follow them closely                  1

·      Yes, but I don’t really follow them    4

·      No                                                       1

HOW MUCH DO YOU SPEND ON CLOTHING PER YEAR?

·      0-50

·      50-100        2

·      100-250

·      250-500      3

·      500 +          1

ARE YOU AWARE OF THE NEGATIVE IMPACT CLOTHING HAS TO OUR ENVIRONMENT?

·      No       5

·      Yes      1

What I found after summing up the questionnaires I discovered that more than half the people buy clothes several times a year and half buy for t-shirts and the other half buy for trousers – this means that there is are similar fabrics that are both used for t-shirts and trousers but I think that trousers are more bought than t-shirts because usually the fabric is denim which can shrink in the wash or stretch over time.

More than half the people shop in brands that associate with fast fashion because of the cheaper prices and the promoting trends are easier to be apart of due to social media influences.

All of them have circled no patterns are worn- I think this is because there is more effort needed to co-ordinate with a patterned garment and black looks neater and smarter.

Shoes are only bough once per year, I think this is because of the sustainability that we need in shoes in order to do our everyday lives.

Most of the people spend £250-500 per year on clothes and I think only pay attention to trends when influenced by social medias promotion of a certain style at the time – these trends are usually quickly to find in fast fashion brands online.

Almost all do not know anything about the impact fashion has on our planet - This was expected because it is not advertised in any shops or online shops and all of these people are not working in the industry which shows that the majority of the planet do not know about the environmental impact because they are not working the fashion industry.