Need Of The Hour: Ethical And Slow Fashion

Image: Shutterstock

Slow and ethical fashion is the only way to make up for the damage fast fashion has caused. Here's what you need to know

There is a heavy price that comes with fast fashion. A very heartbreaking example of this is of Rana Plaza in Dhaka in Bangladesh, and how it collapsed, leaving over 1,200 – yes, you read that right – garment factory workers dead. The building was weak and the structure riddled with cracks, yet the factory continued to operate. In a world that only wants more and more every day, we fail to realise the impact we leave on the environment and the people around us.

Why should someone else pay the price for the clothes we so happily wear?

Fast fashion has been depleting our environment for decades now. With new fashion lines and trends changing every season, brands are going crazy producing all sorts of fashion pieces. Did you know that the apparel industry alone is responsible for 10% of the world’s total carbon emissions? Are the repercussions worth the short-lived joy of purchasing a new piece of clothing from a big brand?

More than 8,000 chemicals are used to convert raw materials into fabrics, and let's now forget the amount of water that goes into the process. With so many clothes rejected, tossed and unused, the environment has to bear the brunt.

Sustainable fashion is not a new concept. Hemp fabric could well be the future of slow fashion – it is durable, easy to dye and also incredibly comfortable. Not only is it easy on the eye, but it is also long-lasting, with the fabric only improving with every wash, leading to a positive impact on the environment – it also happens to be biodegradable.

Brands like B Label that produce hemp clothing have embraced and stylised this concept. The fabric falls well and can easily be transformed into different garments. 

While fast fashion is easily accessible, it is not the best option for a lot of reasons. Whenever you find yourself shopping with unethical brands, remember the incident from Dhaka and attempt to make a smarter and more conscious choice – if you have the means to make a difference, why not go for it?

Also see: Sustainable fashion need not be expensive