What Is Slow Fashion Season?
In 2019, more than 14,000 people from all over the world committed to three months of
conscious fashion choices. Instead of buying new clothes, they swapped, found second-hand items, or fixed what they already had.
Because often enough, the most sustainable clothing items are the ones already in your wardrobe!
With COVID-19 impacting many small and sustainable fashion labels, there has been a greater push to support sustainable clothing brands in Australia if you need to buy something new.
The purpose of Slow Fashion Season is to foster new habits. While last year's ambition was to simply not buy anything new, the new aim is to make conscious shopping for ethical fashion a habit we can all stick to.
Before we dig in, this article was written by Chloe Foreman; the brains behind BE KIND COCO.
She's on a mission to make the world a kinder place through conscious consumption; whether that be sustainable fashion, skincare or goodies for around the home.
She has been kind enough to write this article for Stride, so please give all the thanks to her and be sure to check out her website!
What We'll Cover
The 2020 rules
Why slow fashion season is so important
Chloe's top 5 sustainable recommendations
The 2020 Rules
• You are allowed to trade clothes
• Upcycle or DIY your clothing where possible to extend the life of the garment
• Buy second-hand and vintage is perfectly okay (and is super stylish!)
• Support sustainable Australian fashion brands
Source: Glam Corner
Why Slow Fashion Season is so Important
The global fashion industry has a huge effect on our environment and and is estimated to produce 8-10% of the world’s carbon emissions every year.
According to Collaction, the fashion industry’s water consumption amounts to 32 million Olympic size swimming pools every year (and growing). Further, textile dyeing is the second largest polluter of clean water (after agriculture).
Not a great report card so far...
Collaction already has more than 1,800 people signed up to start Slow Fashion Season. It
begins on the 21st of June and ends on the 21 St of September, but the aim is to reach 25,000 by then!
If we reach this target of 25,000 participants, we could save the equivalent of 750
million litres of water and 2.5 million kilograms of CO2 emissions.
We can do so much with just 25,000 people, so it's important that you don't feel powerless in your sustainable fashion journey. Yes, having 25 million people would be better, but we can create amazing changes with 25,000 people!
Click here to sign up.
Chloe's Top 5 Sustainable Fashion Brand Recommendations
Since this year has a focus on supporting local and sustainable fashion labels, I
wanted to highlight some of my favourites that are designed and made in Australia, but also
available right here on Stride.
Tasi Travels
With a range of everyday and travel-friendly clothing for both men and women, Tasi Travels
is a great place to start building a conscious and sustainable fashion filled closet.
They use a mixture of materials such as Tencel, hemp and organic cotton to follow a ‘slow’ model for fashion. Proudly handmade in Melbourne, Tasi Travels is perfect for those who love Australian made clothing for travelling.
Souten Clothing Co
Funky, fresh, and fast becoming a favourite is Souten Clothing Co.
Souten sets itself apart from most other ethical fashion labels with bold prints, and sizes from 6 to 18, plus they are incredibly transparent throughout the whole process: from how the fabrics are made, through to manufacturing and shipping.
Born from their studio in Northcote, Souten Clothing Co is for women who love creative prints on the ethical dresses that are Australian made.
Otto & Spike
What could be more perfect for these Winter months than well-made and well-designed
knitwear from Otto & Spike?
Otto & Spike producs have been knitted in Melbourne for over 50 years using beautiful Australian Extra Fine Merino and pure Lamb’s wool.This family run business has sustainability and durability at its core, and is a great business to support the next time you need some winter warmers.
Otto & Spike are masters of Australian made beanies, socks, gloves and more!
Luna + Sun
There are many reasons to love Luna + Sun, so I’ll let you take your pick!
First off, they are proudly Australian made with a manufacturer that is accredited with Ethical Clothing Australia.
Secondly, they use natural, plant-based fabrics which comply with the Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex® (even their labels are made from organic cotton and the hanging ribbons are made from linen).
Their clothing style is timeless and has a stunning array of colours to
choose from. Even the summery dresses can be accessorised for these colder months. To
make matters even better, they are a 100% vegan label and donate 1% of their net profits to
WWF.
If you love Australian made dresses, shirts and jumpsuits, then look no further!
Sleepy Dee
you are anything like me, lock-down or not, you live in loungewear or sleepwear.
So I am very excited about Sleepy Dee. Sleepy Dee is a boutique, sustainable sleepwear brand that is handcrafted in Brisbane, Australia and accredited under the Australia Made Campaign.
For sophisticated and suuuuuper comfy sleepwear, you need look no further. The debut Sleepy
Dee collection has been handmade from two sustainably produced materials; 100%
Mulberry 22 momme silk and luxuriously soft organic bamboo. I’m feeling comfortable just
thinking about it.
Australian made sleepwear never looked so good!
Conclusion
There you have it! Your first intro to Slow Fashion Season and 5 handpicked brands.
Be sure to follow Chloe on Instagram @bekindcoco and check out her website by clicking here!
She's one of our favourite personalities in the sustainable fashion arena in Australia, and we are sure that she'll soon become yours too 😊
Which sustainable and Australian made brand will you shop today?
