By Anna Woodruff
Trying to make and buy more sustainably is an overwhelming problem, and the "solutions" can be equally hard to digest. What matters more? Locally made? Natural Fibres? Vegan fibres? New? Second-Hand? Recycled? Recyclable? A good repair program? The claims from different brands go on and on.
I had a look at the Fashion Revolution week website, only to find equally long lists of problems to focus on. All really important issues, but nonetheless, a lot to digest.
I won't lie; even having spent more than half of my life pondering how to approach buying and making sustainably, I havn't found a black and white answer. Rather, it is really a balance of all of the above. But then, how are we supposed to get our head around buying better while we are in this big textile sustainability problem?
Recently it came to me after coming back from New York, where I was showing our knits to some of the small stores who stock our pieces. I was nervous about going and the mood was definitely a bit low. But as I exchanged conversations with the lovely people behind the independent small stores that stock Francie knits, I felt myself perk up, and I noticed they did too.
I shared stories about how the pieces are made, and in return I got to hear about how our designs have been received (The good and the bad). The store owners get to pass on more about how our knits are created and how to care for them. I got to learn things we could work on and hear stories of people of all shapes and sizes finally finding a knit that fits (this bit almost made me cry). These stories I will share with the people in our factories, whose hands made our knits.
There was a full feedback loop of information from maker to customer that just would not happen in a larger-scale fast fashion label. I felt so grateful to be part of this tiny little community that allows us all to feed our families as well as create something of value. I realised that not only do I love getting to be a maker in this little economy, but also how much i value buying from little shops like this myself. I love being able to be properly fitted for a bra, getting to smell books in a bookstore, or try on locally made shoes that fit my feet properly. A little feedback loop from maker to store to the final buyer, and woven throughout a sense of human connection that just makes everyone's day better.
I was on the phone to my brother, having trouble putting into words what I was trying to get at, and he said;
"I guess we aren't really made to be so far removed from our clothes".
This has stuck with me. We have become so far removed from what we buy, that the humanity that used to always be connected to our clothing has got lost.
So I think the change of mindset at the heart of it all is about once again humanising what happens around our clothes. The real people that make them, the people that curate them and teach us about them, how we feel when we buy them, and the earth we all have to share at the end of the day.
When garments just seem to "appear" en masse, we can slip into assuming they just came off a machine. But it was probably made by someone just like our friends.
When the making and the disposal of these clothes are hidden, often so far away, we can forget to think about how it will still impact the earth under our feet, but we are already living through the effects of a warming climate.
When we quickly check out our carts from a big online market place, we forget that someone just like our Aunty who owns a small store may have to close.
When there is so much of it, it can feel too easy to just "get another" rather than repairing it. But no matter the cost, it was made by human hands and is still probably going to a huge pile of textile landfill.
Despite being in this industry for so long, I too sometimes forget about the real people involved, and slip into buying the cheapest and easiest option. But with each purchase, it is a brand new opportunity to "vote" for the world we want to live in.
If you are in a position to buy from small businesses, this is amazing; we wouldn't exist without you. But there are also some other easy ways we can all help keep humanity connected to clothing;
- Respect the hands that made our clothes and save some money too by learning to mend; (We have a link here, and a workshop coming up here.)
- Like and follow shops and brands doing good on social media
- Even better, RAVE about them to friends and family, so that when they are thinking of buying something, that great small business is front of mind for them.
- If full price is out of reach, sign up for their mailing list so that you can support them when they have a sale.
- Before buying online, click on the "About" Section of the brand's website. If there are no real claims about how they treat their workers / their environmental impact, it may be worth reconsidering.
- Buy and sell second-hand
- Swap, give, and get free pieces in local community groups on Facebook.
- Buy less pieces overall, and try to save up or layby one piece from a small label / small store you love.
So, during Fashion Revolution week this is what I want to remind myself and remind each other;
That the things we buy were made by real people just like us, living on the same earth as us. And what we buy, and what little store we buy it from, can have a real impact on the world we all get to live in.
- Anna x
