overproduction

Waste, and why we waste

“Waste isn’t waste until we waste it”

Will I Am

This quote perfectly resonates with us, not only because of the deeper level of consciousness recent events have brought. We have always paid attention to reducing waste as much as possible.
Writing on the backside of printed sheets, not using plastic coffee cups, refilling our water bottles, limiting the quantity of paper used for packaging. These are only some of our actions to reduce the litter we produce. Perhaps now we take this matter even more seriously since the damage we have caused to the environment is visible.

The waste culture

But, digging deeper, where does our wastefulness come from? When did we start wasting so much?

Waste is the ignorant byproduct of an over-consumerist society.

From the 1950s, little by little, overconsumption has been promoted as a great lifestyle pattern and taken over our lives. Completely ignoring the consequences.
Consume like there’s no tomorrow, is the motto. And, if we go on like this, there will be no tomorrow!

The fact that masses can be easily manipulated is quite scary. The fact that given a sense of comfort, we avoid thinking, is not a good sign.

By the way, walking through our journey, we acknowledge our mistakes. Our eyes are open, so we want to change for the better.

Whether fashion waste or any other kind, consciousness reflects itself on many levels and layers.
First of all, please stop wasting food! Then, whenever you are tired of something, consider other options before tossing it.

Even in the case of fashion, please don’t throw away clothes you don’t want anymore.

There are ways to reduce fashion waste:

. choose quality, it lasts longer.
. wash in lower temperatures, so clothes will not get damaged.
. repair when possible.
. donate to charity.
. some shops collect items to recycle.
. resell if you want, there are many resell platforms.

We have options available, so how much waste is up to us.

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Who has a voice

Who has a voice in the fashion industry? And who do you think has a say on sustainable matters in fashion?
One of the many problems with sustainable fashion is that those who have a voice in discussing the topic are exactly the same ones who created the toxic environment. Same faces, same brands, and same interests. That is the trick, unfortunately.

They set up a system based on massive overproduction to be disposed of through crazy budgets to retailers. Outlets packed with discounted items. And a parallel market to reach those retailers who wanted to buy certain brands but officially could not.
Therefore, all the Maisons understood they could increase the budget to retailers, knowing that retailers, in turn, were then reselling through a parallel net, feeding that hideous system.
All the operators knew how it worked, but since they were making a lot of money, it was good. No complain! Like it was acceptable to do the worst things in the name of god-money. Now that the industry collapsed, they’ve started questioning it.

Mono brand retail, department stores, parallel market, off-price stores. How many goods those enlightened CEOs and managers did believe people could buy?
Is the fact that they are not making money as they did enough to let us believe in their redemption?
We could invite Hannibal Lecter to the table, but perhaps, serving only vegetables will not be enough to change his tastes in food.

Who has a voice and influence on the sustainability discussion are exactly those who created the problem.
If we believe we can search for the value of sustainability among the same old faces, listening to their voice, we are wrong.

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Fashion is culture

With the word fashion, we mean the appearance and behaviour of a social community according to a particular taste of the moment. It refers to all the style and life elements that identify a society during a specific era.

Fashion is just another way to scan our society and culture. Another lens through which we can investigate human behaviour.

We can use clothes to hide aspects of our personality or, instead, to show and express our identity. As an overall concept, we can use clothes to analyze different cultures.

Fashion, creativity and finance

Fashion is the result of a creative process that talks about our culture. The reason it became mistreated and demeaned as a vain or silly field, lies in the system itself and some external factors.
Since finance took over the industry, during the 80s and 90s, the creative process has been forcibly accelerated, pushed to an extremely fast-paced model. Very little space was left for creativity.

Later on, when the internet and social media entered the scene, the creative side of fashion became completely distorted.
Fashion has undergone such strong pressure that valuable designers, like Martin Margiela, one of the greatest innovators and game-changers, decided to leave. Too much pressure, a continuous request for something new, too many products to put out in a short time. And then also, an obsessive hunger for information, in the form of silly poses and clownesque outfits.

Rather than a place for creativity, fashion became all about budgets, money and clowns. Pure business without a soul. Tangible examples are the rise of fast fashion and fashion bloggers.

But all that fast-paced overproduction, overconsumption, massive show-off was just a bubble, a system that couldn’t sustain itself in the long run. In fact, during the pandemic, it exploded.

Now that the world is re-awakening, we need to bring a new level of consciousness that puts creativity and ethical work at the heart. Slow fashion and smaller-scale production are the basis on which we can build sustainable models.

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