Slow Fashion, What is it and What are the Advantages?
Today, we're talking about a topic we absolutely love: Slow Fashion. We will answer the most frequently asked questions, but if after reading the article you still have questions, please contact us, and we will be happy to answer your questions.
What is Slow Fashion?
We view Slow Fashion as a movement of people whose goals fall within what we call sustainable fashion.
That means fewer products but of a higher quality, mostly handcrafted or semi-crafted, with no more than two collections per year: spring/summer and autumn/winter. We've really broken it down the bare minimum, but in reality Slow Fashion is much more than that. It seems like it has been a very long time since artisan manufacturing was considered an art form in the textile industry.
A designer, a craftsman, used to be considered important figures. Is that true today? Not really. What matters most is the price, not the "who we are" of a fashion brand, not the history, not even the brand's experience. Today the price of a dress is what counts; the lower the price, the greater people's interest in the product.
Slow Fashion needs to be understood in all its forms. The detailing of a product must be appreciated, we must know the history of the brand, of the craftsman. Slow Fashion is a form of art that takes care of every single detail. It is also a form of "uniqueness" because often, a handmade dress is unique, not just rare. Although artisans sell clothing that we can define as "standard", these vary from piece to piece, perhaps with small details often imperceptible to untrained eyes.
We like this type of fashion so much and often think of it as old-fashioned, where the craftsman returns as a protagonist from the "good old days" when there were no big distribution chains, when a dress was really important and made to measure for us. Well, we don't live in those times, but we can imagine it with a touch of nostalgia.
So we can say that Slow Fashion is the true essence of fashion that invites you to try it on if you've never done so before.
The advantages of Slow Fashion
The advantages of Slow Fashion are countless, especially when compared to Fast Fashion, its main competitor. Even though Slow Fashion is the oldest, most traditional form of fashion, Fast Fashion was born to lower the cost of selling the final product- a natural evolution of Prêt-À-Porter (mass production) which started in 1800 to quickly create military uniforms.
- It lasts longer;
- It offers a unique style;
- There is less pollution;
- It has less impact on society;
- Helps to grow the local economy;
Clearly, from a quality point of view there is no comparison between the two forms of fashion. Slow Fashion is clearly superior from every point of view, even if it is often considered "more fragile". In reality this is absolutely not the case as it often depends exclusively on the fabric used and it is obvious that when washing in the washing machine we need to pay attention to the advice given on the label, but this is true for all clothing not only for handmade items.
We can also talk about the environmental impact of Slow Fashion.
It is absolutely incomparable to any other form of production in the textile sector. The environmental impact of Slow Fashion is minimal, even if we should look at one very important aspect: the materials used.
The materials used to produce clothes are the main cause of environmental pollution, but these impact the environment during production. Modern Slow Fashion often uses eco-friendly certified fabric with a low carbon footprint, but not always. This means that the processing of these materials is carried out in an artisan way and therefore with a much lower impact than industrial production, but it is also true that artisans do not grow cotton (and do not produce other materials), they just buy material "ready to use" and then work it in the workshop.
This is because even with Slow Fashion, the importance of textile certifications remains just as important.
This is slightly different when we talk about ethics and social impact. Here the importance of a certification becomes less evident as much of the work is done in a craft workshop where there can hardly be "relevant social problems". However, even in this case we should keep in mind that the material has been created/cultivated by others.
So, if we want to be certain you are buying a sustainable product -especially if made with natural fabrics- it is very important to see a label certifying the material as eco-friendly and socially ethical.
How to buy Slow Fashion
We can make different choices. The best for the environment and for our region's economy remains the one with zero air miles, i.e. buying products from local craftsmen, maybe suggesting they use certified materials with a low carbon footprint.
If this is not possible you can easily opt for online shopping, but pay attention to the production model. Read the about pages available on a website (who we are, what we do, etc.), get information about the brand from which you want to buy to know if they are really selling Slow Fashion or a "rip-off" as is often seen - especially with online shopping..
Our advice still stands: choose eco-friendly textiles and look for textile certification.
Why sustainable fashion is important
We believe that the answer to this question can be found in every line of this article: sustainable fashion is important to safeguard the future of our planet.
In the last twenty years we have literally just consumed and Fast Fashion is largely responsible for the environmental and social damage caused in recent years. We are all growing more aware today, but not all of us are able to change our shopping habits.
Would you like to buy ethical and eco-friendly products? Slow Nature is the right place to come as we offer an exclusive ethical clothing selection on our website.
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