When you hear the terms “fast” and “slow” fashion, it’s regarding the speed of how certain clothing is made and referring to the unethical means behind many large fashion corporations whose main priority is aiming to keep their production expenses low.
These large corporations are quickly trying to get more products onto the rack by pumping out trends. This makes their targeted consumers feel that they need to keep buying more and more. In these scenarios, there are no sustainability measures that are being taken. Many of the materials being using are synthetic due to insecticides and dyes being used. It’s important to note that the US throws out more than 34 billion pounds of textiles yearly. That’s more than 100 pounds of textile waste per person each year - and they all end up in landfills with the inability to degrade. The dyes seep into the ground and waterway contaminating them with toxic chemicals.
Over 600,000 plastic microfibers are released every time we wash synthetic clothing. The water not only is dumped into our oceans and potentially harming marine life, it’s also recycled back into our water supply so the masses are unfortunately using contaminated water containing plastic daily. The health repercussions from this are detrimental. Now think about how many loads of laundry you do on a weekly basis.
Clothing production is a lot of work and human labor. When you are shopping and see that a clothing items prices are quite low, that usually is an indicator that corners are being cut and unfortunately someone’s not getting paid enough. Sadly, many garment workers are exploited on a daily basis to make cheap goods for these companies while using borrowed or unoriginal designs. None of this sits well with us, especially knowing there are workers who are manufacturing the clothing don’t have access fair or safe working conditions and aren’t being paid a fair wage. They are usually paid much less than minimal wage for the country they live.
Slow fashion teaches us the importance of quality over quantity. When we appreciate quality, we invest in it. The goal is to buy clothing that’s versatile, well-made and meant to last so you can purchase it’s once and never have to worry about purchasing ever again (as long as you keep care of your items). Each item has a story and we think it’s really cool to know where your clothes are made and by whom. It’s comforting knowing your purchase will help a small business or worker instead of the worlds 1% who have a tendency to not always give back to communities or consumers. There is also the option to thrift clothing if you are working with a lower budget. Buying secondhand clothing is a wonderful way of giving clothing a second life so to speak and prevent excess clothing ending up in landfills. This is a gentle reminder that the impact of how we spend our dollar is influential. Every step you take counts.
Joining this sustainability movement may feel difficult, but we strive as a company to help make the transition more comfortable for you. Conscious consumerism is something our team here at Wellaine is passionate about. We strive to be a brand that you can shop with for quality items, crafted with safe and intentional ingredients and materials, that also helps support multiple small businesses. We would like to note that we realize it’s not realistic to expect perfection from ourselves or others. Please don’t be cruel - instead educate with empathy and compassion. What matters most is trying our best and learning from our mistakes to prevent them from happening again in the future. We are in this together. Say yes to conscious, sustainable and timeless style 🤍