Eva Arrighi
Herald Fashion Editor
It's welcome that brands will be quizzed upon their sustainability record but consumers need to address their unhealthy relationship with clothing. Why do we feel this need to buy so many more pieces than people in Italy, Germany and the Netherlands?
A lot of our high streets are flooded with seemingly cheap clothes but as we know there are a lot of hidden costs that go into making those margins.
Is something missing from our lives that we thirst for clothing? It might seem counter intuitive for a fashion editor to encourage readers to buy less, but that's exactly what I'm asking people to do.
Question every purchase, including the idea of fast fashion, especially when you consider its negative environmental and societal impact.
Conspicuous consumption is just not a sustainable option, instead I'd suggest buying no more than you need. If we could all buy smarter, investing in good-quality clothing that transcends passing trends and take a leaf out of our elders' books where beloved pieces were passed down the generations we'd go a long way to sorting our bad habits.
Frugality really needs to be re-embraced and celebrated. Seek out natural fabrics wherever you can and if you really aren't going to wear something again for goodness sake hand it into a charity shop for someone else to discover, and if you can darn it, do darn it. If not find someone who can. I have one dress that's on its third zip. I can't do zips but I know people who can for about £5. Cheaper than a new dress.
There really is no excuse to put old clothes in the bin or landfill. H&M and M&S have great recycling policies that reward you for your diligence – as a mother of three sprouting children I have more than my fair share of knee-less trousers that wouldn't be accepted by charity shops so these initiatives have become a godsend for those clothes, which I know will be recycled responsibly.
In the end your wardrobe should have a more stringent door policy than Studio 54.
Once you institute a one-in, one-out policy you'll soon start looking hard at fast fashion and buy only what you really need.
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