Thursday, 14 March 2019

The Economist: the true cost of fast fashion documentary

The Economist: the true cost of fast fashion

Processing plant in Nottingham -
Globally sorting plants only deal with about 25% of discarded clothes but in Britain more than 300,000 tonnes of clothing go into landfill each year making it the fastest growing category of waste

Clothing waste is a global problem due to expanding middle classes who are hungry for cheap fashion - by 2020 global clothing scales could more than triple (documentary 2018)

Rent for runway - a clothing borrowing service - on average only 20% of clothing is worn on a regular basis - 10 million rent for runway customers online and in a few stores - tackling throwaway culture 


Patagonia - Patagonia mends clothing free of charge - anti fashion, anti capitalism - still generates revenue of 1 billion per year - pioneers in their business model as they’re showing that there is business opportunities in selling less! Refreshing for the industry



Watching this short documentary gave valuable insight into the used clothing export process as well as highlighting the rent for runway scheme which provides a viable alternative to fast fashion. Once again Patagonia comes up as being one of the good guys of fashion. I should look into their business model further as their ethical values seem very refreshing and a rarity within the sector. 

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