The Titian Thread
The month in fashion, condensed.
Hi Hey there!,
It's the final days of Remake's No New Clothes challenge, which began three months ago with the prompt: Can you go 90 days without buying anything new? With the exception of new socks, which I desperately needed and did an unnecessary amount of research on (I bought them from Boody, eventually) I managed to go three months without succumbing to the temptation of summer sales. Success!
Remake's challenge was a timely experiment for me. I'm currently researching and writing about degrowth, an economic model that is all about reducing consumption and production of goods. Degrowth asks us to question who actually benefits in a shopping-obsessed society because it sure as hell isn't the people who make our clothes, the environment, or even you and me.
Doing Remake's challenge was an opportunity to put into practice ideas that I know are true, but are nonetheless tough to live by:
Buying new clothing won't actually make you happier/more fulfilled/cooler/insert aspirational adjective here. It's a short-lived buzz that leaves you unsatisfied and searching for more, like Percy Pigs or Selling Sunset.
Less time spend shopping = more time on other hobbies. During the challenge, I spent more time reading, having long conversations with old friends, making elaborate dinners, and going on big walks around London and planning trips.
Shopping isn't the only way to enjoy fashion. I've been looking at what I already own with fresh eyes, swapping pieces with friends, and my personal favourite – adding things to an online basket then closing all the tabs.
None of this is to say we should stop shopping altogether and walk around in hessian sacks. It means slowing down, questioning needs vs wants, supporting small independent brands, wearing clothes until they fall apart, and not letting our wardrobes dictate our sense of self-worth.
This month, I've decided to include a few activewear brand recommendations – something I get asked about a lot. If you're in need of new pieces, consider supporting the brands listed below (and of course, shop responsibly).
Until next time, hit the reply button to share your thoughts or feedback!
Meg X
Stories I Wrote
Greenwashing Alert: What is Bamboo Fabric, and is it Sustainable? for EcoCult
The way ethical fashion brands promote bamboo fabric, you’d think that it’s a sustainable wonder material. Since becoming commercially widespread in the early 2000s, there have been countless claims about the benefits of bamboo fabric — from its purported antibacterial and temperature-controlling properties, to its environmental credentials. I unpacked the fact from the fiction around bamboo for EcoCult.
The Rana Plaza factory collapse of 2013 catalysed a movement and led to a groundbreaking agreement called the Bangladesh Accord, committing 200 of the industry’s leading brands to binding regulations that would aim to ensure something like Rana Plaza never happened again. In the 11th hour, a few weeks after this story was published, it was announced that the Accord is being reinstated for another two years! So what is the Accord and why is it so important?
Stories I didn’t write
Can Sustainable Fashion Be Affordable? And Should It Be, When Too Many Of Us Treat Clothes As Disposable? Experts Weigh In by Vincenzo La Torre for South China Morning Post (paywall). One of the biggest complaints about sustainable fashion is that it's not affordable. But is that the case? Or are we just conditioned to pay less than the actual value of clothes?
Fashion Myths: 6 Fashion Industry ‘Facts’ Explained by Lara Robertson for Good On You. You've probably heard these myths before – fashion is full of inaccurate or outdated "facts" that get peddled without really questioning where they originated or whether they're still relevant.
One & Done: Why Do People Ditch Their Clothes After Just One Wear? by Sophie Benson for Refinery29 UK. Benson speaks to people that chuck their clothes after one wear. An interesting (albeit totally infuriating) read.
Boohoo's Efforts to Clean Up Supply Chain Fall Short, as Suppliers "Creatively Hide" Abuses by The Fashion Law. I've said it once, I'll say it again: Boohoo is trash. Since being caught out paying garment workers as little as £3.50 an hour last summer, a new report shows that workers have been PAYING to make clothing. You heard me. Read this Fashion Law story for more.
Ethical Consumption Can’t be the Burden of Shoppers Alone by Marc Bain for Quartz. Some problems are just too big for us as consumers to factor into our shopping decisions, writes Bain.
Is Digital Fashion Really The Industry’s Eco-friendly Saviour? by Sophie Benson for Dazed. I've never really understood the appeal of digital fashion – the idea of spending real money on clothes that only exist in a digital realm seems kind of pointless to me. Benson looks at the rise of this phenomenon and whether it's actually a sustainable alternative to "real" clothing.
‘Worst of the Worst': Why is Fast Fashion Retailer Shein Launching a Reality Show? by Priya Elan for the Guardian. Shein regularly steals designs, sometimes entirely collections, from emerging designers. Now, the ultra-fast fashion company is launching a design competition, presumably to create some good PR and make everyone forget the whole intellectual property theft issue. Yuck.
The To-Do List
I really enjoyed this NPR podcast called 1A which delved into Fulfilling Our Fast Fashion Fix. In 30 minutes, sustainable fashion experts unpack the origins and impact of fast fashion, so if you're interested in a little fashion 101 - this is a great episode to check out.
What is Greenwashing? What is Wokewashing? Sustainable fashion writer and critic Aja Barber hosts this 1hr long webinar for the Slow Factory where she unpacks these terms and how they relate to the fashion industry. This is a fascinating lecture from Aja, who shows us how movements like Black Lives Matter have been co-opted by brands, plus how to spot and call out these disingenuous practices.
A huge amount of donated clothes from around the world end up in the Kantamanto market in Accra, Ghana. Watch this Foreign Correspondent episode by the ABC called Dead White Man's Clothes for a half-hour look inside the impact of donated clothes on Ghana's economy and environment.
The Edit
In September, I start training to become a yoga teacher! It's something that I've always wanted to do before turning 30, and I can't wait to see where it takes me. Naturally, I've been diligently researching ethical and sustainable activewear brands to support. If you need new activewear, check out these Titian Thread Newsletter-approved options.
