Around 30 years ago clothes became cheaper and trend cycles sped up to meet consumer demand. This is where the term 'fast fashion' came from, specifically the drastic increase in production (usually off-shore) and the use of lower quality materials, without consideration for social or environmental effects. Read our blog about why you should avoid buying fashion fashion, for more information. 

However, in the past decade, an increasing number of brands (including Cherry Bobbins) have started to reject fast fashion and favour a more sustainable approach to making clothes. The result is a slow down of fashion production and garments made fewer in numbers, which is vital in reducing the impact on the environment. Despite these ongoing sustainability efforts, there are still a large amount of brands who continue to produce huge amounts of fast and poorly constructed styles every day. These garments usually have a short lifespan, so while consumers in the short term feel like they are spending less, in the long term they will spend equally or more to constantly replace these pieces.

What is slow fashion and how is it different from sustainable fashion?  

Slow, sustainable and ethical fashion have a lot of similarities and generally follow the same guidelines. The main difference with slow fashion is that it specifically focuses on reducing consumption and production, whilst advocating for environmental and social justice. It means buying better-quality garments, that will last longer and being conscious of how the clothes are made. Clothing should be a long-term investment of timeless pieces, rather than a need to keep up with the latest trends dictated by social media.

Slow fashion brands are characterised by:

• Clothing made from high quality, sustainable or natural materials 
• Collections that are released twice or maximum three times per year
• Styles made in small quantities
• Often sold in smaller retail shops rather than huge department stores
• Can also be made-to-order

Slow fashion has seen increasing support in the last few years as consumers demand higher sustainability and ethical standards. While clothes are an essential part of our daily lives, being conscious about what we are buying and it's contribution to the environment is important. We also recommend buying versatile clothing that can mix and match with your current wardrobe items and ask customers to rethink treating clothes as disposable. Instead make an effort to repair, upcycle, donate or responsibly dispose of them.