We can all be part of creating a more sustainable and equitable fashion industry by embracing "the aesthetic of the reused", says Orsola de Castro from the global activism group Fashion Revolution.
Photo: Fashion Revolution
To people who'd been advocating for the fashion industry to clean up its act, the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster (in which 1,129 garment workers died in Bangladesh) was the worst possible 'I told you so', de Castro says.
Yet nine years on, change is slow. We've seen big fashion brands refuse to pay garment workers for orders cancelled as a result of Covid-19, de Castro tells Kathryn Ryan.
As individuals, we have to demand that our society makes sustainable choices affordable for all, she says.
We also need to make informed decisions about what we buy and re-engage with the clothing we already have.
"We've been inundated with very, very cheap clothing… with a very dangerous narrative. The narrative that says that cheap clothing is so badly made that it doesn't even warrant being mended. That has meant billions of garments pretty much going from one use straight to landfill."
"Clothing is our chosen skin, our second skin… My old jumper is full of holes. These holes redecorated, darned and crocheted or beaded or whatever equals my new jumper."
The fashion industry is increasingly getting behind the "aesthetic of the reused" that we see in other parts of society, de Castro says.
"So many of the trendy eateries these days have got mish-mashed plates… it gives us comfort to have things that last a long time."
If your clothes carry a message of sustainability with style, other people will want to follow your lead, she says.
"I believe at the core, [the fashion] industry is about innovation, it's about creativity… it's about craft, but it's been somehow used against us in all possible ways … I adore clothes but I'm not a frivolous person."
De Castro is heartened to see many young people now view clothing as a political act.
"Each time I see a 16-year-old TikToker taking something apart or making something from scratch my heart soars like an eagle because it really is an opportunity to understand this huge social and environmental impact. To start with the clothes we wear is both a joyful and really impactful way to become part of the solution."
Orsola de Castro started her career in 1997 pioneering an upcycling label From Somewhere and going on to co-found and curate the British Fashion Council initiative Estheica at London Fashion Week. She's also written the book Loved Clothes Last: How the Joy of Rewearing and Repairing your Clothes Can Be a Revolutionary Act.
