Can trends be sustainable? This is a question I have asked myself before and I thought others might be wondering the same too. I know you wouldn’t usually use trendy and sustainable in the same sentence, but I wanted to challenge this and prove that you could be trendy and sustainable at the same time.
I also wanted to give youtube a try and thought putting together a styling video using only sustainable brands would be a good way to start. I asked my friend Karen from N4mummy, a sustainable fashion blogger to come and join me.
In our first styling video Karen and I talk about the trend Red. We combine several sustainable brands to bring you stylish outfits that can be worn all year long. We show you how you can take a current trend and style it with great brands that do care about sustainability and the environment.
Where we filmed
We filmed our lovely first video at Green Lens Studio in North London. Green Lens Studio focuses on sustainability and working with brands that also focus their endeavors on bettering the world. They now have two locations, one in North London and out East in Bethnal Greene.
NORTH4
4A ATTERBURY ROAD
LONDON
E2 0PT
020 8350 5915
info@greenlenstudios.com
Our special guest, Beauty by Tahira
We were so lucky to have Tahira from Beauty by Tahira come and hang out with us for the day. Tahira specialises in organic and green beauty and she gave us some great advice and tips on how to slowly start incorporating green make-up into our make-up bags. She also talked us through how to apply the perfect red lip and how to choose the correct red for our skin tones.
Tahira's journey to organic and natural products in her professional life began a few years ago, but she had been an environmentalist since the age of 12.
Tahira loves to champion small brands, new companies and people striving to create beautiful products in beautiful ways, maintaining a respect for plants, people, animals and the planet.
Please head over to Tahira's blog for some amazing advice and product reviews. http://www.beautybytahira.com
Brands
We were so lucky to have so many amazing brands on board with us for this styling video. Karen and I both want to educate our audience about the importance of sustainability and really think about our purchasing habits. Each brand we asked to be involved cares deeply about their carbon footprint on the earth and is trying very hard to waste less, use recycled materials and packaging and use manufactures that care about their workers.
Karen is wearing Maska Jumper and Skirt, Miista Shoes and Sarah Baily Bag.
· MASKA - MASKA meaning Knitted stitch in Swedish was founded in 2009 by Maria Svensson. The mission was clear: to design relevant, quality garments that transcend the seasons and to produce them in a sustainable way.
· KNIT PLANET – Founded by husband and wife team Nicky and Micky. They are passionate about exploring and embracing the nature of knit. Knit Planet has created a chic, comfy and colourful brand using finest natural and sustainable fabrics, such as organic cotton and merino wool.
· KELLY EKARDT – Kelly started off designing childrenswear, but it soon became apparent that the mamas were wanting the kidswear for themselves. Kelly took this into consideration and now focuses only on womenswear. Kelly only uses overstock fabrics or organic materials as much as possible when designing her collection. The brand is made right here in London.
· THE ACEY – Founded by Holly Allenby, The Acey is the online destination for style with purpose. They believe contemporary clothing should be made with a conscience. If we look after the people and planet they’ll look after us.
· GATHER AND SEE - Founded by Alicia Taylor and Stephanie Hogg, Gather & See was born out of a desire to find beautiful, stylish ethical fashion brands that protect people and planet and don’t compromise on style. Frustrated by what was currently available, the pair began to gather a selection of like minded, forward thinking designers all of which fit into at least 2 of Gather & See's 5 founding Philosophies:
Fair Trade
Organic
Eco-Friendly
Small Scale Production
Heritage
· OLIVE LOVES ALFIE - Award winning creative children's store Olive Loves Alfie was founded in London in 2006 by Ashlyn Gibson. An inspirational hand picked range of globally sourced children’s wear, toys, games, books and homewares was curated to challenge the traditional view of boy- and-girl style and play. Olive Loves Alfie works with small producers and independent designers who strive to achieve organic and sustainable production. They also have their own brand for kids and women.
· SEVEN BOOT LANE - Established in 2012, their family-run company creates women's footwear that stands the test of time, both in quality and design. Since then Seven Boot Lane has gathered a loyal following who value the style, versatility and craftsmanship of our boots and shoes.
· MIISTA – Founded by Laura Villasenin in 2010. Miista brings together opposites in deliberate juxtapose; embodying an elegant balance in the unusual through an informed marriage of design, material and craft.
· GOLLY GUMDROPS – Golly Gumdrops is a small business run from home. Lucy makes each item to order and turn over is currently up to two weeks. All her jewellery is made from recycled jersey yarn, so is eco friendly and machine washable.
· SARAH BAILY - Sarah Baily is a London-based accessories and outerwear designer, offering the ultimate accessories for party girls and metallic magpies alike. Combining luxury with fun and using her signature bright metallic leathers, Baily’s design ethos is to create striking and versatile items to inject an element of fun and party spirit into every moment, and to make her clients feel like rock stars every day. All her products are made in London.
Why sustainability? Once upon a time in the fashion industry there were only two seasons a year, Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter. Now there are 52 micro-seasons, you can image what this is doing to our planet. The fashion industry is the second most toxic industry for our environment the first being oil.
Think about this, the t-shirt you bought for £4.99 costs way more than £4.99 to make. Think about everything that goes into that t-shirt: water, cotton, travel and the person that made that t-shirt. The thing is the person, most likely a woman, is not getting paid enough to make that t-shirt. The garment workers are than told they are to make even more t-shirts for no additional money and we think we’re getting a deal. Think about it!
Here are some facts about the garment industry you should know:
· Global clothing production has more than doubled since 2000. Today we produce 100 billion garments
· The average person buys 60% more items of clothing and keeps them for about as half as long than 15 years ago
· By doubling the useful life of clothing from 1 years to 2 years reduces emissions by 24% over the year.
· About 40% of clothing are rarely worn or never worn
· Extending the life of clothing by a further nine months would reduce carbon waste and water footprints by around 20-30% each.
· It takes 2720 liters of water to make one t-shirt. That’s how much we normally drink over a 3 year period.
· It is estimated that we make 400 billion metres of textiles annually. 60 billion metres is cutting floor waste.
· In Bangladesh garment workrs earn £44 a month that is a ¼ of the living wage.
· 80% of garment workers are woman, of which many of them have to live their families to go work in a factory. Some women only see their kids 1 or 2 times a year.
· In luxury fashion, many fashion houses slash or rip the clothing that are not bought or used. The products we value, they don’t value at all.
· All the clothing that is not recycled or cannot be used gets sent to Africa. Africa is now closing their boarders to secondhand clothing as they can no longer handle the amount that they receive. The rest of the clothing that is not used goes to landfills.
For more information about the fashion industry and how you can help advocate for a better fashion industry, head over to Fashion Revolution.
Please watch our first styling video Red below. Enjoy!
