Sustainable Fashion Should be More Accessible

Source: Unsplash

It is hard to slow down fashion and become more sustainable when we are not sure where to start or where we should shop.

Fast fashion is on the rise now more than ever! There is an endless cycle of ASOS discounts, and we are all guilty of wearing a piece a few times and throwing it away for Zara's newest collection. It is unfortunately now more accessible to buy unsustainable clothing than sustainable. So, why do we not shop more sustainably?

Most of us do not know where to begin when it comes to sustainable fashion. Is this due to lack of education? or is sustainable fashion inaccessible? There are around twenty known sustainable fashion shops in Glasgow; some include charity and vintage stores such as 'Retro' and 'Glasgow Vintage', but is this enough to make an environmental difference?

The 'higher end' fashion stores in Glasgow, such as END, have significantly high prices for their clothing, meaning that we run into an issue of accessibility for those who cannot afford such items; therefore, our road to sustainable fashion becomes harder.

Sancia Brims, a fashion student, stated: "Sustainable and high-quality clothes can be very hard to come by, especially for those who do not have money."

For many individuals buying from shops like Shein, H&M and Primark is the quickest and cheapest way to be "fashionable" for a low cost. However, this is not a choice for those living in poorer conditions. Many individuals do not have the financial means to shop at more eco-conscious and 'high end' stores such as END, and instead, they must shop in stores that have a stigma of being very bad for the environment.

We cannot beat the infinite cycle of fast fashion if we do not make sustainability more accessible for those in these circumstances.

Elaine Miller, Vintage store manager, said: "Almost 47% of individuals in Glasgow live in some form of poverty, meaning that high-quality, sustainable fashion is a luxury rather than a choice to buy."

An example of an eco-friendly women's fashion retailer is OMNES. Their main goal is to stop their products from contributing to the severe problem of landfills. However, their products range from £100 to £400, which is entirely inaccessible for the average person.

Many of us fall into the trap of buying fast and cheap fashion. This is partly because sustainable fashion is seldom accessible to us. Still, many of us lack knowledge about the process of how garments are made or what happens after we throw items away. In the fast fashion cycle, we, as buyers, play only a small part in the life of each clothing item.

It is crucial that before we purchase items from clothing brands, we investigate how those pieces are made.

Information of what fabrics are being used, who is making them and how recyclable are they? It should be accessible to us via the clothing brand, but many retailers do not want us to see the true and horrendous cycle of the clothes we buy and therefore fail to get this knowledge. It is paramount that sustainable and eco-conscious clothing should be more accessible to us to stop fast fashion.