If you are an organisation driven purely by profit, no way are you going to bother recycling clothes. It’s too hard and it’s too costly. And the clothes these companies make are not designed to be recycled – again, too costly.
Even the plainest looking garment is likely to made of several different materials. Cotton and wool are often blended with oil-derived polyester or elastane, so the natural fibres can’t be reclaimed and re-spun.
There is another disincentive for these companies, and perversely, it is a government led one. In most countries, businesses are charged inventory tax. That means a levy on all their stock and material. So it makes financial sense to get rid of unsold stock as quickly as possible.
It’s not just fast fashion brands that are guilty of this behaviour, though. Some luxury brands are too. They think it will protect their luxury reputation. Rather than discounting their unsold stock, and risking ‘the wrong kind of people’ being able to afford them, they’d rather burn or landfill it.
Each year, it is estimated 92 million tonnes of textile waste is created globally. That’s a rubbish truck full dumped every second. If we carry on at the rate we are currently going, that figure will reach 134 million tonnes. Every year. We can all do our bit to combat this. It’s simple. We need to turn our backs on fast fashion and embrace slow style.
Josslyn Shi from California College of Art has been crowned Overall Winner of the Real Leather. Stay Different. International Student Design Competition at a glittering final event held at the U.S. Embassy in London.
As fashion begins to find its way again, designers continue to celebrate leather. In the Fall 2021 season of Haute Couture—among the layers of tulle, ruffles, lace and satin—leather unlocks a brave new world of accessible Haute Couture.
Super-stylist Mike Adler catches up with London-based designers and leather sculpture pioneers Patrick Whitaker and Keir Malem, the men behind Whitaker Malem.
Here is our guide on how to keep your clothes, bags and shoes in peak condition this Winter.
Asirsam Kifle was born and raised in Ethiopia. From a young age he was intrigued by fashion and remembers himself regularly looking through fashion magazines and sketching designs. The idea behind his design was to make a product that blends Ethiopian
Subscribe to our newsletter!
Stay different with our monthly roundup, which includes the latest on leather fashion and sustainable features, competition news and more.
