According to clothes waste charity TRAID, the average garment is worn just 10 times before it is discarded. The implications of this for the environment are devastating – that’s why we champion leather as the long-lasting choice.
The fashion industry now churns out an estimated 120billion items of clothing each year, and at the current rate of increase that is set to hit 200billion by 2030.
As more clothes are produced, the cheaper they become. The more cheaply they are produced, the lower quality and less durable they are. This is a vicious circle that needs to be broken. Here’s a selection of books that examine the problem and, more importantly, offer solutions.
Overdressed: the Shockingly High Cost of Fast Fashion, by Elizabeth L. Cline
Journalist and self-confessed former fast-fashion addict Elizabeth L. Cline examines the true nature of the fast fashion phenomenon and its implications for the environment, society and personal well-being.
Dana Thomas has travelled worldwide to find visionary designers and companies that are tackling the fast fashion boom by revisiting traditional crafts as well as adopting cutting-edge sustainable technology.
Loved Clothes Last, by Orsola de Castro
With plenty of ways to mend, re-wear and breathe new life into your clothes, Orsola de Castro offers a book of solutions. There’s advice on how to buy sustainably, care more and reduce your clothing carbon footprint.
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.
Longevity is leather’s strong suit. The beauty is that it can be repaired, restored, enjoyed for a lifetime, and passed down through the generations. Despite its durability, though, people still throw their leather items away.
Here to provide some balance in the raging debate about the use of our land, fast fashion and our future – Rewind is a new documentary series. Courtesy of The Wine Show and Blue Juice’s award winning Director Carl Prechezer, and funded by Real Leather.
The LHCA sets out some of the key figures in its new video short that can be viewed here.
Dubbed ‘King of Leather’ by the Huffington Post, Michael began designing because he was tired of wearing other people’s interpretations… He is now, perhaps, the most original designer working with leather today.
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