How can fashion be Slow? Part II: Slow Fashion is catching up, The Future is Slow and other stories

Are we buying what sustainable fashion is selling (literally and figuratively)? What are the true merits of living Slowly? Let's get into it!

It is no secret that sustainability has become a crucial topic in big fashion. After much criticism, fast fashion brands have been forced to reconsider the environmental and societal impacts of their contribution to each product’s lifecycle.

Several noteworthy sub-movements have come from sustainable fashion, e.g., circular fashion, eco or green fashion, cradle to cradle, and today’s focus, slow fashion.

To put it simply, Slow Fashion means shopping and producing slowly. Consumers keep a minimalistic wardrobe with a small amount of long-lasting clothes instead of owning many clothes that they discard quickly. Consequently, suppliers produce a limited range of styles, prioritising durability instead of churning out multiple collections a year. Slow Fashion also advocates for an ethical and sustainable supply chain.

PAUSE: If you need more context on Slow Fashion, please see Part I here.

Okay let’s continue…

Slow Fashion, and sustainable fashion generally, appear to have caught on as many brands now use catchphrases like ‘Made from 100% recycled…’ and ‘I’ve been here before’ to signal their commitment to the movement. But how much of this is tangible action vs updated marketing?

In this article we’re going to answer 2 questions:

1. Is Slow Fashion catching up?

2. Is Slow Fashion really that much better?

Is Slow Fashion catching up?

The Future Seems Bright…

For my financially savvy girly pops, let’s sink our teeth into some numbers:

• A report by Skyquest suggests that the sustainable fashion market is set to reach $47.65 bn by 2032¹, from $7.8 billion in 2023²

• By 2027, the second-hand resale market will be worth $370 billion³

• And according to ThredUp’s 2024 resale report, 65% of Gen-Z consumers prefer shopping from sustainable fashion brands

I can’t precisely estimate how much of the sustainable fashion market includes Slow Fashion players, but this data suggests things are looking up.

But the Present?…

If sustainable fashion is on the up, then why have so many ethical fashion brands shut down recently? ARQ, Selva Negra, HAH, Hera California, Sotela, and most notably, Mara Hoffman, were just a few ethical clothing brands that announced closures this year.⁴ There are myriad factors to explain this.

As we know, consumer intention oftentimes doesn’t translate to action. While 46% of UK shoppers say they avoid buying fast fashion, more than half made a purchase at a fast fashion retailer in the past year.⁵

But wait! A PwC survey suggests that over 80% of customers are willing to pay a ‘sustainability premium’ for products that are sourced responsibly (yay!). But this ‘premium’ is only 10%⁶ (boo!).

Nobody wants their shopping to cost the environment. But when you’re in a cost-of-living crisis and you can’t see the child in the garment factory that your fast fashion purchase is supposedly harming, it’s easier to buy the $30 H&M ‘organic cotton’ shirt than the $100 shirt from some niche brand you’ve never heard of.

Several founders have mentioned that government support could create a viable future for Slow Fashion. But a few months ago, the European Union announced plans to limit the scope of sustainability reporting by over 80%.⁷ This, coupled with several anti-ESG executive orders from the Trump administration spell trouble for any changes geared towards sustainability.

Hang On a Minute…

If the future of Slow Fashion is all doom and gloom, how is the sustainable fashion market growing so quickly?

Well for starters, the Skyquest report indicating sustainable fashion growth also lists H&M, Zara, Gucci, Prada and other known fast fashion brands as key players.

Let’s be so for real.

To their credit, H&M Group recently announced a multi-year partnership with Circulose. H&M Group aims to replace a “substantial share” of the virgin viscose used across its brands with Circulose’s recycled alternatives. But The Group declined to share exactly what share of virgin viscose would be replaced.⁸

A “substantial share” could mean 70%. It could also mean 10%. Does this mean H&M’s product range is set to be more sustainable than it was before? Probably. But does it mean H&M is now a sustainable fashion business? No. Essentially, what the trend reports are calling a rise in the ‘sustainable fashion market’ is actually a rise in the greenwashing market.

Is Slow Fashion really that much better?

My favourite part of the conversation – I invite you to share your thoughts. Here are mine.

Slow Fashion’s Value for Money

This Stella McCartney Bag currently sells on pre-order for £1,025. It’s made of stainless steel, brass and VEGAN leather. Your average dress on Reformation costs ~£200 but uses mainly synthetic fibres (including Polyester for crying out loud). So, what are we paying for? Somebody please explain (seriously, if you can explain leave a comment).

Customers are so far removed from the supply chain that in the end, we reference the quality-price ratio. So far, it’s not adding up. Most of us really want to, but when it comes to buying decisions, we don’t care about the farmer that was paid fairly through our purchases (if that’s even true).

Is the existence of luxury brands even consistent with the ethos of Slow Fashion? What do you guys think? I think Slow Fashion businesses are social enterprises. Slow Fashion employs fair labour practices, good-quality fabric and climate-conscious production. We know this comes at a cost. But why is one brand’s cost £1,025 and another’s £200? What is so luxury about Stella McCartney beyond her name? You could say this for all luxury. But Slow Fashion sells itself on nobility so should there be room for the unspoken pretences of buying luxury?

Slow Fashion and Africa

It’s funny how we discuss Slow Fashion like it originated in Europe and North America when collectivist cultures (i.e., Africa and Asia) have been doing this for a long time. That ‘artisan’ referred to by western brands is just a fancy word for ‘tailor’. Many brands in Nigeria and other African countries already employ a made-to-order model. Anyway, that’s neither here nor there. It’s just something funny that I thought about.

Slow Fashion and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

It’s also not lost on me how little consideration this movement gives to the human desire for self-actualisation⁹. Can I speak simply? What if after years of dreaming, you can finally afford the things you want? You have satisfied your physiological, safety and belonging needs. You are ready to tackle esteem. Then suddenly, some rich white lady in bohemian clothing tells you that esteem is no longer about looking your best and owning things. Now it’s about owning less things and wearing that same shit you bought 20 years ago.

Even if I thought the idea of a capsule wardrobe was admirable, it’s not realistic to expect that from people. Slow Fashion attempts to bring us closer to a pre-industrial revolution era where garments were locally produced. People bought durable, long-lasting clothing or msde their own from the textiles available to them. But in that era, people were generally poorer, their problems more urgent. Clothing was purely a utility. Today, clothing is about self-expression. If you’re privileged enough your wardrobe evolves to reflect your place in life, mood and aspirations. It’s not realistic to expect this mass abandonment of fluidity even if it’s for the greater good.

Positive Externalities of Slow Fashion

Personally, I feel that the biggest immediate value of consuming less is from a mental health and self-worth perspective. Most shopping decisions are emotional. The need to be dressed appropriately for an event isn’t just about avoiding getting turned away at the door. You want to show people who you are. Wanting better style is an emotional need. But is there a line after which these desires become unquenchable and harmful? For example, is it healthy to continue buying more clothes to ‘look rich’? Is it healthy to buy into fake insecurities that the beauty industry concocts to make women spend more money (I mean wtf is ‘strawberry legs’ and ‘glass skin’?). I don’t think it is, but really these are personal decisions that everyone should come to in their own time.

Final thoughts…

I started with a very clear hypothesis that Slow Fashion sounds nice in theory, but in practice it’s a bunch of kak invented by fashion’s elites to create another aspirational hoop for us to jump through. Now I have revised my stance. As outlined above, it is obvious that there are a lot of merits to Slow Fashion when properly executed. There is a clear and urgent need for fashion companies in the Western world to address the harmful impacts of its practices through an environmentally safe production process and better conditions for garment workers.

However, I don’t believe Slow Fashion is going to get mass consumer buy-in any time soon. This is due to the current recessionary environment limiting purchasing power. But also- and I think this is the bigger issue- Slow Fashion brands are asking shoppers to forgo a lot for the sake of ethics and doing the right thing. If Slow Fashion brands want to thrive, they need to work harder to earn buyers’ trust and bring them closer emotionally to the story that they’re selling.

1. Sustainable Fashion Market report by Skyquest: https://www.skyquestt.com/report/sustainable-fashion-market

2. ‘Global sustainable fashion market to hit 33 billion dollars by 2030’ from FashionUnited: https://fashionunited.com/news/fashion/global-sustainable-fashion-market-to-hit-33-billion-dollars-by-2030/2024040859305

3. ‘Here’s Why You Should Know How Circular Fashion Works’ from V Magazine: https://vmagazine.com/article/heres-why-you-should-know-how-circular-fashion-works/

4. ‘What’s Behind the Slow Fashion Recession’ from the Business of Fashion: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/sustainability/whats-behind-the-slow-fashion-recession/

5. ‘The State of Fashion 2025’ by McKinsey & Company: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/state-of-fashion#/

6. ‘Consumers willing to pay 9.7% sustainability premium, even as cost-of-living and inflationary concerns weigh: PwC 2024 Voice of the Consumer Survey’ from PwC Press Release: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/news-room/press-releases/2024/pwc-2024-voice-of-consumer-survey.html#:~:text=More%20than%20four%2Dfifths%20(80,sustainable%20produced%20or%20sourced%20goods

7. ‘The EU’s sustainability rollback is a retreat disguised as simplification’ from CEPS: https://www.ceps.eu/the-eus-sustainability-rollback-is-a-retreat-disguised-as-simplification/

8. ‘H&M Group inks multi-year deal with Circulose’ from Vogue Business: https://www.voguebusiness.com/story/sustainability/handm-group-inks-multi-year-deal-with-circulose

9. ‘Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs’ from Simply Psychology: https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html