Slow fashion is fashion made from premium materials with timeless design. Instead of being thrown away after a few wears, it lasts for years to come.

The Stats

Approximately 92 million tonnes of fashion waste is thrown out each year, all of which is going to landfill - and this is just the start. Our society has become very throwaway and garment production has doubled, though the amount of times we wear garments is decreasing rapidly.

The fashion industry produces more CO2 emissions than flying and shipping, and scientists believe that by 2030, the emissions from the industry could double. Fashion waste accounts for about 20% of clean water pollution and waste, as lots of water is used up during the process of making clothes. This is not sustainable, and if this continues, our ecosystems will be destroyed in the future.

And it’s not only the environment that is getting wasted and destroyed, its estimated that we waste $500 billion by throwing away clothes instead of recycling them. It is also affecting people, as many fast fashion items are being produced in sweatshops where workers are not getting adequate pay or safe working conditions.

So how does this relate to knitwear?

Knitwear is long lasting - who wants to spend 30+ hours on a sweater that is going to rip after two wears? Many knits get passed down through generations and are worn for decades instead of only lasting a season. With knitwear, you can choose what to make, which will make it customised to you, and you’ll feel more inclined to finish and wear your project!

Many knits are also made from biodegradable fibres such as wool or cotton. This helps the ecosystem when discarded instead of clogging it as it will break down and go back to the Earth.

What can you do?

• create knits which will be long lasting and you will actually wear!

• use natural fibres (cotton, wool, linen, silk) which are biodegradable .

• repair old clothing or go thrifting instead of buying new.

• spread the word about the slow fashion movement!