Sustainable Vintage Fashion
August 1, 2014Sustainable vintage fashion and ethical living is a popular and much debated topic in today’s news.Sustainable vintage fashion plays a big part in maintaining and promoting a broader outlook on where your clothing comes from and how it is made. Many people are very conscious of throwaway fashion and even though this sometimes feels like the cheapest option, there is a very thin line between ethics, quality and cost.
Green & White Vintage dress from blue17.co.uk
Sustainable vintage fashion and High street retailers
The high street has been under constant scrutiny for many years and certain retailers were highlighted in the Rana Plaza textile factory disaster that cost many lives. Is this really the true cost of fashion?
1980s play-suit from blue17.co.uk
Sustainable vintage fashion- Used in designers collections
Ethical and Sustainable vintage fashion has developed immensely over recent years with many designers and sustainable fashion brands incorporating these concepts into collections. Designers are dedicating time and effort into promoting sustainable and fair working environments for those involved when bringing the latest collections to consumers.
Japanese Wedding Kimono from blue17.co.uk
Ethical fashion and Eco friendly fabrics
Sustainable vintage fashion is not just purely developing the latest creations in ethical, organic and Eco-friendly fabrics such as cottons, bamboo and eucalyptus tencell. Sustainable fashion is also integrating recycled and up cycled clothing into our everyday lives. Pre-loved clothing is available in many outlets such as charity shops, vintage boutiques and online stores and is slowly helping reduce the amount of textile wastage going into landfill.
Denim Dungarees from blue17.co.uk
Sustainable vintage fashion – Fast fashion and landfill
Sustainable vintage fashion has become big business and with its sustainable concepts it is providing recycled element to our wardrobe. As vintage clothing gains in popularity, people generally forget that they are contributing to sustainable living. Just buying one piece is saving it from landfill and recycling a well-made item of clothing means it could last for a few more years to come.
Vintage provides an element of creativeness to your wardrobe and gives you the freedom to experiment with different styles and eras of fashion. Fast fashion may give you an instant fix but investing in key vintage pieces creates a multitude of unique outfit inspirations that will last many seasons.
Leather trousers & Cartoon T shirt from blue17.co.uk
Upcycling ideas in sustainable fashion
Another great sustainable concept that can incorporate vintage and modern clothing is up-cycling. You may think this needs expert skills to upcycle a reworked piece of clothing and create something completely new but with a little patience and some research you can construct interesting twists on unused clothing that gives your wardrobe that much needed restoration and refresh.
Up cycled vintage dress from blue17.co.uk
Over 1.5 million tonnes of clothing is thrown away each year and although we like to think we may be doing our bit to reduce this by, for example listing your threads on eBay or giving it to charity shops, in reality it is a small minority of people who upcycle and maintain Sustainable vintage fashion.
Many people have clothing that could be recycled, donated or upcycled to create something another individual may love so before you go to throw out your last season’s fashion, just remember your unloved clothing could be someone’s dream outfit.
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