As much as clothes shopping is an enjoyable pastime that can fill you with little bursts of pleasure, there’s no doubt that the fashion world has a lot to answer for when it comes to the damage it causes to the environment. From the persistent overproduction of clothing featuring complex plastics that take an age to break down, sit rotting in landfills, and leach harmful by-products into our water supply to the harmful gases and toxins created via clothing production in factories, it is one of the biggest contributors to the climate crisis the world is finding itself facing.
But rather than despair – or sit back and wait for large clothing brands to clean up their act – there are ways that you can help, ranging from taking better care of your clothes so they last longer, buying from eco-conscious independent brands that produce limited collections, and repurposing/recycling old, worn-out clothes to simply buying fewer clothes or trawling both charity and vintage shops.
Another great way to help the environment with your fashion choices is to engage in a more circular way of consuming clothing. An example of this is to swap your clothes with friends, family, and neighbours, rather than rely on donating to already overstuffed charity shops (as the clothes often end up in landfill anyway). Not sure how to get those around you to feel excited about this idea? Well, why not host your very own fashion show?
Powering the Event
A decent fashion show requires a stage, music, lighting, seating, and even a bar with food and drinks available (even if it just consists of nibbles!). You can, of course, host such an event in your own home, but if you anticipate a lot of interest (and let’s be fair, most people are dying to get out and about to socialise after the past year – whatever the reason), you might want to consider hosting the event elsewhere, or even in your own back garden, if you have the space for it. In the interests of safety, you may want to arrange for an outdoor event, to minimise the risk of spreading any infections.
If this is the case, then you’ll want to think about hiring an appropriate venue for your event. Alternatively, look intohiring a marquee and setting up lighting, heat, sound systems, etc. To source the lighting you might need, you would do well to browse through websites providing commercial electrical supplies, to price everything.
Spread the Word
This is the important part when it comes to getting a good amount of people to partake in your event! And, truthfully, the more people you get involved in such an event, the more people you’re getting on board the sustainable clothing bandwagon – which can’t hurt, right?
Social media is an excellent way to advertise your event, via your own pages as well as those of family and friends. On Facebook, you can create an events page for people to share and register their interest, so you know how many people to expect.
If there are some small, local, and independent clothing suppliers in your area, you could even get them on board by promising to feature their brand name and slow-fashion credentials to guests in attendance, in exchange for a poster or promotion via their shop and social media pages!
Fun with Friends
As well as helping the planet, organising an event like this (as stressful as it may prove in the build-up) is a great way of bringing those you care about together – and not just as guests, either!
You can ask your friends to get involved by donating clothes, producing food or drinks for the event, or maybe even asking musically talented friends to perform/provide entertainment.
With the world on the brink of an oncoming climate crisis, we all must do what we can to help improve the situation as much as possible. But who’s to say we can’t have a little fun while saving the planet?