So what is Slow Fashion?
Slow fashion, is a concept describing the opposite to fast fashion and part of the "slow movement", which advocates for manufacturing in respect to people, environment and animals. As such, contrary to industrial fashion practices, slow fashion involves local artisans and the use of eco-friendly materials, with the goal of preserving crafts and the environment and, ultimately, provide value to both consumers and producers.
The world of abundance has a hidden price:
We do not see the extent of the external costs of the products -
the price they charge the planet, the public health and the people whose labor provides us with the convenience and products.
In fast fashion the clothes are sewn by workers in developing countries all over the world. Workers in countries such as India, China, Bangladesh, Peru and more are mostly young women, who work 12-18 hours a day for meager wages, under time pressure,
sometimes without basic working conditions and social rights.
Disasters in these crowded factories claim the lives of hundreds of people.
The workers are the latest and most transparent in the production chain.
They are part of an intricate system of contractors and subcontractors in a multi-stage hierarchy that does not allow for transparency in the production process.
A physical and symbolic distance between the designers and the manufacturers and customers allows for alienation, and almost completely eliminates the customer's ability to feel empathy for the production practice.
In a never-ending competition between the big brands for lowering prices, brands and suppliers are constantly switching between the various factories in search of the cheapest among them.
A decrease in the price of the item usually reflects poor employment conditions of the workers who produce them.
