Sustainability
"The equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or incinerated every second."
Our planet is screaming for help. We are approaching a global environmental crisis, and sustainable alternatives to the wasteful ways in which we have lived our lives are not just fashionable, but vital for a safe future.
"Fast fashion utilizes trend replication, rapid production, and low quality materials in order to bring inexpensive styles to the public."* In doing so, the fast fashion industry has established themselves as one of the leading forces behind the wasteful consumerism that has brought us here. 80 BILLION items of clothing are consumed globally every year - a number five times higher than it was 20 years ago. For the polyester production alone we need nearly 70 Billion barrels of oil annually, and for a single kilogram of cotton, 20,000 Liters of fresh water are needed. And did you know that 85% of the plastic pollution in our oceans comes from the synthetic fibers used to produce fast fashion items?
You see: Sustainability is not just leaving the the car at home and turning off the water while brushing your teeth. We need to rethink all aspects of how we live - and I want us to start with our closets.
Making Fashion Circular
So, how can we change our ways? Given the numbers above, I am convinced that there are enough clothes in the world for all of us - even if we stopped production tomorrow. My aim is to help you find exactly what you are looking for, because I can promise you that the perfect item is already out there waiting for you!
In 2019, there's simply no need to shop at fast fashion retailers like H&M and Zara, for we are currently living in the golden age of secondhand. Almost anything you can buy new from these stores can be found secondhand in perfect condition and at a fraction of the monetary, environmental, and human cost.
If Everyone Bought One Used Item Instead of New This Year, We Would Save:**
The fast fashion industry is based on a linear economic model, also known as the take-make-waste system, which only has the bottom line in mind. Through this model, companies are able to keep up with trends by launching huge new collections every few weeks at prices people can afford. While cheap and trendy clothing is undoubtedly appealing, it can only be produced through the consumption of massive amounts of non-renewable resources and the exploitation of people along productions lines.
Dressed by Danielle utilizes a circular economic model that ensures clothing and fabric re-enter the economy after use and never end up as waste. Such a model allows me to offer my customers access to good quality, affordable, and individualized clothing without all the negative impacts. After all, one woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure, and that is especially true for our clothes. By simply showing people the value that still exists in others' unwanted items, I've been able to divert over 3,000 pieces of clothing from landfills.
Click here to learn more about how I resell and rework clothing at Dressed by Danielle.
A brighter future
Fast fashion is putting incredible strain on both our societies and our environments. I want to offer an alternative to the inhumane ways we have been producing and consuming clothing. Let’s make fashion fun again - a personal experience that allows you to choose your own unique style without exploitative global conglomerates dictating to us what we should want.
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