Do you want to learn more about the sustainable fashion industry in Europe to create your slow fashion brand? Then check out the training offered by Slow Innovation Brands, platform incubating sustainable brands.
The negative impact of fashion
According to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the fashion industry ranks second among the most polluting in the world.
Just to give you an idea, 7,500 liters of water are needed to produce a single pair of jeans. This amount is equivalent to the average water consumption of an adult person over a period of 7 years.
The jeans you have in your closet could provide you with water for 7 years!
According to UNCTAD, about 93 billion cubic meters of water are used annually by the fashion industry. That amount of water could meet the needs of at least 5 million people worldwide.
Besides, with each wash, synthetic clothes release microplastics that mix in the water of rivers and oceans. Thus, about half a million tonnes of microfiber, equivalent to 3 million barrels of oil, are dumped into the sea every year.
On the United Nations news portal, you can find other alarming data on the fashion industry's consumption of natural resources.
How to make fashion more sustainable?
To turn the fashion industry more sustainable is necessary to invest in business models that adopt sustainability from the beginning of its fashion production. Slow Innovation Brands highlights the 3 pillars of sustainability under which sustainable fashion brands must establish themselves.
Environmental Sustainability
To develop an eco-friendly business model is essential to pay attention to the materials used in the production of clothing. Different fabrics are available to designers. But it is necessary to pay attention to the composition of these materials to know if they are truly sustainable.
It is also vital to apply a circular and non-linear design and use as little energy as possible to manufacture your products. Design them to avoid waste, prolong their life cycle, and facilitate the recycling of materials when the product use cycles end.
Reduce as much as possible gas emissions and waste in packaging and logistics.
Source: Class presentation content from The Slow Fashion Innovation Program.
Slow Innovation Brands.
Economic Sustainability
To remain active in the market, brands also need a consistent financial plan. The profit from the sale of your products must cover production, marketing, and management costs. Otherwise, your brand will not remain alive for long.
Sustainable brands need to be transparent and inform consumers about costs, investments, and profit margins.
Source: Class presentation content from The Slow Fashion Innovation Program.
Slow Innovation Brands.
Social Sustainability
Local communities from countries where the clothes are sourced suffer the higher impact of fashion. Fast fashion brands choose to produce where costs are low, and this reduction often comes from paying wages that are not enough to cover the basic needs of workers from the fashion industry.
Sustainable fashion brands should seek to produce locally whenever possible. This way, designers can visit the factories, closely monitoring the conditions of seamstresses and other workers responsible for the manufacturing of their sustainable collections.
By producing locally, sustainable brands also avoid unnecessary gas emissions due to the additional transportation of products.
Source: Class presentation content from The Slow Fashion Innovation Program.
Slow Innovation Brands.
Europe's sustainable fashion entrepreneurial ecosystem
Europe has several sustainable fashion projects. These initiatives cover the work done by companies, organizations, and individuals. Slow Innovation Brands' online entrepreneurship support programs seek to connect the work provided by these professionals with the needs of sustainable fashion designers.
During The Slow Fashion Innovation Program, participants take classes in entrepreneurship, accounting, certifications, finance, raw sustainable materials, circular design, and fair trade manufacturing.
The content is focused on European reality with access to networking to the continent's entrepreneurial ecosystem, including contacts from European suppliers of sustainable and organic fabrics and manufacturing.
Associations supporting the promotion of sustainable fashion in Portugal, such as Fashion Revolution Portugal, also participate in the online course, with classes recorded by regional coordinator Salomé Areias, as well as designers and CEOs of European brands such as Michelle Shehurina, co-founder of TOOCHE Handmade Shoe and by Julija Sipicina-Buhgolca co-founder and marketing strategist at That Red Sweater and Esh by Esh.
University students, registered artisans, and unemployed workers receive a 15% discount when registering for The Slow Fashion Innovation Program.
For more information contact slowfashion.innovation@gmail.com