Why I Choose Slow Fashion
Why I believe in slow fashion and how it shapes everything I do with my work.
With fast fashion being something you can’t hide from, I have made it my mission to slow down, with consideration and purpose.
The word slow doesn’t always land well in fashion. People hear it and often think inefficient, or even lazy. But to me, slow means careful. It means intentional. It means caring about what you make and how you make it, from start to finish. It means falling in love with the process.
We’re living in a time when clothing is produced at an unbelievable rate. Over 100 billion garments are made every year. Most of them are designed to be worn a handful of times and then thrown away. Behind all that is a cycle of waste: unsold inventory, fabric offcuts, harmful chemical runoff, and factory workers, most of whom are women or children — underpaid and overworked.
That’s not something I want to be part of or stand for.
At Macrae, I’m doing things differently.
All past, present and future garments have a repair and end of life (EOL) guarantee. This process will take some trial and error to perfect, but the goal is to control the waste my brand may produce (more details to come)
I cut my garments in ways that reduce waste. I donate leftover fabric to FAB.LOOP, a local social enterprise that upcycles offcuts.
I use reclaimed or dead stock fabrics whenever possible—because there's already so much material out there. Why make more?
It’s not about being perfect. It’s about trying, be consistent with my intentions and always searching for improvement.
Slow fashion isn’t just a good idea. It’s a commitment to care, for the process, for the people involved, and for the planet we live on.
Watch the video version of this story here
Sincerely,
R
Here are some interesting resources I found this week!
10 Concerning Fast Fashion Waste Statistics
How we’re making textile waste Vanish!
https://upparel.com.au/blog/how-we-helped-make-textile-waste-vanish/