I wanted to write a post sharing why I got involved in sustainable fashion in the first place.⁣⁣⁣
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I absolutely love the environment, fashion, community, culture, creativity and design. But for many years working with a label or launching my own brand, I always felt something was missing at the end of the day. The WHY was missing.⁣⁣⁣
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With sustainability, there is a worry that you can come across as saying “This is how to be perfect” when in reality none of us are or can be. What (I think) we are saying is “This is what we are learning, this is what we are doing, these are ways you can be better in your journey but hey, we are not perfect, we are not there yet.⁣”⁣⁣
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I developed a concept called my 80:20 rule which means this:⁣⁣⁣
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When I started my sustainable fashion journey I did 20% of the sustainable bits (a little recycling, a little customising, a little environmental justice advocation) paired with lots of high street binge shopping, no research into sustainable brands and zero knowledge about anything from waste or circular design or social justice (80% unsustainable).
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I am now in the 80% sustainable space, which might seem high but not when you consider that the bulk of being in that space is my mindset. A dedication to learning it from others, listening to it from within myself, and sharing what I learn as best I can. ⁣⁣
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We all have spaces we fall flat and will never probably be able to be much better in. As imperfect humans, that is our 20% unsustainable.
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Part of the way we journey towards our 80% is being fair and respectful of other people who are doing work in this space. Whilst some may dip in and out of this topic, many of us live in this space, it’s our passion, motivation and livelihood. As such, we ask for the basic respect afforded to anyone trying to creative positive impact (trying to live in their 80% or move towards it) whilst learning from those around them.