Always wanting to be fashionable and trendy seems to be one of mankind's biggest problems. We all want to dress well and buy new clothes, but what is behind the fashion industry?
Fast Fashion, what is it?
New collections every 6 weeks with trendy products that everyone wants to get and at an affordable price or, in other words, Fast Fashion. A practice that is dedicated to continually renewing the clothes on the market following the preferences of consumers. Constant novelties at incredible prices, what more could you ask for
But not everything is as good as it seems, we find a tireless consumerism, but there is much more behind it, such as the pollution that is affecting our planet.
Clothes made of poor quality textiles that wear out faster and faster, clothes that don't last more than 4 washes. Production in countries where the labour force does not meet ethical standards or provide decent wages and which affects the environment, leaving us with products that take years to biodegrade and cannot be reused.
In addition, everything that goes with their production, such as water pollution, the emission of polluting gases and the use of non-renewable energy.
Clothes made from animals: The use of animals in fashion
Although this may sound like a thing of the past, the truth is that animals continue to be used in the textile industry.
Annually more than 60 million animals are overcrowded, mutilated and slaughtered in the name of fashion, born and die in captivity. Not only are cows used to create our shoes, accessories, coats, but also pigs, fish, horses, zebras, minks, foxes, chinchillas, beavers, otters, coyotes, kangaroos, crocodiles, camels, lynxes, goats, caimans, and the list goes on. Llama alpaca, vicuña, sheep to use their wool. Worms to make silk. Goose feathers and spider webs. Skins, hides, feathers and antlers are plucked, for use by people.
In the case of cows, which are the most commonly used for footwear and leather goods, cows with antlers are not used, as they hurt each other when transported, damaging their hides. Some breeders cauterise their horns as soon as they develop, and also genetically modify them so that they are born without horns.
Sustainable fashion: vegan and CRUELTY FREE alternatives
Consuming in a way that respects the environment and animals are the main objectives of sustainable fashion.
The secret is to use a circular model in which brands are concerned about the materials used, that products go from the shop to consumers' wardrobes and that when they get tired of them, they can give their clothes to second-hand shops and that when the time comes to "throw away" that product can be recycled and reused to recreate a new product, as the materials will allow it.
This is a great way to avoid pollution and animal abuse in the production of a jumper, a T-shirt or shoes.
The brand KUMI, for example, aims to leave a sustainable footprint and create a change in society with its sustainable and vegan sneakers created from recycled plastics for all those adventurers who love to travel, see new places and who consider fashion to be, of course, sustainable and vegan.
It is a brand that not only has handmade products made from local materials, but also takes into account the impact of CO2 in its production. With a production process where animals are not experimented with at any time and with eco-friendly and reused materials. Not only the sneakers are vegan, but also their accessories and packaging.
At the end of the day, it is with brands that have values and methods like these that we can allow ourselves to dream and hope for a more sustainable future in which animals are not slaves to the fashion industry.
