Closing the loop: Reimagining the art of fashion
Written by Christina Dean
November has truly become a global celebration of consumption, but the slow fashion movement is quickly fighting back, saying no to the sales, no to cheap disposable pieces and heralding an ethical future of fashion. Whereas fashion sales and ‘in with the new’ used to be September, it’s now all about November as the world becomes awash with seemingly limitless online sales and shopping spree bonanzas, from Singles Day to Black Friday.
Last year, Singles Day, on 11/11, saw sales hit a terrifying new record high of US$30.8 billion in just one day, with the business’s online shopping spree becoming an event in itself - with performances and entertainment galore to encourage and celebrate rapid-fire (and dare we say it?!) often reckless purchases. Meanwhile, in the US, sales on Black Friday also reached new highs of US$6.22 billion in online sales in one day, marking a greedy 24% jump in sales from the previous year.
But is all this seemingly endless consumption really needed?
We’re currently already making around 100 billion new garments every year - of which it’s estimated that 73% of which will end up in landfill or incineration³. Faced with this harsh reality of how quickly we routinely discard our clothes, these global mega-discount sales that drive up consumption must be put under ethical scrutiny.
Photo Credits | Redress
Fashion is one of the world’s most polluting industries and during our current global climate crisis, now more than ever, we need to slow down consumption and really consider how our closet and styling choices impact the world we live in.
The R Collective is hard at work creating sustainable fashion using rescued textile waste sourced from world-leading luxury brands, mills and manufacturers and we collaborate with award-winning sustainable designers from around the world to create unique upcycled collections. The United Nation’s 12th Sustainable Development Goal - Responsible Consumption and Production - is at the core of our brand ethos. The R Collective’s clothes are produced ethically and responsibly, offering timeless designs that are guaranteed to last for many seasons to come.
We know that buying new clothes is never going to go completely out of fashion, so if you do need to replace a key item, stay tuned for our very own No Sale Black Friday. Here, 25% of all sales from Nov 26 until Dec 2 will go to charity Redress, who continue to reduce waste and drive sustainability in the fashion industry.
Ithaca Jacket and Murray Jacket (pictured above), made using reconstructed upcycled military uniforms from the Military Collection, designed in collaboration with Lia Kassif.
To reduce consumer clothing waste, we collaborated with sustainable designer, Lia Kassif who created an upcycled military collection, using discarded American, Chinese and Israeli military uniforms. To further promote responsible consumption, we offer a take-back service for its customers, enabling every The R Collective piece to continue working its magic in the secondhand market.
If you want to discover more about our passionate quest to make fashion sustainable, join us in Hong Kong at the Future Fashion Lab exhibition at The Mills. Running from November 8 -17 at this newly transformed historical textile site, this fascinating exhibition will also include zero-waste design workshops. I will be sharing my views about how The R Collective is reducing waste at the ‘Closing the Loop’ panel discussion on November 17, alongside other creative sustainable luminaries, Kayla Wong from Basics For Basics, accessories designer Michelle Lowe Holder, Rachel Clowes from The Sustainable Sequin Company and Oliver Wayman from Bottletop. See you there!
Event details:
Sunday 17th November | 2-4 pm Zero-Waste Design Workshop | 4:30-6:30 pm 'Closing the loop' panel
Visit us at the Future Fashion Lab Exhibition From Nov 8 to Nov 17
Sign up to the 'Closing the Loop' panel and workshop on Nov 17
Sources:
¹ South China Morning Post
² CNBC
³ Ellen MacArthur Foundation