💬 Slow Fashion, Greenwashing & Patagonia

Podcast’s Essential Bites:

[16:47] VLM: "It's been quite an exciting couple of months. We started the summer with the eBay and Love Island partnership. [...] One of the reasons why contestants want to go on the show is because they want a fast fashion partnership. So the fact that one of the finalists has landed a contract with eBay and that eBay [was] the main fashion sponsor of the show is huge. [...] Now what eBay didn't have the money to do was prevent the other finalists from taking on fast fashion partnerships."

[19:24] VLM: "[The new Pretty Little Thing app] isn't the first fast fashion app that we've seen do resale. [...] And I don't feel great about it to be honest. I really do feel that there are so many independent resale apps doing things in the right way [...] already. And these clothes from Pretty Little Thing aren't made to last and although they have an offering of other brands on their app, it just feels like if they have all this excess money, [...] why can't that money be going towards paying their garment makers a fair living wage."

[20:39] VLM: "The main concern I have at the moment, especially following boohoo's Kourtney Kardashian partnership announcement is I worry that people's first glimpse into sustainable fashion is going to be from a highly exploitative brand, like boohoo or Pretty Little Thing. And then pretty soon down the line, they're going to realize that this isn't a sustainable brand. And this can never be a sustainable brand. And then they're going to feel disheartened. And they're going to feel misled. And they're going to check out."

[21:54] VLM: "From the brand perspective, I wish they could be more upfront about what they're not doing as opposed to what they are doing. Because at the moment, it just feels really unbalanced and highly greenwashy. For the past however many years [...] we've just seen brands talk to us about all the great stuff they're doing. And then it takes a really long time for us to find out that it is actually misleading. [...] We desperately needed legislation to prevent them from misleading us. [...] Also in the UK, it's very, very, very hard for us to figure out how many items of clothing they're selling a year. And we know we're in the midst of a textile waste crisis that is impacting people so detrimentally in the global south."

[44:18] VLM: "I feel really encouraged by the Patagonia announcement. [...] It could be something that nudges and encourages other billionaires and billionaire brands to redistribute their wealth. We know consumption isn't the way to solve climate change, but I do think it's a win and I'm really excited about it."

Rating: ☁️☁️☁️

Additional Links:
YouTube: Venetia La Manna