I thought this article was very readable and did a good job summarizing all the different points in the cycle and the steps that can be taken for sustainability at each. I’ve hear about mass brands knocking off high fashion designers but one point that I never thought about before was how Australia is a season behind so it can just take the patterns. It also makes me wonder whether there is less of an issue with excessive seasonal consumption in places where the climate is more stable year round. I feel like for me somehow I misplace clothes between seasons or see new trends that I want to try but I feel like if the weather didn’t change that much I wouldn’t buy as many new clothes each season and would wear the ones I have for longer.
For the retail/use side of things one thing I think could help is teaching basic sewing skills or having people in stores to do really basic things. Some fancier places offer tailoring or alterations but I’ve also heard of people saying that they threw away a perfectly useable garment just because they didn’t know how or couldn’t be bothered to sew a button back on. Things like this could reduce a lot of waste and are so easy to teach. One more issue is with the growing digital market people buy a lot of clothes on impulse. I know I’ve bought some things on Taobao that I don’t even end up liking but they’re so cheap that it’s easier to just keep them instead of returning them. Rather than buying cheap clothes they won’t wear people should spend that money buying better quality sustainable clothes.