Wander Through The World Of Slow Fashion & Slow Living

What is Slow Fashion?

If you have been following along on the Wander & Rove journey with us then you know that we chat quite a bit about slow fashion. If you're new here, hello and welcome. We are so happy to have you!

Wander & Rove features slow fashion brands and designers from around the globe that are all paving way for a more sustainable future in the fashion industry. 

Wander & Rove is here to provide you with a chance to slow down. We invite you to enjoy the little moments in life, wander a bit more slowly in consciously made garments while discovering new things and places.

What exactly does the term slow fashion mean?

Slow fashion is a different approach to fashion in which designers, buyers, retailers and consumers are more aware of the impacts of products on workers, communities and ecosystems. It accounts for everyone and everything involved in the product's lifecycle from start to finish. It emphasizes sustainability and social responsibility. The idea behind slow fashion is to slow down consumption by purchasing fewer items that are higher quality, thus giving them a longer lifetime. and resulting in not having to buy as much so frequently. Kate Fletcher, a fashion and sustainability pioneer, design activist and author, coined the term and was one of the first to explore the concept of slow fashion. 

The Benefits Of Shopping For Slow Fashion

1. Make An Impact

Shopping for sustainable fashion allows consumers to take part in the environmental and social movement, as well as the knowledge that your purchases are made from ethical and sustainable sources by humans that are being treating fairly in honest and safe working conditions. 

2. Save Money

Think quality over quantity. Investing in quality pieces gives you the option to buy fewer items, as they can last longer and can be mended or re-worked. Investing in higher quality pieces can also save you money in the long run, as you won't have to continuously purchase new, poorly made garments. 

3. Curate A Mindful Wardrobe

When you invest in quality pieces of higher value it is providing an opportunity to slow down and take into consideration the pieces you are adding to your wardrobe, investing in pieces you really love and will have in your wardrobe for years to come. These pieces are timeless and you will feel excited to pull them out of your wardrobe season after season to wear and style in new ways.

Slow fashion is an important and timely step to help reduce the consumption of fast fashion and its associated environmental and social impacts, on both the people who produce the clothing and the environment. By shopping sustainably, we can all contribute to a brighter, more responsible and sustainable fashion industry. Ultimately, slow fashion benefits us all with lower environmental impacts, but also with increased satisfaction of owning quality items that reflect our values and support the designers and makers behind our beautiful pieces. 

Forms of sustainable fashion/ textiles:

• second hand, vintage, thrifting
• use of deadstock fabrics- any leftover fabric that can't be used for its original purpose is then put to use
• recycled materials
• raw materials
• fashion companies that have adopted a zero-waste model, meaning the brands do not waste any material when crafting a garment

Slow fashion & slow living relationship

Slow fashion is an ideology related to slow living - the idea of leading a simple life free from distractions, and instead focusing on the essentials to ensure both mental and physical wellbeing, such as enjoying time outdoors, eating healthily and taking part in meaningful activities. By investing in slow fashion, we can take the principles of slow living and apply them to the fashion industry, reducing our consumptive habits and making more mindful purchases.

Why Slow Fashion & Slow Living Goes Hand In Hand?

Slow Fashion is a movement is part of the Slow Living movement, this lifestyle shifts away from the exhausted narrative of "faster, bigger, more" towards a more slower, sustainable and ethical way of consumption.

Slow Fashion encourages individuals to make ethical choices about their clothing and encourages the fashion industry to be more ethical, sustainable, and transparent in the way clothes are made and produced, as well as what the impacts are on people and the environment.

Slow Fashion encourages people to buy fewer, quality clothing items that are made ethically with materials that are natural, biodegradable, and with a minimal environmental footprint. Instead of being driven by seasonal trends, Slow Fashion focuses on timeless designs. Slow Fashion can also mean purchasing second hand pieces, shop ethically from small brands and designers, and repair and restyle existing pieces.

Slow fashion is about cultivating a mindful and sustainable lifestyle. It highlights the importance of investing in quality pieces rather than participating in fast fashion trends, which reinforces the importance of ethical production and consumption.

Natural materials to look for:

Slow fashion focuses largely on the materials used in producing garments. They try to stick to more natural materials or recycling fibers.

These materials are natural to the environment and will be able to break down over time compared to synthetic fibers that send millions of tons of plastic microfibers into our water systems each year and or end up in landfills where they do not break down.

Coming Full Circle

Slow fashion is buying well-made, well-loved, timeless and quality garments that you will have in your wardrobe for years to come. Rather than poorly made and over produced garments made by fast fashion giants. Think quality over quantity. 

Slow fashion is taking into consideration the whole products life cycle from start to finish; who made it, how it was made, how well it is made, how long you will love it and what will happen to it after it is well loved. It is circular model. 

Wander & Rove is a part of the slow fashion and slow living movement.

Enjoy the little joys in life and Wander & Rove with us.

Sourced from: Sustainable Fashion: Identifying Fast Fashion Flaws and Extending the Life Cycle of Clothing, Green Business Bureau, Natalie Sheffey Soto, https://greenbusinessbureau.com/industries/fashion/sustainable-fashion-identifying-fast-fashion-flaws-and-extending-the-life-cycle-of-clothing/