The Dumfries Slow Fashion Movement will aim to help tackle climate change by encouraging shoppers to act differently and think about recycling, swapping, altering and renting outfits.
And it will be officially launched with a showcase at the Theatre Royal next month.
The project is the brainchild of Marie and Daniel McKinnon, owners of Dumfries clothes shop Circle Vintage – pictured above.
They will host the Re:Dress event on October 29, at which they will showcase some of their own vintage pieces alongside customised and upcycled preowned clothes. Taking centre stage, will be a collection of “Trash Couture” garments made from reclaimed waste materials.
The couple said: “The climate emergency is at the forefront of the news right now and, while we all know that fast fashion causes damage to our environment, it’s important to acknowledge that the clothing industry is, in fact, one of the main polluters in the world, second only to the oil industry. Over the past few decades massive environmental damage has been caused by greenhouse gas emissions, chemical waste, over exploitation of water supplies and resources, as well as untold damage to people and communities across the world, just to produce our clothes.
“Every year 350,000 tonnes, that’s around £140 million worth of used but still wearable clothing, goes to landfill in the UK alone, which equates to 30 per cent of our unwanted clothes, and a colossal £2.7 billion worth of outfits sent to landfill in the UK every year have been worn just once.”
Discussing the solutions, they said: “While the simple answer might be to just stop buying clothes, the sheer amount of clothes bought in the UK every year shows that fashion brings something to people’s lives that might not be so easy to give up, so Dumfries Slow Fashion Movement aims to help us reduce the impact of our clothing choices on the environment without having to give up fashion altogether.
“Instead of buying new, it will encourage everyone to reuse, swap, rent, share resources and skills, recycle, upcycle, alter, and buy vintage and preowned, which keeps clothes in use for longer, reduces waste and cuts reliance on fast fashion, without sacrificing personal style.”
Appealing to shoppers locally to think about their consumption, Daniel added: “We all have to do our bit to try to slow climate change and an easy place to start is to reuse things we already have.
“We decided to launch the community project with a fashion show because that way we can show the sorts of things that are possible with a bit of creative thinking and some basic skills. Hopefully, people will see that we can all still indulge our love for clothes and have our own unique style, without it literally costing the Earth!”
Tickets for the Slow Fashion Show go on sale soon. For more information or to get involved, contact Circle Vintage by email at [email protected].
