Choose sustainability
The reasons why we have to make a change in the fashion industry
What is the difference between slow and fast fashion? When is an item produced in a sustainable way? And how can you make a difference? All questions we want to give you insight into if you are wondering why to choose sustainable clothes to create a better world.
The global difference between slow and fast fashion
Fast fashion denotes lower-quality, low-priced, mass-produced and machine-made garments that quickly end up in landfills. Slow fashion garments in contrast are made by hand, consume time to produce, use artistic talent, have better quality and are priced higher. Slow fashion garments are naturally warm and comfortable over a period of washes. These can last for years or even a lifetime. Sustainable fashion is concerned with use of fibres from organic, recycled, repurposed and upcycled materials. The selection is made by opting for materials with less chemicals, dyes, energy, less resource, less waste and minimal impact.
If you are wondering why DES ANGES is a slow fashion brand, here's our answer:
We need to care of the place where we all live in, that's why we want to bring back slow fashion and focus on a better world.
What we do about it?
We want to make sure that we work with fabrics that last a long time. We focus on clothing that has a long lifespan, so every detail is given lots of attention and quality is our top priority.
We try to use as many fabrics/materials that have as little impact on the environment as possible. We look at the life span and how a material is made and/or how well it can be reused/recycled.
We also create items that are made from deadstock and fabrics from one composition. Plus we use materials that are already certified as sustainable. Even the labels in our items are certified with the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 quality mark and are quality approved by CENTEXBEL. The labels also incorporate yarn made from recycled polyester
We believe reducing textile production volumes is the most effective way to significantly reduce our impact on the environment. When you order, we produce. No waste and overproduction.
All of our items are produced in workshops in The Netherlands.
We try to achieve a positive impact on the environment, people and economy. That's why we produce in The Netherlands and are proud to have garment makers with a refugee background working with us. We only produce in a responsible way with fair working conditions.
Outfit repeating is a step toward sustainability. We want to encourage wearing the same clothes more often. Join us in breaking the stigma behind wearing clothes more than once. This is one of the reasons why we design clothes that you can combine in various ways.
Some reasons why fast fashion is so cheap
1. Fashion production is outsourced to cheap workforce
- Fast fashion companies outsource their production to emerging and developing countries because of it's cheap workforce.
The legal minimum wage for garment workers is very low. And lays under the estimated living wage.
2. Fast Fashion companies follow the volume-based business model
- Fast fashion brands place orders of high quantities of garments to their manufacturer which reduces the price per item. This also means that the fabric and accessories (like zippers, buttons) can be ordered in bulk, reducing the cost per garment even more.
Fast fashion is defined as mass-productions made quickly. besides, fabric cutters cut hundreds of yards of fabric for one outfit style at the same time with a cutting machine.
3. The fabric is low quality and cheap
- Synthetic fibers (e.g. Acrylic, Nylon, Spandex and Acetate) are cheaper than natural fibers (e.g. Cotton, Wool…) because they can be produced efficiently in large quantities.
4. Garment workers get paid per piece not per hour
- This means that employees experience a high workload.
5. Bad working conditions for garment and textile workers
- ‘Workers toil in unsafe, cramped, dirty, and poorly ventilated factories.’ according to the Garment Worker Center in L.A.
In order to keep the prices low, they can’t afford to renovate buildings and create safe work spaces which often causes fires, diseases and injuries.
How could you make a difference?
Choose slow fashion instead of fast fashion.
- Buy clothes consciously and less, wear the same clothes more often and style them in various ways.
- Choose quality over quantity. Look at how and where the clothes are made.
- Opt for clothing that is easily recyclable. By example, choose for an item that is made of a fabric from one composition.
