Would you pay $1000 for a hoody? What about if it was a hoody assembled from scraps of fabric that had been left behind in the process of making another, likely cheaper piece of clothing, would you buy that? Should a hoody made in this principled way command a higher-than-average retail value, or does the fact that it was born of ‘waste’ materials mean that it should cost less? And what would buying it say about you? Are you helping to solve the problem of clothing waste by buying offcuts, or are you just buying more clothes?
A wave of ethical, ecologically empathetic design is rolling through the fashion and beauty industries – including Everlane, Pangaia, Veja, and The Ordinary – and ‘big’ brands can’t afford to ignore the tide. According to the latest report from campaign group Fashion Revolution, big brands (those with a minimum turnover of £320million)