Fashion Revolution Week is a great time to learn more about the issues and changes in the fashion industry. Image via Fashion Revolution Week.
Fashion Revolution Week heightens our awareness of the issues in the fashion industry and what changes need to be made for a positive future. As sustainable and ethical fashion has come to be widely discussed there are more resources for those of us who want to learn more. While this isn’t an extensive guide on all the resources available (it would be a 50+ page story if it was) these are a good place to start or to learn more if you’ve already started on your journey learning more about the issues and practices of the fashion industry.
Websites:
fashionrevolution.org – Fashion Revolution Week’s website is a rich resource of information and ways to get involved with the movement.
ethicallykate.com – Kate Hall aka Ethically Kate is a New Zealand educator, blogger and activist with a great deal of knowledge in sustainable and ethical fashion, she’s funny, smart and her website has lots local and international information and brands.
thegreenhubonline.com – The Green Hub is an Australian sustainable fashion and lifestyle blog, directory, and digital magazine run by Kira Simpson who visited New Zealand Fashion Week 2019.
clarepress.com – Clare Press is Vogue Australia’s Sustainability Editor and presents the Wardrobe Crisis podcast, she’s also an author and public speaker with a vast knowledge on sustainable and ethical fashion. She is the fashion industry’s go-to journalist on the subject.
wellmadeclothes.co.nz – While Well Made Clothes is essentially a marketplace for ethical and sustainable clothing it also has a wealth of articles on all aspects of the industry as well as interviews with many designers and industry figures. Their approach is no-nonsense but really informative and helps the customer make informed decisions.
ecowarriorprincess.net – Founded in 2010 by Jennifer Nini a writer, activist and certified organic farm owner, Eco Warrior Princess covers environmental issues, conservation, sustainable fashion, conscious business, social justice, politics, feminism, eco beauty, wellness, green technology — in an analytical, intelligent and honest way.
Podcasts:
Wardrobe Crisis by Clare Press – Each week Clare interviews guests about fashion, culture, sustainability, ethics, activism and the environment.
Concious Chatter – Hostel by Kestrel, Conscious Chatter opens the door to conversations about our clothing and the layers of stories, meaning and potential impact connected to what we wear
Wear your values – Over the course of five episodes you’ll get to hear about just how much work it takes to be sustainable for a brand and the incredible, but polluting, journey a piece of clothing takes from when it’s being made to you taking it home.
Fashion Unzipped – The Telegraph’s Fashion Unzipped podcast offers a look into the industry as Charlie Gowans-Eglinton and Emily Cronin discuss the talking points of the moment, share interviews with designers, and take the listener along with them as they traverse the fashion week front rows around the world.
Fashion Revolution – Hosted by international fashion journalist Tamsin Blanchard, Fashion Revolution’s podcast explores the hidden stories behind the clothing we wear. Through interviews and investigations, Fashion Revolution explores the intersection of sustainability, ethics and transparency in the fashion industry speaking to researchers, supply chain experts, garment workers, politicians and activists.
Preloved – Pre-Loved is a weekly interview show about vintage style hosted by Emily Stochl of the Brume & Daisy blog. She chats with her guests about style, running a fashion business, sustainability, slow fashion, the stories behind incredible vintage pieces, and why they choose second-hand things first.
The Business of Fashion – A leading digital authority on the global fashion industry, the BOF podcast is a good mix between issues relating to luxury, sustainability, the future of the industry and fashion adjacent topics.
Time Sensitive – Spencer Bailey and Andrew Zuckerman interview leading thinkers who consider time and concern for the planet as part of their work. The Li Edelkoort episode in particular is excellent.
The Conversations with Jason Campbell & Henrietta Gallina – a DIY podcast between two friends with lots of opinions related to fashion and culture. They’re not afraid to tackle some big topics!
Bande a Part – Rebecca Arnold and Beatrice Behlen host this fantastic weekly conversational podcast that’s like eavesdropping on your favourite aunts gossiping about the history of fashion.
Clare Press is a leading fashion sustainability journalist, author and podcast host.
Books:
Fashionopolis – The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes by Dana Thomas – Bestselling journalist Dana Thomas has traveled the globe to discover the visionary designers and companies who are propelling the industry toward that more positive future by reclaiming traditional craft and launching cutting-edge sustainable technologies to produce better fashion.
To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out The World? by Lucy Siegle – An expose on the fashion industry written by the Observer’s ‘Ethical Living’ columnist, examining the inhumane and environmentally devastating story behind the clothes we so casually buy and wear.
Wear No Evil: How to Change the World with Your Wardrobe by Greta Eagan – Wear No Evil provides a roadmap founded in research and experience, coupled with real life style and everyday inspiration. This book gives new meaning—and great answers—to an age-old question: “What should I wear today?”
The Conscious Closet by Elizabeth L. Cline – Whether your goal is to build an effortless capsule wardrobe, keep up with trends without harming the environment, buy better quality, seek out ethical brands, or all of the above, The Conscious Closet is packed with the tools you need to achieve these goals.
Wardrobe Crisis by Clare Press – Fashion journalist Clare Press explores the history and ethics behind what we wear. Putting her insider status to good use, Press examines the entire fashion ecosystem, from sweatshops to haute couture, unearthing the roots of today’s buy-and-discard culture.
The Sustainable Fashion Handbook by Sandy Black – A helpful sourcebook on all aspects of sustainable fashion encompasses not only the environmental issues presented by the fast-moving fashion cycle but also the social impact of the global fashion industry, which employs up to forty million people worldwide in manufacturing and agriculture.
Rise and Resist: How to Change the World by Clare Press – Rise & Resist takes a wild trip through the new activism sweeping the world. The political march is back in a big way, as communities rally to build movements for environmental and social justice. Crossing the globe, Clare Press meets passionate change-makers who believe in the power of the positive. From eco warriors and zero wasters to knitting nannas, introvert craftivists to intersectional feminists, they’re all up for a revolution of sorts.
Secondhand – Travels in the New Global Garage Sale by Adam Minter – Journalist Adam Minter takes the reader on an unexpected adventure into the often-hidden, multibillion-dollar industry of reuse: thrift stores in the American Southwest to vintage shops in Tokyo, flea markets in Southeast Asia to used-goods enterprises in Ghana, and more.
Films and TV shows:
The True Cost – True Cost is a groundbreaking documentary film that pulls back the curtain on the untold story and asks us to consider, who really pays the price for our clothing? Filmed in countries all over the world, from the brightest runways to the darkest slums, and featuring interviews with the world’s leading influencers including Stella McCartney, Livia Firth and Vandana Shiva, The True Cost is an unprecedented project that invites us on an eye opening journey around the world and into the lives of the many people and places behind our clothes.
China Blue – China Blue takes viewers inside a blue jean factory in southern China, where teenage workers struggle to survive harsh working conditions. Providing perspectives from both the top and bottom levels of the factory’s hierarchy, the film looks at complex issues of globalization from the human level.
Bitter Seeds – Bitter Seeds is a character-driven documentary which shows us the bleak situation for cotton farmers in India. More than 250,000 farmers have killed themselves since 1995. Director Micha X. Peled interviews all players, from condescending seed salesmen and callous Monsanto execs, to activist Vandana Shiva, to farmers, their families and village elders who remember when life as an Indian cotton farmer was not so bitter.
Riverblue – Following international river conservationist, Mark Angelo, River Blue spans the globe to infiltrate one of the world’s most pollutive industries, fashion. Narrated by clean water supporter Jason Priestley, this groundbreaking documentary examines the destruction of our rivers, its effect on humanity, and the solutions that inspire hope for a sustainable future.
2040 – Documentarian Damon Gameau explores what the future would look like by the year 2040, if we simply embraced the best solutions already available to us.
Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel – while not strictly about ethical or sustainable fashion, it will make you fall in love with the beauty of clothing so much, you’ll never want to buy a piece of cheap fast fashion tat ever again.
Articles:
Conscious, ethical and cruelty-free: a guide to the language of sustainable fashion
Do you really know the true cost of your empowering slogan tee?
‘Some soles last 1,000 years in landfill’: the truth about the sneaker mountain