Can Sustainable Fashion in Coventry Survive the Cost of Living Crisis?
By Jack Woolf (Photography by Lilah Keown)
We are in a world powered by fast fashion. Cheap clothing produced extremely quickly for mass market consumption. Cheap being the operative word, with the cost of living continuing to rise, fast fashion seems the only option for many. 10% of all global emissions come from the fashion industry, making it the second highest industrial polluter in the world. Nearly two tonnes of clothing are bought each minute in the UK and the fast fashion market was worth an estimated $106 billion dollars in 2022. And who powers this market? Underpaid workers, sometimes even children. A campaign called Fashion checker found that 93% of the 311 brands it surveyed were not paying their garment workers a living wage. In an industry built upon exploitation and environmentally unfriendly practices, how can we pursue fashion ethically and sustainably in a time where people can barely afford to eat?
Naomi works at Milk Vintage Clothing in Coventry. The shop specialises in sourcing and selling second hand clothing. Naomi had strong words concerning fast fashion. ‘I hate fast fashion, I think it’s just a waste of material, it always ends up in landfills and it’s just dreadful,’ she said. The cost of living has affected sales. Naomi said, ‘because the prices are a bit higher than other stores, vintage clothing is more difficult for people to buy.’ However, she ultimately defended the practice, saying the benefits justify the costs. ‘We make sure people buy pieces they love and will take care of,’ she said.
Mary Ann Evans Hospice is a charity that has several branches of shops throughout the west midlands. Miss O Kane, who works at the branch in Coventry, is critical of the practices of fast fashion. ‘The wages aren’t paid, the materials aren’t good, it just doesn’t last,’ she said. Miss O Kane believes in the work she is doing at Mary Ann Evans Hospice, praising the fact that all the money earned in the shop goes straight to the charity. She did express worries concerning the cost of living crisis. ‘People are buying less and keeping it longer, our donations are going down as well,’ she said.
Sarah created her business, Ragdoll Crafts, following being made redundant. She is not a fan of fast fashion, describing it as ‘wasteful.’ ‘I’ve always been a crafter, it’s been my dream for a lot of years to open this business,’ she said. Her stall, which operates within Coventry Market, specialises in personally knitted clothing for infants. Sarah acknowledged that the cost of living crisis has made an impact. ‘We’ve had to make changes, like reducing the prices of some of the higher end products and bringing in cheaper alternatives,’ she said. However, the spirit of the business is still going strong, and Sarah believes that more should do what she did. ‘There is a surge in people wanting to make and craft things for their mental health since the pandemic. I’m hopeful that is going to continue and that people will continue to make their own clothes and enjoy the process whilst they’re at it,’ she said.
With plenty of options in Coventry alone, it is clear that there are many places for people who want to shop sustainably. Not to mention the various options for online shopping for second hand clothes on platforms such as Vinted. But with concerns over the cost of living proving universal, we’ll have to wait and see if these shops survive the crisis.