It has been reported by the United Nations Environment Programme that, today, fashion accounts for up to 10% of global carbon dioxide output—more than international flights and shipping combined. More clothing is being produced than ever, as retailers and their customers churn through styles at a frenetic pace. Estimates from consulting firm McKinsey and the World Economic Forum suggest the number of garments produced each year has at least doubled since 2000. This generates environmental damage at all stages of manufacture, distribution and disposal – from the original creation of fibres to the generation of vast quantities of waste that end up in landfill or being incinerated. This is on top of the social injustice that has been widely reported (for example the recent Channel 4 documentary “Untold: Inside the SHEIN Machine”) in the manufacture of clothing in some areas across the world.
So how about guilt-free buying of high-quality clothes? Perhaps you remember when we repaired things and kept them longer? Wouldn’t it be great if local charities benefited from community recycling?
Charlotte, the owner of the The Lyon, The Witch & The Wardrobe at 105a High Street, Rye, has implemented all of this and more in her, highly successful, sustainability focussed fashion business. A self-confessed skip diver, she detests the waste generated by our throw away culture – believing that everything has a purpose and can always find a home, if you try hard enough. Coming from a retail family, Charlotte has combined her experience with strongly held beliefs to build a successful dress or pre-loved agency. By developing a business originally started by Amy Thorndike, she now serves customers from Rye to Newcastle. The Lyon, The Witch & The Wardrobe takes in clothes of any type, from Primark to Prada, and repairs and regenerates them for re-sale. Customers come from all walks of life and with different motivations to both sell and buy, but at the end of the day significant amounts of clothing that would have ended up in our waste systems have their life extended. Environmental damage is thereby decreased, and the sustainability challenges posed by fast fashion are reduced. It would seem that the concept is proving popular, with a men’s store recently added and an ambition to expand into multiple store locations.
Of course, as consumers of these products we have a critical part to play as well. It is no use if we feel good about buying a pre-loved item and then throw it away after one use. It needs to contribute towards real reduction in overall consumption of new items. By extending the life of any item and avoiding the purchase of something new we reduce environmental damage created during the production process and delay the pollution inevitably created during the waste disposal process.
Taking all this into account, Charlotte’s business touches all areas of the reduce-reuse-recycle mantra that lies at the heart of consumer, community, and business sustainability actions. To this has been added community support, in that the business regularly donates 10% of its profits to local charities, as well as employing local people in the shop and the related repair network.
We need more of us, both individuals and businesses, to reduce consumption and “hate waste” in all its forms. By making personal decisions locally that always consider environmental damage, we can support global sustainability. Equally businesses of all types must take time to assess their impact on consumption and waste, with even small steps being a valuable contribution to how we will all live in the future.
Charlotte and her team have shown that business and the environment can co-exist profitably – by providing a service to the community that meets a rapidly developing demand. It would be great to see more examples of this developing in Rye and the surrounding areas.
Please get in contact if you have more examples of sustainable enterprises or have ideas for improving our community through environmentally friendly actions.
Image Credits: Peter Connock .