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A guide to sustainable and ethical fashion in Singapore  

Our affinity with fast fashion starts from the buzzing streets of Orchard Road, Bugis Street, and the unyielding allure of online shops. Yet, little do we know that we are leaving an unglamorous trail of environmental footprints as we unwind along on our retail therapy. Behind every glitz and glamour, fast fashion has a dark side.

So what exactly is fast fashion? Fast fashion can be defined as a trendy, highly profitable business model that samples ideas from replicating catwalk trends and high-fashion designs while mass-producing them at low cost.

In the industry alone, they account for 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. While a walk-in wardrobe can be every fashionista’s dream come true, fast fashion is currently the 2nd largest generator of pollution as it consumes over 90 million cubic of water annually, enough to cover 5 million people’s water needs. Based on a survey conducted by Business Insider, 7 in 10 Singaporeans buy new clothes every 6 months, proving evidence of our fast fashion culture.

With the overwhelming effects of environmental costs, youths around Singapore started advancing towards a greener lifestyle by cooperating their own business with slow fashion. 

So if you are interested in starting a fashion revolution of your own, we’ve got you covered! In this step-by-step guide, we will teach you how you can be water smart when it comes to dressing sustainably.

1. Shut Down Vintage

If you style trends towards exclusive vintage branded items, @shutdown_vintage on Instagram will sit high on your list. Run by Syahid, the 18-year-old businessman started selling streetwear and artisanal garments since November 2018. With more than a thousand followers, his booming business has been capturing the attention of many youngsters and was even featured in our national mass media conglomerate - Mediacorp. 

“Handwashing clothes are first and foremost energy and water-efficient. All you need is a tub, water, soap and your hands (or feet) to wash your clothes. And since you will be working manually, you can consider this a chance to work out while washing your garments.” said Syahid.

 

On average, a washing machine uses about 53 litres of water per load as while hand washing only uses 20 litres. Clearly, hand-washing is a much more economical and sustainable way of living but do you know when and how exactly do you hand-wash your clothes?

 

Good candidates for hand-washing are usually solid colors, cashmere, delicate silks, and wool. 

Here are some pro-tips that Syahid has suggested:

  1. Check your water temperature: The ideal temperature should be between 27 and 29 degree celsius. Although hot water helps to set some stains, it can bleed color, especially clothes with red and orange dyes.

  2. Choose the right detergent: Use a detergent specifically for hand-washing as these products rinse out more easily. One example would be Woolite hand wash liquid detergent that is available in NTUC Fairprice.

  3. Dry flat: Without twisting or crumpling garment, gently squeeze out the excess water. Lay the item out flat on a drying rack and avoid using hangers as they stretch out the shape of the garment.

Popular among the ladies, @daisypaisie is your one-stop destination towards a lovely spread of lace and floral apparels. With her soft, cottage girl aesthetic, 19 year-old Singapore Polytechnic student, Wei Wen handpicks her selection from Cash Converters and Carousell.

 

“I decided to wear and sell second-hand apparels as I thought that all clothes deserve a second life, especially when it comes to pieces that look as good as new.” said Wei Wen. Adopting a mindset like Wei Wen may help to reduce your water footprint while staying fashionable! According to World Wildlife, it takes up to 2,700 litres of water to produce the cotton needed to make a single t-shirt and 10,000 litres to make a pair of jeans. That is a lot of water used just for one piece of clothing! 

 

If you want to take water-saving a step further, instead of washing your clothes, there are other alternatives you can try out! As mentioned by Wei Wen, “Use gaffer tape to remove stains and tiny amounts of soapy water and a sprinkle of vodka to remove odors. You can even try freezing your jeans instead of throwing it into your laundry basket!”

 

Ultimately, the idea of saving water can be as simple as wearing your items more than once between washes. All you have to do is turn it inside out and air it overnight or invest in a fabric refresher that you can easily grab at your local supermarts.

2. Daisy Pasie

3. Lucky Plaza Bazaar

With the overgrowing trend of “thrifted fits” and “y2k haul” circulating around the viral social video app - Tiktok , many youths have been flocking to thrift stores to source for second-hand clothing items at insanely low prices. Opened in 2010, Ms Jannah Soh has been managing her business with three of her other friends - Deeyana Arina, Gabrielle Tan and Shaza Nene. With over 5000 pieces of pre-loved apparels hanging around the racks of the capacious store, Lucky Plaza Bazaar offers a generous selection of clothes. Ranging from windbreakers, winter wear, camisoles, workwear and to many more others, this shop is definitely suited for all ages!

 

In this age of social media, people’s perspectives on thrifting have fortunately been renewed. As more are seeing the benefits of slow fashion, many Singaporeans are turning towards both physical and online thrift stores. According to one of Singapore’s largest thrift companies, The Salvation Army,  who runs five thrift stores across the island, said that they were seeing more customers day by day. 

 

“We didn’t really expect the sudden change in our consumer’s mindset. Back then, these secondhand clothing items were considered dirty or unwanted and many similar businesses that we know of were actually on the verge of closing down.” said Ms Soh.

 

“The concept of sustainability was actually quite easy to grasp. I started reading books from William McDonough a few months back and it has taught me many different things about how to be more sustainable in our daily lives.” said Ms Arina. 

 

Just like Ms Soh and Ms Arina, here is a list of must-read books as recommended by them:

 

With these given tips and tricks, your road to a sustainable lifestyle is well-paved and ready to go. So head down to any of those mentioned thrift stores to kick-start your thrifting journey!

 

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