Dress for less & save the planet

Mr Londoner has a rummage through London’s flea markets and charity shops.

A circular economy is one where precious resources (clothes, food, water, power etc) are shared, redistributed, reused or recycled. The aim is to help combat global warming, reduce climate change, cut pollution and help protect the vast swathes of the planet at risk of habitat and bio-diversity loss.

We can all do our bit to help – even in the smallest of ways. To this end, I just love a rummage in a market or a charity shop (a goodwill store as it’s called over the pond). It’s also empowering being part of a diverse, creative and international community of vintage, crafting and up-cycling aficionados. Through my work, I’ve met people who love an alternative take on textiles – from Austin, Texas to the streets of Amsterdam. And London is a top destination for vintage, textiles and up-cycled clothing.

Textiles in Hackney. Photo @meetmrlondoner

Landfill
There are good reasons to seek out alternatives to throwing out your old clothes. The UK, like the USA, has a poor track-record on clothing waste, sending tonnes of unwanted items into landfill. According to a recent report from climate action charity WRAP, Britain bins around 711,000 tonnes of clothes annually. That’s about 30,000 shipping containers full of unwanted items getting chucked out each year. 84 percent of these textiles are incinerated and 11 percent go to landfill. Neither solution is sustainable. The flooding of the market with fast fashion has also reduced the value of the UK’s centuries-old second-hand clothing market. And much of this so-called ‘waste’ ends up in developing countries.

The fashion industry generates ten percent of the world’s emissions. Textile production alone is estimated to release over a billion tonnes of annual greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Fashion also relies heavily on water – an increasingly-scarce resource across the globe. Each year, the industry is responsible for producing over 20 million tonnes of global waste water. And its content is often highly toxic – impacting the lives of the poorest and the most vulnerable communities on the planet. It’s a disgrace. The fast fashion companies (you know their names) producing cheap, throwaway goods are regularly called out on their business model. Quite right too. But they’re are an easy target. In truth, it’s hard to get a realistic measure of the carbon footprint of any single clothing retailer. These include those from the popular high street brands through to the prestigious fashion houses that dominate the well-appointed streets of London’s West End.

Quirky finds at Islington’s Camden Passage. Photo @meetmrlondoner

On the fashion front, one way to help save the planet is to re-use, buy vintage, re-make or up-cycle. London’s best-known vintage markets are Portobello in West London and Spitalfields, in the East. Camden Market is popular with a teenage crowd. There are other quirky little pockets, like Camden Passage (which confusingly is in Islington, not Camden!).

Britain’s high streets are increasingly dominated by charity shops – supporting numerous good causes. These outlets are to be found across London’s 32 boroughs. There are some amazing finds if you put in the hours. Indeed, to get the most from charity/vintage shopping requires an approach with an open mind. Could that £20 1970’s shirt be yours, with a couple of minor alterations? And might that quirky cocktail dress with a slight tear be brought back to life by your embroidery skills? My favourite charity shop is Fara on the Pentonville Road, near Angel tube station. It has a very eclectic aesthetic and it always seems to be full of cool fashionistas, and me.

This type of shopping works for the bold and the adventurous – while the more conservatively-inclined might want to give the chaos of the market or charity shop a miss.

The East End has a long tradition of making and textiles. Photo @meetmrlondoner

The East End has traditionally been at the centre of London’s textile industry. Spitalfields Flea Market is the place to head on a Thursday. It’s great for one-of-a-kind quirky knick-knacks, vintage clothing and rare African textiles. Get here early if you want to beat the professional dealers to the hottest items. Alternatively, come later to negotiate an end-of-the-day bargain.

Texan fashion student Mila rocks the look at Frock U. Photo @meetmrlondoner

Punky and fetishistic
On the other side of the city, Brick Lane Market in Spitalfields, comprises over 60 independent stall-holders with all manner of vintage clothing for sale. But how you define vintage depends very much on how old you are. For Mr Londoner, anything past 1970 is not vintage! The provocatively-named Frock-U in Brick Lane Vintage Market, takes a truly anarchic view of fashion. It will de-construct a man’s jacket and join it to a ladies’ dress. The result is often startling, decidedly punky, almost fetishistic. Brick Lane itself has an array of vintage clothing stores. My favourite is Levinson’s. Michael Levinson has been collecting vintage all his life. He has a great eye and his store is small so, by necessity, carefully-curated. Prices are accordingly a little higher, but then so is the quality and the curation.

Many of the dealers in Spitalfields Market on Thursday head to Portobello on Friday. This is an even bigger market and prices seem to rise as one walks south up Portobello Road. There are great vintage clothing finds at Portobello’s very northern end, under the elevated section of the roaring Harrow Road, directly above. And often a bargain can be struck.

Magpie Vintage is also based at Portobello and has shops in Spitalfields and Islington. It’s the brainchild of entrepreneur Alice Lockspeiser. This quirky retailer runs up one-off shirts and dresses made from discarded textiles, often in pleasingly-hefty and beautifully-embroidered linen. Each hand-made piece is unique. The cut is bold and boxy and a bespoke service is available too.

Kimono by The Revival at the V&A shop. Photo courtesy of the V&A

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) is famous for its fashion and textile collection and stunning blockbuster exhibitions. Lesser-known is that the museum’s shop supports The Revival. This is a collective, which makes beautiful fashion items from discarded textiles from the West, recovered from landfill sites in Ghana. The kimono and workwear-styles are cleverly-conceived, achingly-cool and highly desirable. They have a price to match. These one-off objects are made from waste materials that would otherwise have become a source of pollution, environmental degradation and climate change. And this is just one imaginative and powerful example of how the circular economy can work for the benefit of all.

 

 

About the Author

Mr Londoner is former museum director Antony Robbins. He’s pursued a lifelong love of both fashion and the environment. Today he runs bespoke London tours exploring the links between the two. Find out more on instagram – @meetmrlondoner. Meet Mr Londoner here