Underrepresentation of black people is an issue across all industries, and fashion is no exception. But the fashion world would be nothing without the contributions from the likes of Willi Smith and Tracy Reese. This article looks at the work of incredible artists who have been influential in their work as fashion designers and models.

Hattie is a recent graduate who is part of SFW’s Communications Team responsible for the website and newsletters. She is passionate about finding more sustainable ways to uphold fashion and other industries, and renounce the outdated consumerist-driven way of life. Hattie believes that it is time we move away from fast fashion, and rediscover the art form in more sustainable, ethical ways.

Sam works with the Communications Team; reaching out to industries, the media and influencers to spread the word about SFW. Her background in fashion, beauty and vintage retail - and her passion for the creative repurposing and upcycling of clothing and other products - inspired Sam to join SFW. We feel very lucky to have her on our team, helping to spread the word of sustainable fashion and make it an accessible and inclusive movement for everyone.

As we come to the end of the Soil Association’s Organic September, our Communications Lead, Alex, explores the benefits of using organic cotton. Did you know there are over 100 million cotton farmers producing cotton in 80 countries worldwide, with cotton production covering 2.5% of the world’s arable land?

Image courtesy of Environmental Justice Foundation.

This year’s Global Goals Week is more important than ever as the world’s sustainable development progress has been hindered by COVID-19. The goals were developed by the UN five years ago, and support many of the ideas and aims of sustainable fashion. Both seek an inclusive and equal approach to sustainable development, and both are crucial to overcoming the environmental crisis.

Is there a place for fashion weeks in a fair, representative and low impact fashion industry? As London Fashion Week draws to a close for 2020, our founder, Amelia, explores the difference between what Sustainable Fashion Week will be, in contrast to the current fashion week model.

We’re recruiting for two Community Inclusion volunteers to join our SFW team. This is a crucial aspect of our work - elevating and amplifying the work of people in the community, and their action in favour of a sustainable fashion industry. Is this role for you?! Have a look…

Can a Fashion Week even be sustainable? Georgia investigates the harmful environmental impact that the annual fashion weeks across the globe can have, from the physical event itself, to the mindsets that the events encourage; suggesting that fashion is ‘seasonal’ and therefore encouraging more and more consumption. However, cities like Helsinki are pioneering sustainable fashion weeks, inspiring other cities to follow suit.

Ben is SFW’s Digital Programme Lead, responsible for creating content using recorded interviews and How To workshops. Ben is a young creative who works in and around Bristol as an image consultant, photographer and stylist. He strongly believes that it is time for a change in the fashion landscape, including more representation, education surrounding manufacturing and a real effort to alter the perception around single use clothing.

The world is seeing a rise in second hand shopping as consumers seek cheaper, more sustainably-sourced alternatives to fast fashion. In the US alone, the resale market has grown 21 times faster than the new apparel market in the last 3 years. Buying second hand has several environmental and social advantages. It could also mean that fashion brands begin to provide more environmentally-conscious clothing as they seek to keep up with the growing second hand trend.

Amelia Crews is the Ambassador Lead for SFW. She is a recent graduate in Business and Digital Marketing and has joined SFW because of her love of clothes and her desire that we learn to see the beautiful value in pre-used clothing. She believes that, rather than supporting a constant stream of new clothing, we should learn to create new from the old and find more value behind what we wear.

This month, Oxfam launched its #secondhandseptember campaign; asking people to pledge to only shop second hand for 30 days or more. The campaign aims to enhance sustainable fashion and help decrease the 336,000 tons of clothing waste which end up in UK landfill each year. Our blog suggests some online stores which make it easy to shop second hand.

Alex has joined our Communication Team to look after Sustainable Fashion Week's social media channels. Having worked for the fashion industry, Alex understands first-hand the destructive environmental impact it has. Her passion for sustainable fashion, and embracing sustainable lifestyle choices where one can, is what drove Alex to join SFW.

Last year, Labour Behind the Label launched a campaign demanding more transparency from school uniform supplier Trutex. The campaign was hugely successful and shines a light on where our school uniforms come from and how we can make more eco-friendly choices when it comes to buying our Back to School kit.

Georgia is overseeing our social media content and the way we develop our ‘brand’ through our messaging. Georgia was drawn to SFW because of the focus on community involvement and trying to make sustainable fashion accessible. She loves that SFW isn't just focusing on those who are already involved in sustainability and condemning those who aren't; SFW is about bringing everyone on board in ways that work for them.

We’re so excited to have Mya-Rose on the SFW team. Mya-Rose (AKA Birdgirl) is an inspiration to us, having done so much work in supporting access to nature for Visible Ethnic Minority Communities. She is going to support us in reaching out to the diverse Bristol communities and in ensuring our programming is representative.

Claire Haines has joined the SFW team as our Programming Lead for City Wide Events. Her background in event management and charity makes her the perfect fit for this role. Claire loves fashion and the outdoors, but hates waste and is constantly learning about new ways to tackle sustainability issues.

One huge economic impact of Covid-19 has been the damage done to the fashion retail industry, as shops closed their doors and customers vanished into their houses. Consequently, major companies cancelled their orders from garment factories in Bangladesh, India, Cambodia and many other countries.

Holly has joined the SFW team as our Programming Lead; planning the marketplace at our Hub Event and putting together a programme of workshops. She has a background in law and for 9 years has run the vintage clothes store @vinrougevintage.

How do we link the destruction of ecosystems and the Black Lives Matter movement? In this opinioin piece we look at how they’re systemically linked through the practices of extraction and exploitation in modern capitalism.

Image from Environmental Justice Foundation.