On starting a sustainable clothing business in isolation.
By Cyd Ashbridge.
185 views.
One click. It’s as simple as that. One click and we contribute to an industry that is responsible for 10% of the annual global carbon dioxide emissions, 14-16 hour days for exploited workers and six bathtubs worth of water that goes into making only one cotton t-shirt.
I’m not blaming the consumer here, we are sucked into a world of new collections, cheap prices, promo deals and free delivery, which makes it very hard to resist that £5 Boohoo Bandeau that would just go so well with my new Topshop jeans. However, fast fashion is a matter of supply and demand, and with the average customer wearing an item only 7 times before discarding it, we have to take individual responsibility for our contribution to an industry which produces 400% more clothes than it did 20 years ago.
As someone whose second home is a charity shop, who loves rooting through vintage sales and warmly welcomes hand-me-downs, I try as much as possible to follow a reduce, reuse, recycle mantra when it comes to fashion. This was what I had in mind when starting my little clothing business – cydsline designs– during lockdown. I use second-hand black and white t-shirts from charity shops and other second-hand stores (I live on Depop), upcycling them with hand-painted line-drawings to create a contrast print. I want the t-shirts I make for people to be indicative of their style, which means that all the garments are custom-made and unique; they can be personalized by sending in an image which I create a design from.
Starting a business based on a sustainable ethos has made me question whether there has been a paradigm shift in ethical consumption during this pandemic. The fashion industry has been hit hard recently, with clothing sales plummeting by 79% in April in the US alone. However, where there is deterioration, there is also increased exposure to the status-quo.
“I think it’s an opportunity for all of us to look at our industry and to look at our lives, and to rethink our values, and to really think about the waste, and the amount of money, and consumption, and excess that we have all indulged in and how we really need to rethink what this industry stands for.”
Dame Anna Wintour, Editor-in-chief of Vogue
Although the severe drop in clothing consumption is a reflection of the global economic uncertainty and limited public access to non-essential shops, Anna Wintour’s comments about the industry resonate. Patience is a virtue, and I believe that the patience we are exerting to stay in lockdown and reduce the spread of the virus comes with an abundance of time and space to reflect on our current behaviours. As a result, we can pay more attention to our relationship with fashion consumption to create a new future for the industry.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating for people to resort to faded, pit stained and holey clothing, I just think we cannot continue to accept the blind consumerism that underpins so much of the fashion system. This means reducing the number of items we buy each year which contribute to the supply and demand cycle of fast fashion, reusing the clothes that you have instead of wearing them only a few times and throwing them away, repurposing clothes that are a bit worn out or ‘out of fashion’ with some creativity to express individual style, and most importantly, recycling items in a way that benefits others (by reselling or donating to charity). Everyday choices and ordinary decisions can have significant impacts on our world. Think before you click.
Edited by Marnie Ashbridge
To see more of Cyd’s t-shirts and to find out how to get one, follow @cydslinedesigns on instagram
https://www.instagram.com/cydslinedesigns/
The Quarantine Times 
Very well said Cyd 👌
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