It can seem almost paradoxical at first that an industry so reliant on fossil fuels, and known for its exploitative labour practices and environmental degradation, could be sustainable or even anti-capitalist. However, I think the time for change within the fashion industry is long overdue. With sustainable fashion becoming a more mainstream concept, one that is often overused and intertwined with greenwashing, it is important to be critical of so-called sustainable fashion practices.

Toxic dyes are prevalent in the fashion industry, and dyeing practices are often overlooked even within sustainable fashion. It's common to see sustainable fashion pieces or business that have been made locally in house, or with recycled or deadstock fabric but the colour of these garments are rarely discussed. This could be because natural dyes and fast fashion are not compatible in the slightest. Often when I talk to people within the industry about natural dyes they ask about how these dyes can be scaled up for mass production or how you can create the exact same colour repeatedly. But for me, this completely misses the point. If we genuinely want to create real systemic change then we can not create fashion to only exist with capitalism, we need to alter and shift the way we view textiles. I believe there's a real beauty in natural dyes that you can use the same dye stuff and get two slightly different tones of the same colour. Just like vegetables can taste different depending on when they are harvested or where they're grown, the same applies to natural dyes as they are derived from nature. The response shouldn’t be to try and push them into a box, but to embrace and celebrate the aspects of nature that show unpredictability and differences. If we can begin to view textiles similarly to vegetables and food, with curiosity and intrigue at the nuanced differences then we can create textiles that are unique, ever changing and most importantly sustainable.

References:
Andrade, S. (2023, November 3).” Flight attendants and toxic uniforms: A verdict.” The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2023/11/02/flight- attendants-toxic-uniforms-verdict/ Accessed: 20/04/2024
Ardila-Leal, LD, Poutou-Piñales, RA, Pedroza-Rodríguez, AM, & Quevedo-Hidalgo, BE. (2021).
A Brief History of Colour, the Environmental Impact of Synthetic Dyes and Removal by Using Laccases. Molecules, 26(13), 3813. doi: 10.3390/molecules26133813.
Barber, A. (2021). Consumed. London: Brazen.
Clark, Hazel. (2008). “SLOW + FASHION—an Oxymoron—or a Promise for the Future ...?.” Fashion Theory, 12(4), 427-446. Accessed: 20/04/2024
Farley, Jennifer, and Colleen Hill. (2015). Sustainable Fashion: Past, Present, and Future. Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing.
Gwilt, Alison, and Timo Rissanen. (2011). Shaping Sustainable Fashion: Changing the Way We Make and Use Clothes. Earthscan.
Hoskins, T. E. (2022). The Anti-Capitalist Handbook of Fashion. London: Pluto Press
Kusumastuti, R., et al. (2022). Preservation of Cultural and Environmental Sustainability Through Natural Dyeing Techniques: A Case Study in Indonesia. Journal of Sustainable Fashion, 8(2), 123-136.
United Nations. (n.d.). “Greenwashing.” Retrieved from [https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/climate- issues/greenwashing#:~:text=By%20misleading%20the%20public%20to,some%20more%20ob vious%20than%20others.] Accessed: 20/04/2024
Vankar, Padma Shree, and Dhara Shukla. (2024). Natural Dyes for Sustainable Textiles (1st ed.). Woodhead Publishing.
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