Practical and sustainable ways of dressing for health and wellbeing are central themes of a new book launched in Victoria on March 19.
Slow Clothing: finding meaning in what we wear responds to ethical issues arising from fast fashion culture which include waste, pollution and exploitation.
This book encapsulates the work of Australian social entrepreneur Jane Milburn, founder of Textile Beat, who has spent five years exploring ways to transform a culture of excess to a more thoughtful and engaged approach.
Slow Clothing was launched in Melbourne and Bendigo by the ABC’s Gardening Australia host Costa Georgiadis in celebration of creative, earthy and authentic style.
The book presents a compelling case for why we need to change the way we dress to live lightly on Earth through the everyday practice of how we buy, wear and care for our clothes.
‘One reason for rethinking clothing culture is that two-thirds of what we wear is now made of synthetic fibres derived from petroleum – and research shows these fibres are shedding microplastic particles into our water supplies and food system,’ Jane said.
‘We eat and dress every day to survive and thrive. In the same way we have become conscious of our food and are gardening to grow some of our own, we are becoming more conscious of what we wear and want to be more engaged in making and mending.‘
The slow clothing philosophy is based on individuals gaining autonomy and agency through 10 choices and actions – think, natural, quality, local, few, care, make, revive, adapt and salvage. Wearers reflect their own style and spirit, independent of fashion cycles.
In a climate-changed world, Slow Clothing is part of our revaluation of material things articulated in books such as Curing Affluenza, Minimalism and Tinkering.
Slow Clothing launch details for March 19 were:
- Melbourne: 10am Abbotsford Convent, Bishop’s Parlour, 1 St Heliers Street, Abbotsford
- Bendigo: 5.30pm The Good Loaf, 404 Hargreaves St, Bendigo