Words by Smiley Team
When four lovers of beautiful clothing fell out of love with fast fashion’s environmental impact, they put their heads together to come up with a solution. Fashion photographer Felipe Huertas and sustainable fashion specialist Jack Wolton, along with fashionistas Faris Hamadeh and Ronae Fagon, dreamed up SlowCo. This online platform for independent brands sells only eco-friendly clothing and encourages shoppers to make more considered purchases.
Each item sold on the platform comes from independent brands and must meet at least two of SlowCo’s sustainability criteria - that they are recycled, upcycled, organic, vegan, socially beneficial, made from natural fibres, third party certified, small-scale, low-impact or locally produced.
“We basically just wanted to create somewhere we wanted to shop where people can find beautifully curated sustainable fashion brands in a place that's visually pleasing and has a true values-led philosophy,” explains co-founder Faris.
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Not only are their products more sustainable than others, they also take a bolder approach by discouraging shoppers from buying so much. On their website they invite people to buy less, saying: “We invite you to take your time, browse slowly, and get to know the brands at your leisure. And if you feel so inclined, you can always add something to your no-pressure-basket.”
“At SlowCo, our starting point is a ‘less but better’ philosophy. This means encouraging people to reduce consumption by purchasing fewer, better quality items,” co-founder Jack adds.
All four SlowCo founders developed the platform off the back of their dissolution with fast fashion. The textiles and garment industry accounts for around 20% of global water wastage and 10% of annual greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, nearly 90% of the fibres used to produce clothing are incinerated or end up as landfill, according to the World Bank.
In addition to their environmental concerns, the founders design the platform to fit modern understandings of sex and gender. Rather than categorising products by ‘women’s’ and ‘men’s’ clothing, the website homepage offers users the choice of browsing items by gender identity.
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“I’m openly gay and over the years I’ve suffered homophobic abuse,” says Jack. “I’m passionate about creating an inclusive online environment where everyone is welcome and where we promote acceptance and celebrate being “different”.”
By creating a more inclusive shopping experience, they hope to give people more freedom to express themselves as who they are. Felipe says: “The way you dress is an expression of what you stand for, who you are and I love the idea of creating art out of style, dressing each day to express yourself, no matter how you like to dress, I think is a beautiful way to be.”
Browse SlowCo’s ranges at slowcosustainable.com.
