On February 18, in the creative collaboration of VintageDream and Woman Who Matters, the presentation of the photo project #VintageMatters and Public Talk, dedicated to conscious consumption and fashion, took place.
The speakers of the event were Olga Leffers, founder of the VintageDream gallery of vintage jewelry and clothing, Margarita Lieva, co-founder of Beautyhack.ru, Daria Lisichenko, Gorod-Sad founder, Match TV presenter Yulia Sharapova, Meet for Charity founder Olga Fleur, deputy editor-in-chief of Hello! Alena Litkovets, strategic communications expert Olga Podoinitsyna, founder of Nano Professional Evgenia Gladkina. The discussion was moderated by Anna Rudakova, founder of the forum and the Woman Who Matters award.
Beautyhack co-founder Margarita Lieva talked about what fast fashion is and how we can help the planet.
Margarita Lieva
Co-founder of BeautyHack.ru
At the public talk, we discussed conscious consumption - what it is and why everyone should think about it.
Can you imagine how many unnecessary things you buy a year in pursuit of trends? Until the twentieth century, fashion was "slow": clothes were made to order, and fabrics were expensive.
However, with the advent of factory production, the opposite problem arose - overproduction. Now everyone can go to the store and buy a cheap item that may be worn only once. This is fast fashion, due to which random purchases accumulate in closets as dead weight, and then go to the trash heap.
In Hong Kong alone, 1,400 T-shirts are thrown away every minute. Apparel uses a huge amount of water to make clothes: according to Greenpeace, it takes 2,700 liters per T-shirt, which is enough for one person for 900 days.
When dyeing fabrics, many harmful substances are used. All this ends up in rivers, polluting drinking water.
Every year the world produces 400 billion square meters of fabric, of which 60 billion are simply thrown away or burned.
Despite the fact that the fashion industry is costly for the planet, this state of affairs is supported by all market participants. Manufacturers strive to sell as much as possible. Collections in the mass market are changed several times a season. Each time, a new marketing campaign assures that these are the things that cannot be done without.
Brands create artificial excitement by limiting collections: have time to buy, otherwise you won't get these things! And the next season, the same thing is repeated. Shoppers want the quick pleasure that impulse shopping brings.
A short euphoria ends with regrets when the acquired quickly becomes boring. So there is a feeling of "full wardrobe, but nothing to wear."
What can you do?
- Better to buy a more expensive piece of clothing, but made from quality materials. Instead of getting an inexpensive trending item, get an interesting vintage wardrobe for the same amount.
- Instead of shoes from the mass market, buy more expensive shoes that will last a long time and will pay off already next year.
