Everyone loves buying stylish clothes for half the price that the big brands sell them at, so why not halve your carbon footprint while you’re at it? Expert retail consultant Mary Portas chatted to Abbey Bamford about why buying pre-loved is the sexiest fashion trend yet and eco-conscious fashion is the new black.
Many people think buying second-hand means compromising on quality. Mary’s Living and Giving shops have a more upmarket image and give to charities like Save the Children. How can we break the stigma around buying pre-loved fashion?
“It’s needs to come from people doing it and making it sexy constantly. If sustainable, modern business is talked about as being cool and sexy, it makes those dinosaurs that are just pumping out sh*t look like they’re not the cool brands to be with. It’s a big, big marketing job.
“You need to be putting pressure on businesses, which I’m doing through the Better Business Act, ensuring that they are thinking about our planet and our people. No brand is totally sustainable yet, but we are on that journey.”
The natural enemy of pre-loved fashion is fast fashion. What are your views on fast fashion and how can we encourage people to move away from it?
“This throw-away society is still being promoted through social media, where you’ve got this ‘buy now’ mentality being forced on you. This is the biggest ship we need to sink. We need to keep shouting out about this and make it deeply unmodern.
“It’s the younger generations that need to shift the dialogue. We need to be posting on social media about what this is doing to the planet.
“People want to think they’re doing the right thing and not just in the earnest way but also in the right, cool, cultural way. I’m on this across as many platforms as possible, as is the fashion industry, but the truth is we need to make policy on this.”
What are you doing to kick-start the global discussion about eco-conscious fashion?
“I’ll cover this on Mary Portas: On Style on Radio 4, which comes out in April. I’m also part of the Global Hope forum, run by Li Edelkoort, where we work with fashion designers and innovators worldwide to look at how we can change the production of fashion. Then I have my Mary’s Living and Giving shops which are all about recycling and upcycling.
“In everything I do, I’m saying, ‘We can create a better, kinder society: who wants to join?’”
You may also like to read about London Represents – the most inclusive and sustainable fashion show during London Fashion Week.
