We understand that it can sometimes be tough to tell the difference between a fast fashion sale – run by a brand whose products put profit first and the planet second – and a slow fashion sale, run by a brand that does the opposite (like us!).
With this dilemma in mind, and our sustainable SPRING SALES in full swing, we’ve assembled some visual comparisons of what constitutes both an eco fashion sale and a not-so-eco fashion sale. This way, there can be no excuses for accidentally buying a fast fashion garment, rather than a high-quality piece of sustainable clothing made from organic or recycled materials. Can you spot the difference? We know we can!
High-Quality/Longevity vs. Low-Quality/No Longevity
The first thing to keep in mind when assessing any fashion sale is to question the quality of the garments that are being offered at a reduced price. Many fast fashion brands produce extra clothing specifically for sales. This means that rather than using sales to keep overproduction to a minimum, they ramp up production, knowing full well that a large percentage of the clothes produced will end up going to landfill or an incinerator.
As well as this environmentally counterproductive approach to running a fashion sale, there arises the issue of garment quality and longevity. Because many fast fashion items are made on the other side of the planet – often taking advantage of lower labour costs and standards – the quality of such garments suffers. This in turn means that many items bought during a fast fashion sale are almost purpose built to degrade as quickly as possible, thus perpetuating a vicious cycle of buy > wear once > trash > buy again > repeat.
We tear up that unsustainable sales model, opting instead for one whose sustainable sales feature the same top-quality eco garments we always sell. We also never produce additional stock in preparation for a sale. Instead we only use eco-friendly clothing sales, to reduce harmful overproduction to virtually zero (Zilch. Nada!), ensuring that every handmade jacket, sustainable knit and organic t-shirt finds a home, where it will hopefully be used for many years to come.
Unsustainable Prices vs. Fair Prices
TWOTHIRDS produces all our sustainable clothing in Europe, that’s a guarantee! This ensures that every eco-friendly dress, tee or trouser is handmade locally, by expert craftspeople, in family-run factories. It also ensures that the people we work with are treated fairly and paid at least a living wage. For these reasons, running an ethical fashion brand means that profit margins are lower than those gouged by fast fashion practitioners.
The result of staying true to our values in this way, is that while our eco-friendly sales will always try to pass on the best possible savings and value to you – our beloved community of ocean lovers – our discounts will never drop so far as to undermine our mission to save what we love most: our ocean, as well as the beautiful people who live and work on its shores.
PRE-ORDER vs. Conventional Retail
There’s no use in a fashion sale being sustainable if the rest of the time the brand running it operates in a way that’s unsustainable. While many brands will claim that sales help them reduce overproduction, TWOTHIRDS goes multiple steps further, only producing new sustainable clothing that our customers ask for, via our pioneering PRE-ORDER system.
Does this mean that buying a sale item from TWOTHIRDS is less sustainable than making a PRE-ORDER purchase? Not at all! It just means that in whichever way you buy an eco-friendly shirt, blouse, or skirt, you’ll be doing your bit for the planet in a slightly different way.
Impulse Buy vs. Considered Investment
Fast fashion sales are designed for you to pack your online cart with as many items as possible, regardless of whether you really need them clogging your drawers and cupboards.
Slow fashion sales like ours work differently, still encouraging you to buy responsibly, even if lower prices make it more enticing to do so. Far from wanting our community to buy in a haphazard way, we encourage everyone to only buy what they truly need and desire.
Love for a piece of clothing should last a lifetime, not evaporate seconds after you unbox it. It certainly helps that all our sustainable garments are delivered in eco-friendly, recycled paper packaging that’s entirely free of plastic.