Catherine Meyer-Funnell

 This is not an article in the traditional sense. It is not an argument but rather a plea, a crying out for us to find a solution to a problem that seems to be dividing the fashion world. Neither side has currently offered up a feasible fix, yet their greatly opposing stances on this issue has only caused shoppers and fashion fans like me to feel even more guilty and confused about what I should be buying and wearing. What I'm talking about is slow vs. fast fashion. Fast fashion is one of those uncomfortable truths that has always existed on the periphery of our consciousness; we always knew deep down that the people who made our clothes didn't have the happiest lives or earn the most money, yet we managed to push it down. It happened in a far away place, it wasn't our fault, it was probably exaggerated or inaccurate information. But this year the Boohoo factory scandal in Leicester  made it harder for us to ignore it. All this negative publicity might have been the first s...

  Being able to worry about the future is a luxury. It may seem a strange statement to make, given the current state of the world. A recent art installation of a ‘Climate Clock' on a Manhattan skyscraper, a Doomsday style countdown on how long we have left to reduce our emissions enough to give Earth a 67% chance of staying below the 1.5 ° C of warming that scientists say is crucial to avoid catastrophic natural disasters like floods and wildfires states we have just over seven years. But this contemplation of an abstract and still preventable future peril will not be high on the list of priorities of those struggling to make it through each week. The move towards a more sustainable and considered way of life is necessary, yet it has a tendency to feel like quite a big commitment. The cost of saving the world is more than just financial - it takes time, energy and ambition. Initially I had planned to write this piece on how unattainable this goal can feel to many people. When there...