Behind the Scenes · Reading Time: 2 Minutes
The Future of Fashion is slow
Why do we only produce two collections per year?
We love fashion and that is exactly why we are committed to slow fashion. Twice a year, we create collections of around 120 pieces on average in our Cologne studio - a spring/summer and an autumn/winter collection.
Why do we consciously decide every year not to offer any intermediate collections and instead focus on two well-thought-out collections – completely contrary to the current fast fashion trend?
The Problem of Fast Fashion
A 2015 study by Greenpeace shows that every adult German owns an average of 95 items of clothing - excluding underwear and socks.¹ Around 60 more items are added each year and the number continues to rise as the selection of fast fashion increases and prices fall. But why is fast fashion a problem in the first place?
Disposables: Fashion
First: Fashion has devolved from a luxury item to a disposable product.
In Germany, around 55 billion Euros were spent on fashion in 2020, making clothing the leader in the non-food segment.² However, one in five garments is never even worn. In total, that's over 1 billion items that remain unworn in German wardrobes each year – and the trend is rising! The main reasons for this – besides wear and tear and weight fluctuations – are changing fashion tastes/styles and the feeling that clothes are no longer fashionable.³
The appreciation for clothing has rapidly declined over the past decades, and with it, the willingness to pay a fair price for good and ethical fashion. Seamstresses and producers, as well as the environment, suffer particularly from this.
Secondly, a huge mountain of clothing waste is generated, of which only a fraction can actually be reused or repurposed.
An insightful study, commissioned by Labfresh, has revealed that each German alone sorts out around 5 kg of clothing annually. In total, this amounts to over 391 thousand tonnes of textile waste – every year! The shocking thing is: Only a small part of your donated clothes is actually recycled or resold as second-hand goods. More precisely: Of the approximately 5 kg, only 500 grams are recycled and even only 400 grams are resold as used clothes. Almost a quarter of the disposed clothing is incinerated in a CO2-intensive process, and more than half even ends up in landfills, which are particularly harmful to the environment.⁴
Conscious Consumption and Appreciation Are the Solution
Even if the calls for slow fashion are getting louder – meaning brands producing significantly fewer collections per year and consumers buying thoughtfully and less – the fast fashion industry seems to follow the "more is more" principle. Sometimes, new collections arrive in stores and online shops weekly, at what feels like ever-decreasing prices.
To counteract this trend, it is important to consume and appreciate clothing more consciously. Production and consumption must decrease to continuously improve working conditions in producing countries and reduce environmental impact. A good alternative is to opt for fair fashion and consciously buy timeless yet fashionable clothing.
LANIUS places particular emphasis on sustainable and robust materials and timeless, classic designs, so that you can enjoy your favorite pieces for as long as possible.
For those who don't want to forgo inexpensive clothing or deliberately choose not to buy newly produced goods, second-hand clothing is a very good alternative.
