To produce one cotton t-shirt, it takes 2,700 litres of water. This is 2,700 litres of water that cannot be reused as it becomes too contaminated or evaporates. As linen is grown from flax, it uses around 75% less water in production than cotton. It typically requires fewer pesticides and leaves very little waste as the stalks and seeds can be used to make oil.
When you consider that, in today’s throw-away culture, the average piece of clothing is only worn 7 times, we cannot afford to be wasting water and energy on the life cycle of our garments. Linen lasts a lot longer than other fabrics, like cotton, as it is stronger and can be washed over and over again. We also make sure we design timelessly so our styles can be worn year to year and still be on-trend. An average of 57% of clothes go to landfill each year; we want to avoid this by creating long-lasting styles that people can keep forever, passing down from generation to generation. By being made-to-order, we have very little waste. The fabric that we do have leftover is saved and used to make smaller products, like our scrunchies and baby bonnets.
Have you ever considered the number of miles that are racked up in our wardrobes? The fast fashion industry works to a very tight deadline, which can add up to a lot of air miles. This produces a lot of CO2. We are based in the UK and our manufacturing is done either in house or at a local factory, lowering the number of miles that our clothes need to travel to be made and get to the customer.
Fast Fashion is a term used to describe mass-produced, trendy, and cheap clothing. The ideas are pulled off the catwalk and sold in high street and online stores at a discounted price. As these garments are trend-driven, they are of low quality and not made to last.
The Fast Fashion industry is notoriously known for not treating their factory staff fairly. This includes awful working conditions, long hours and very little pay. Here at Freya Lillie, we ensure our staff are healthy and happy. Our small team is the heart of our business. They are listened to, have great working facilities and are well paid. We couldn’t imagine working in any other way.
Fashion trends don’t last long. This is why trendy clothing isn’t made to last; there will be a new style in the making, ready for when your last purchase is outdated. Unlike many fast fashion retailers, we want our clothes to be durable and timeless. Each garment is made with long-lasting quality in mind. We don’t follow trends or fads. We design classic items that can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. They can be worn with sandals and a floppy hat in the summer or chunky boots and a knitted cardigan in the winter. They should become your new wardrobe staples.