Recycled (left/top) and Bioplastic (bottom/right) sequins, by the Sustainable Sequin Company
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Fair warning, this is not meant to be a light-hearted read. You'll probably have heard the term 'fast fashion'. This post looks at a real consequence of fast fashion. The day I wrote this post was the 6th anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh. You might remember it. Bangladesh is probably a long way away, from where you're sat reading this, right? 1,134 people died. 2,600 were injured, many of them seriously and irreparably. This includes kids in the nursery at the bottom of the building. This is jaw-droppingly bad. Still, we are removed from it. Unless we have a direct connection with Bangladesh; family, friends, travel, it’s hard to be genuinely emotionally moved as much as we should be, at least without watching footage or seeing photos. That’s just human distancing. What if I told you that the connection you had with those people was that they were in effect working for you. They were making your clothes. The people in that factory were sewing clothes for western high street fashion brands including Primark, Monsoon Accessorise, Matalan, Benetton, Walmart and Bonmarche. That brings it closer to home, right?   The enforceable agreement that was signed three weeks after the Savar building collapsed that housed Rana Plaza is currently threatened. Not everyone wants the accord in place. Ask yourself - why was the Savar building built to 8 stories, way above building regulations? Why, when huge cracks started to appear and workers were scared to go in, could work not be suspended? Why did people in charge threaten workers with pay suspensions if they didn’t enter unsafe buildings, ultimately paying with their lives for fear of losing their appallingly tiny wages? Because of Western greed for cheap fashion. It’s an unpleasant truth.
This is not meant to be about guilt. This is not meant to be about perfection. This is about joining a movement. A groundswell. Buy less. Buy better. Ask questions. Be informed. Choose sustainable, slow fashion brands. View your clothes as an investment. By doing this, you're not only buying clothes, you're investing in people. Find out a bit more about my rain cape design and manufacture team HERE How can I help with this fight? Follow hashtags #slowfashion #fashionrevolution #fashionrevolutionweek and #whomademyclothes #imadeyourclothes  1) It'll rain. When it does, have a think about your rain coat, if you currently own one. Think about your best festival outfit. Do you want to put that raincoat over your best festival outfit? If the answer is no, put a mental tick in the yes column for one of our rain capes. They're designed to compliment, to be a valid part of your outfit, not to cover you up in everyday dullness. We want you to feel like you want it to rain, just so you can put your cape on and feel gorgeous, dry and smug all in one! Trust us, that's how it works. 2) You don't want to carry a coat around in the dance tents. I know right?! Carrying stuff when you want to dance is the WORST. That's why our rain capes are designed with the unique Carny Valley ® hands free Easy Stow Carry System - two D-rings at the neck and an S-biner clip means you can clip to a bumbag, belt, back pack or bag. No carrying, tying around your waist, stashing, checking or losing it! They're short, so they don't drag, and lightweight - our lightest cape is currently 650g so you'll barely notice it's there. Another tick. 3) You'll want to sit down. It might have stopped raining hours ago, even the day before, but no-one wants a soggy butt, or crazy-grass ass print.. Let's face it, it's way nicer to sit on a picnic blanket but no-one wants to carry one. Unclip your cape, spread it out and its big enough for two or three bums to sit on, or one person to lie down on. It's waterproof with a soft lining AND it's wipe clean. GENIUS. That's another tick in the yes column.. 4) It gets cold at night. Even if it doesn't rain, it still gets a bit chilly. You don't want to carry a coat around for later, or have to go back to the tent when you're out on a mission... You know how it is; the next band you want to see is on straight after this one but you're getting cold, or the woods just look so pretty to chill out in but now you've come out of the dance tent you need more layers.. Just clip your cape on when you go out, throw it on when it gets cold. On and off. Easy. And because it's cotton and lined, it's just another layer of fabric, not a plastic wrapper. Tick four. 5) They're eco-friendly. If all that hasn't persuaded you, we hope that you'll want to be part of the growing sustainable, eco movement and not part of the problem. The after-pics of festival sites look like plastic battlegrounds; festivals imitating life, right? Our capes are made from natural materials, metal studs and the tiniest, hard-wearing piece of nylon strap we can get away with for our hands free stow system. They're made to last for years and years if you take care of them, but if for some crazy reason you decided to bury one in the compost heap, the cotton would degrade in under a year. But don't do that.. We're currently working on a new for old recycling scheme. We hope that's tick number five.  Emma is wearing Coat D'Azur Double Tier. She is 5'10(/5'11)", owns a Coat D'Azur Single Tier and is an awesome travelling hula hooper. She's also vegan so is super happy our capes are too. Leggings models own
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AuthorCat is the founder of Carny Valley.. she suffers from *too many ideas and not enough time* - a chronic condition that many creatives battle with. Archives
September 2019
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