Starting your journey to living more sustainably can be hard. When I first started trying to change things in my life, it always felt like I was going against the flow particularly when it came to my wardrobe. I decided I needed some books to inspire and inform me so I began to read as much as I could about ethical fashion. I found these books really useful and encouraging. Today I’m sharing the four favourites that have really helped me on my journey and I hope will inspire you on yours.
To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out the World?
By Lucy Siegle, writer, journalist and broadcaster on environmental issues. Executive producer on fast-fashion documentary The True Cost.
This is the first book I would always recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about the fast fashion industry and why it needs to change. To Die For is jam-packed with information about what the fashion industry is doing to the planet, animals and people and a must read for everyone. For me it was a real eye-opener to just how big the problem is and how many lives I am hurting when I choose to purchase fast fashion. It was incredibly informative which in turn inspired me to make some real changes to how I buy and use clothes.
Slow Fashion: Aesthetics meet ethics
By Safia Minney, Founder People Tree and CEO of Po-Zu shoes
Slow Fashion is a really interesting read all about how the fashion industry is changing and growing more sustainable by the day. I think this is a really important read because a lot of books on sustainable fashion talk about the severe problems with the fashion industry and I often found myself feeling overwhelmed by the sheer weight of it all. This book helped me to realise I can make a difference and that many others are also working hard to change things.
Slave to Fashion
By Safia Minney
Another great book by Safia Minney, Slave to Fashion highlights the issue of slavery within the fashion industry. With hard-hitting statistics such as 21 million people are victims of forced labour and 168 million children still in child labour, it can be a hard read at times. Yet Minney offers the reader advice and tools on how to build a more sustainable and ethical wardrobe. She also states how you can make a difference by championing the rights of garment workers.
7: An experimental mutiny against excess
By Jen Hatmaker, Christian author, speaker, blogger and television presenter
Although not specifically about sustainable and ethical fashion I found 7 a really helpful and inspiring book. It tells the story of Jen and her family over 7 months as she takes each month to reduce something (food, clothes, shopping, waste etc) down to just seven items. This is a fantastic read that really challenged me to think about how I consume and the difference I could make by simplifying my life. I found the chapter on clothing particularly inspiring in my journey to reduce my wardrobe. It’s a really helpful read for anyone looking for a Christian perspective on consumerism and the realities of cutting down on how much we consume.
Of course there are so many great books out there but these ones really helped to inspire me. I hope you find these books helpful and that they inspire you too on your journey to creating a more sustainable and ethical wardrobe.
Do you have any #bookrecommendations? Share your best #summerreads with us @WeAreTearfund.