Buying responsibly
The fashion industry is in the midst of major change: fortunately, a new consumer consciousness is spreading.
Millennials and Generation Z consumers are the most conscious and they buy green and sustainable: before purchasing a garment, they search information about sourcing, production or use of chemicals or animal products.
Since resources on our planet are limited, we must preserve them by respecting ecosystems and biodiversity and avoiding waste production.
Today, environmental sustainability is a necessary starting point: that is why, RE49 produces sustainable footwear, recovering and regenerating materials that would otherwise end up in landfills.
We love giving a second chance to objects. How do we do it?
Just an example: we remove 50.000 m2 of sails from landfill sites to produce approximately 200.000 pairs of shoes! Not bad, huh?
Trends in fashion come and go while our wardrobes are stuffed with metres and metres of fabrics and accessories (some of which are also highly toxic).
By wearing sustainable fashion we can really make a difference.
At RE49, we believe in second chances, especially in the fashion industry, which should be:
- Sustainable (eco-fashion)
- Ethical
- Fair
- Eco-friendly
- Vegan
- ZeroWaste
- Traceable and transparent
We are writing this because we strongly believe in spreading awareness: fashion is the second most polluting industry in the world and a swift change is urgently needed.
According to the Global Fashion Agenda and the European Environment Agency (AEA), figures are alarming:
- The textile and clothing industry causes 10% of global CO2 greenhouse emissions: it generates 1.7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, more than the global air and maritime transport pollution;
- Textile production generates 20% of the world’s water pollution;
- 73% of produced garments is burned or dumped in landfills;
- Less than 1% of materials used to produce clothing is recycled to manufacture new garments;
- Less than 15% of discarded clothing is collected to be recycled;
- During the decomposition process in landfills, textiles generate greenhouse methane gas and leach toxic chemicals into the groundwater and soil;
- Every year, the textile industry is responsible for half a million tons of ocean-bound microfibres, approximately the same amount of plastic of 50 billion bottles;
- In the UK and the US, only 3% of the items in a fashion collection are labelled as "sustainable" by brands.
When buying a new dress, a new pair of shoes or accessories, make sure they are genuinely sustainable: let’s make thoughtful choices and buy responsibly!