Slow design is a movement in fashion that emphasizes slower production schedules and practices, which are more environmentally sustainable. Slow design isn’t necessarily about fashion that takes a long time to make—and it’s certainly not associated with slowness of speed! The idea behind a brand like ours is to create meaningful pieces you’ll decide to keep for years, instead of tossing out season after season (or worse: throwing away clothes after only one or two wears).
The average woman buys 62 garments per year, despite only wearing 60% of them regularly.
This translates to the fact that 40% of the clothes an average woman will buy in a year are never worn. For us, this statistic is the impetus for all slow design decisions we make—why would we want to contribute to a consumer culture overflowing with pieces waiting in closets, when our goal is to see women wear and love what they have? 31% of the fibers used to make clothing come from synthetics like polyester and nylon.
Because polyester and nylon are made from crude oil, they contribute to water pollution, air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, the production of polyester emits 2.7kg of CO2 per kg of fabric produced—compared to 0.7kg in wool, which is less than half!
So where do the other 69% of fibers come from? You’ve probably heard that cotton is a natural fiber that’s good for the environment, but what you may not know is that conventionally grown cotton occupies 2.5% of the world’s cropland but uses 16% of the world’s insecticides and 7% of its herbicides (globally). What’s more, synthetic fertilizers & pesticides used in conventional cotton agriculture are harmful to farmers’ health as well as our environment.
We use organic cotton because it’s grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, avoiding toxic run-off into waterways and making our clothes safer for you and better for our planet! Manufacturing polyester and nylon releases chemicals into our air and water, and more than half of all clothing is thrown away within a year of being made.
You may have heard that most of the clothing made today is bad for our environment. That’s true, but there are some facts you might not know that are even worse: Manufacturing polyester and nylon releases chemicals into our air and water, and more than half of all clothing is thrown away within a year of being made.
Why? What’s happening? Well, push aside your worries about pesticides and deforestation—these are problems in their own right, but they’re not what we’re talking about today. Today, we want to tell you why synthetic fibers like polyester and nylon are so bad for the environment.
All this is because synthetic fibers (like polyester) are made from petroleum. Yes, the same stuff that fuels your car is used to make the sweater you wear on Saturday nights out with friends. A lot of it! And when these clothes end up in landfills or get washed down the drain (which happens), they release microplastics into our water supply that can harm marine life. Oh yeah—and during production, petrochemical manufacturing facilities release greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide into our atmosphere too!
By slowing down their production cycles, our team can protect the environment while still making beautiful designs.
Fast fashion sets an unsustainable standard. It imposes a dizzying pace of production on the people who actually make the clothes, the “textile workers” we mentioned earlier. They are forced to work long hours in dangerous conditions to produce rapid collections at an even faster rate.
So what does this mean for you, our customer? If you buy from a fast fashion retailer, you’re probably spending less on your clothes than if you bought them from a slow design company (like us!). But that’s not necessarily good thing: when clothing is inexpensive and poorly made, it doesn’t last. And then more cheap clothing is produced to replace it—and so the cycle continues.
The real cost of fast production is paid by those who can least afford it: our environment and the people who work in factories around the world. Slow, sustainable design minimizes those costs while bringing value to customers like yourself through intentional designs and high quality construction.
We don’t worry about the latest trends when we design at Kristiana Designs. Instead, we create timeless looks that will last for years.
We believe in creating timeless looks that will last for years. There is nothing worse than buying
a dress and wearing it once, because the style is no longer current. No one wants to spend money on something that will only be worn once.
Instead, we create pieces with a look that never goes out of style: simple cuts and classic silhouettes, neutral colors and distinctive fabrics. These designs are easily mixed-and-matched with other items in your wardrobe, so they can be worn again and again. In fact, most of our customers tell us that their Kristiana Designs clothing becomes the foundation of their closet – which is just as well because our goal is to produce less while making sure you have more!
We believe that beautiful clothes should last for a long time and be worn by as many people as possible. That’s why we take our time to create designs that are classic, timeless and fit well. There’s no pleasure in buying an item of clothing today, wearing it once or twice and throwing it away tomorrow. Instead of doing that, we need to buy less but better – items made from high-quality fabrics with attention to detail. We don’t need to sacrifice creativity either: let’s express ourselves in the way we wear our clothes rather than constantly needing something new. That way, you can build up your own style from pieces you love rather than just having a closet full of stuff you don’t feel inspired by.
Slowing down makes fashion better for everyone and everything involved in its creation.
Slow is best because it means better fashion for everyone, from the garment workers to the customers. For one thing, slow fashion is high quality—because we don’t chase after fleeting trends, our clothes will last a long time and be worn by many people. That’s good for everyone involved in its creation. You’ve probably heard of the environmental effects of fast fashion: how much waste it causes and how much water is used. Here at Kristiana Designs, we’re committed to being eco-friendly in every aspect of our business, from sourcing materials to packaging to shipping.
