ALLFABETHICAL

As a designer in the fast fashion industry, Angela Fabel already saw in the 1990s on manufacturing sourcing trips to Bangladesh, among other places, how poor the working conditions for workers in textile factories are and that environmental protection is virtually non-existent. As a small cog in the big machine of the fashion industry, however, there was always a feeling that nothing could be changed, and so she turned her back on fashion for a long time.

Meanwhile, the clothing industry has become a massive environmental problem––fast fashion consumption is directed against humanity itself:

• 1.2 billion t of CO2 emissions annually globally from the manufacture, transport and use (washing, drying) of clothing––more than air and sea shipping combined

• A German would have to do without his daily ration of water for ≈1,000 days so that the cotton for a T-shirt can be grown (or half in the case of organic cotton)

• 60% of clothing sold today contains polyester––with CO2 emissions 3x greater than cotton

• <1.7 million tons of clothing are thrown away in Germany every year––approx. 20kg per capita

• ¾ goes into the used clothing collection (half of which is exported, the rest is directly incinerated or dumped), ¼ is recycled inferiorly

• The worst fast fashion companies are now adding up to 500 (!) new items to their assortment every day, often as brazen copies of other brands

It was only through the social development of the last few years that hope germinated again that everything in relation to climate protection and human rights would also be questioned in the fashion industry, thus creating a new awareness. Politicians have now also recognized the damage caused by an unleashed clothing industry, not only but above all in the countries of the Global South, where local fashion consumption is leaving ever larger mountains of textile waste behind.

At the same time, a counter-movement has emerged: second-hand has lost its dusty image, business models based on clothing rental have become marketable and return processes are now becoming standard practice. We would like to support this movement with our label AllFabEthical by dedicating ourselves to circular fashion, so that recycling and upcycling prevent the mountains of clothing from growing further––without putting fashion demands on hold.