“Boohoo approached me…and though I knew it would get backlash…I thought about the fact that fast fashion, or the fashion industry in general, isn’t going anywhere,” Kourt said in an Instagram post. “I thought about the attention this collaboration would bring to people who may otherwise have no idea about the impacts of fast fashion on our planet. I thought about how pushing Boohoo to make some initial changes and then holding them accountable to larger change would be impactful.”
We know that there’s a long way to go with sustainability in fashion, and this is just the start.
Kourt immersed herself in the industry. She spoke to a variety of experts—such as specialists in human rights, textile waste, and upcycling—in order to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges facing sustainable fashion, learn what we as consumers can do, and bring awareness to the issue. She also worked with Boohoo to design a collection featuring recycled fabrics, multi-way pieces, staple wardrobe silhouettes, and vintage pieces she hand-picked herself.
Below, we’re highlighting the most important things Kourt learned.
THE EXPERTS:
Tim Nelson, CEO of Hope for Justice, a not-for-profit that rescues and restores the lives of people who are held in forms of modern-day slavery and human trafficking across the globe.
Dr. Christina Dean, founder and board chair of Redress, an environmental NGO promoting the reduction of fashion’s waste.
Steven Bethel, founder of Bank & Vogue, a used-clothing broker working with thrift stores, wholesalers, distributors, shipping companies, and more to create solutions for the “crisis of stuff.”
Keep asking questions
Buy better and wear longer
Look at the world through a carbon lens
Donated clothes can be repurposed in many non-fashion ways
“I certainly don’t have all the answers,” Kourt says. “But for someone who has done a fast-fashion line collaboration in the past, which didn’t get backlash because I was not calling attention to trying to make better changes, I feel proud about doing it with intention and purpose,” Kourt says.
From Poosh