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Bye Bye Fast Fashion: Tråd Collective talks Importance of Sustainable Clothing

  • Writer: kiera wilcox
    kiera wilcox
  • Mar 27, 2024
  • 5 min read

Updated: Apr 6, 2024

In an era where fast-fashion is dominating, it is important that we all consider the environmental implications of our clothing choices. The future of fashion is sustainability, and luckily, we’re now seeing a growing popularity of vintage and preloved fashion that not only looks good, but also benefits the environment.


One shop championing the slow fashion movement in Leeds is Tråd Collective. Owners Josefin Wanner and James Fenwick came up with the idea of opening a platform for people in Leeds to easily shop more sustainably. The pair realised that there aren’t a lot of options when it comes to sustainable clothing shops in the city and wanted to do something about it.


What started out as selling upcycled second-hand clothing from Jo’s brand Wanner Label in markets around Leeds has now led to the opening of their own store, collaborating with other small local brands and makers to bring people the best of what sustainable fashion has to offer.


Their shop in the city centre not only sells a mix of clothing, jewellery, and gift items such as handmade ceramics, prints and candles made by Yorkshire based makers, but offers services such as alterations, repairs and tailoring to help reduce the 92 million tonnes of clothing going into landfills.


ceramic mug with label that reads: this mug has been handmade with stoneware clay (made in Leeds)
Photo: Kiera Wilcox

“If we look at our future with the climate emergency and the incredible amount of waste that we're producing, the only way forward is sustainable fashion,” says James.


He adds: “It's going to take a long time to get everyone on board, but I can’t see a future where we continue this disposable culture and just build up tremendous amounts of waste on this planet.”


They live by a simple ethos that they apply to everyday life: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Upcycle. Therefore, it is important to them that they share ways to be more sustainable with the public. They offer a range of workshops to teach people about upcycling their old garments into one-of-a-kind staple pieces, rather than just throwing it away. One of the workshops focuses on teaching sewing skills to people who may have never used a sewing machine before. Another engaging workshop they hold teaches people to create a scrunchie made from vintage silk scarves.


“This is designed for somebody with no experience and maybe isn’t looking to enhance their skills but might just want to have a fun thing to do with their friends. They can come out of it with the silk scrunchie and learn how to make one in the future if they want to,” says James.


Vintage silk scarves on display in shop
Photo: Kiera Wilcox

On average, we only wear our clothes a shocking 7 times before they are discarded. By teaching people these skills, it will encourage them to repair their clothing rather than buy a whole new outfit and expand the lifespan of the garment. Repairing has been a practise used throughout history when clothing was more expensive and therefore a necessity if you wanted to get the most wear out of your clothes.


“The repair sector is growing at a really fast pace at the moment because there is such demand for it. The reason is because we have produced so many good clothes in the past 50 years, a lot of which are still really high-quality and look really nice, they just need a few little things fixing.”


In recent years, with fast fashion being so accessible and cheap, it has rendered repairing to a non-essential practise, especially for those who do not have any sewing abilities. With shops like Tråd offering repairs and workshops, this can help people become more aware of their consumption and spending habits when it comes to clothing, and view repairing as a way to make your garments more unique rather than a task.



James and Jo hope to break down the barriers that are stopping people from shopping more sustainably. Firstly, there is no clear definition of what sustainable clothing really is. Without clear definitions and guidelines, it is hard to determine what counts as sustainable. Many brands will claim their clothing is “eco-friendly” and made from recycled materials, but don’t mention the working conditions in which they are produced. That can make it tricky for consumers to navigate.


“There are so many words that are associated with sustainability but no one clear metric that we can use, and that people can understand.” says James.


Another misconception is that sustainable, vintage, and second-hand clothing is expensive.


“You don't have to spend 300 pounds on a new dress to be sustainable. You can spend 40 pounds or less on really nice second-hand silk dress from us, the quality is out of this world and the price point is completely reasonable.”


They have had some amazing opportunities since opening their store to collaborate with many different artists in Leeds and expand their community. Just last month Tråd Collective joined forces with Leeds RAG Fashion Show as part of their “REVIVE” campaign, showcasing the beauty of repurposed fashion by featuring some of their reworked and upcycled garments on the runway.


“We loaned out some outfits for them, helped them with their promotional material and then we went to go watch their performance, which was absolutely amazing. We really loved working with the students on that one,” says James.



In September 2023, James volunteered with the sustainability team at Leeds Fest to help salvage abandoned tents left over after the festival finished. Around 250,000 tents are left behind every year at UK festivals and despite some being donated to charity, a large percentage ends up in landfill. He and Jo had a vision to repurpose the tents, using their creativity and upcycling skills to make bags and clothing from them.


woman sewing a bag made of recycled tents
Photo: Richard Stead/BBC

So, what does the future hold for Tråd Collective? Well, they hope to find a store like theirs that offers repairs and alterations, and sells vintage and upcycled, on every high street in Britain.


“Our plans are to expand, and the way we do that is by encouraging people to shop less, which sounds counter-intuitive, but it means they're going to be buying high quality garments which are going to last longer,” says James.


He adds: “They're going to be fixing the garments which they already have, altering them with us and the services that we provide. By encouraging people to do that, we undercut the fast fashion model but still build our own business.”


With all the work they are doing towards creating a more sustainable future of fashion, it’s no surprise that they are getting the recognition they deserve, with nominations this year for Best Start-Up: Yorkshire Business Desk, and top 42 to watch under 42: Yorkshire Business Insider. Pop into their shop on Vicar Lane to explore their range of high-quality, affordable clothing.

 
 
 

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