Could Making Fewer Clothes Create Fairer Fashion?

Caroline Garland, writing for The Independent, catches up with Safia Minney, founder of Indilisi, to explore a critical question: How can fashion produce dramatically fewer clothes without cutting livelihoods for the millions of women who depend on producing for international markets? 

Caroline Garland: What action should be taken for a fairer industry?

→ Safia Minney: Science tells us that we should be cutting back production and consumption of new clothing by between 75 and 95 per cent. That is a reduction of 75 to 95 per cent, not 5 or 25 per cent.

While this shift will reduce mass-manufacturing jobs, the solution is to trade sheer volume for genuine value. Instead of relying on high-output factories, investment should flow into handweaving, traditional textile techniques, and regenerative agriculture.

This transition creates livelihoods that uplift local communities rather than exploiting them. By integrating these artisanal, hand-skilled crafts into mid-market fashion rather than reserving them solely for luxury brands, we can make fair, ethically crafted clothing accessible to a much wider audience.

Caroline: What does this mean for consumers?

→ Safia: As consumers start to consume less and consume better and more consciously, there’s no reason at all why they wouldn’t be able to afford a handwoven shirt, dress, or pair of trousers. We can buy second-hand very affordably through various platforms or charity shops, and, of course, we can repair clothes as well to keep things in circulation for longer.

Caroline: How can supply chains support producers if we are making drastically fewer clothes?

→ Safia: Retraining people and providing opportunities in craft production in rural areas could actually make life much more comfortable for a lot of garment workers who currently live far away from their families - maybe only seeing their children a couple of times a year.

There are real advantages to creating craft livelihoods in rural areas where people can live more affordably with their extended families. Craft uses low-impact materials, traditional hand skills, and can pay a living wage. If we were to pivot toward craft, it would be highly regenerative in its practices.

Caroline: What role does sustainability play in this, and where do traditional green practices fall short?

→ Safia: Sustainability should be ticking all the boxes in terms of better practice - looking at what should be illegal, such as not covering people’s basic human rights in the supply chain, paying workers badly, or demanding excessive overtime. Sustainable fashion has historically embraced human rights and nature, but I think we need to go beyond that.

Read the Full Article in 'The Independent' here.