Fashion Forever NI, a project delivered by Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful and funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) to tackle textile waste, has announced it will host a free, one-day festival on 2 March.
Taking place at 2 Royal Avenue, Belfast, the Fashion Forever Festival will inspire people to think differently when it comes to their clothing, with Reuse, Repair, Reimagine the overarching themes of the day.
The jam-packed programme of events runs from 10:00am to 3:00pm and has been designed to introduce sustainable fashion concepts and designers in a fun and accessible way. A Community Sew Along invites attendees to use scrap textiles to create a blanket for Little Amal – the 12-foot puppet of a 10-year-old, Syrian refugee child, due to visit Belfast in May as part of Belfast City Council’s Belfast 2024 programme.
Other activities include preloved clothing stalls, styling advice, a swap shop, workshops and demonstrations on how to reimagine or repair your clothes, and a series of short talks.
Siobhan Purnell, Tackling Textiles Co-Ordinator at Fashion Forever, explains the importance of the Festival, “Quite often we buy new clothes without thinking about using what we already have more creatively. Our Fashion Forever Festival aims to highlight all the things we can do, and the ways we can shop, to avoid buying new, and crucially, avoid putting our unwanted clothes and textiles in the bin.
“Fashion should not cost the earth, but unfortunately our decisions are having a hugely negative impact on Northern Ireland’s environment. 1 million tonnes of textiles discarded each year across the UK, a third of which ends up in landfill, contaminating our natural resources and posing a threat to the health of those who live and work nearby. It’s time we all start to think differently and make marked small changes when it comes to our fashion choices. Why not buy preloved instead of new, mend a hole instead of discarding, borrow from a friend? After all, these small changes can make a huge difference.”
Fashion Forever
DAERA Minister Andrew Muir said, “There are obvious benefits to the environment when it comes to exciting and innovative initiatives such as Fashion Forever. The more we can do to encourage people to think about keeping their clothes in use for longer, the better for all of us. Limiting fashion waste by buying preloved clothes helps us move towards a circular economy, protecting the planet and the household purse.
“I am delighted that thanks to the Carrier Bag Levy DAERA can support this year’s festival. It will offer people the skills and knowledge to help them reimagine and reuse their existing clothes, prolonging their lifespan and keeping them out of landfills. By moving beyond recycling we can help protect our precious environment.”
Colour and Cloth will host various sewing workshops and demonstrations giving attendees the chance to learn about dyeing textiles naturally at home, and how to make their textiles last longer by performing quick fixes like sewing on a button, to upcycling a piece of clothing into something completely new.
Director and Founder of Colour and Cloth, Christine Boyle, has to date taught hundreds how to sew, a life skill she says empowers people to make better decisions. She explains, “I think people want to make better decisions for the environment but often they don’t know how. My journey into the world of sewing began at the age of six – I was surrounded by linen and tweed factories on my doorstep and at home. It’s a joy and a privilege to carry on my mum’s legacy and share the gift she gave to me with others. I’m really looking forward to contributing to the Fashion Forever Festival – it’s gearing up to be a fun day where people have the chance to leave with a new skill, and new ways to fill their lives with colour and creativity. And dare I say, move the needle when it comes to the problem of textile waste.”
Local research from Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful reiterates Christine’s thought that people want to make better decisions with only 17 per cent of people surveyed buying second-hand clothing on a regular basis, but over 60 per cent keen to explore buying preloved clothing rather than brand new.
Worryingly, only four percent of people surveyed recognise that the production and consumption of clothing can be harmful to our environment, something
Rebecca Bellamy, Director and co-founder of community interest company Another World Belfast / SHOW SOME LOVE, puts down to a need for more public engagement. Becky said, “Events like this Fashion Forever Festival are a wonderful way of helping people not only see and understand the challenge that lies ahead, but also the ways in which they can become part of the solution – and feel good doing it. We truly believe that another world is possible, and it starts by creating ways for people to get involved.”
Another World / SHOW SOME LOVE will host a talk on sustainable fashion and host a styling session inspiring people to shop pre-loved.
