5 TED talks for re-thinking fashion

1. The Wardrobe to Die For  |  Lucy Siegle

In the past, traditional fashion models followed the seasons with brands releasing 2-4 collections a year. Fast fashion has sped up the industry with new collections being produced virtually every week. Author and journalist Lucy Siegle explores the implications of how the industry has evolved and takes us on a tour of fast fashion based on the numbers.

 2. The High Cost of Our Cheap Fashion  |  Maxine Bédat

The fashion industry has long relied on harmful practices that have huge consequences for the environment and the people who make our clothes. Maxine Bédat explains how the industry has become reliant on the energy-intensive production of man-made materials and working practices that trap the majority of garment workers in poverty. Beyond the price tag, cheap fashion has a high cost - but it doesn’t have to be that way. Hear what she has to say about harnessing our power as consumers to alter the direction of the fashion industry.

3. The Ten-Item Wardrobe  |  Jennifer L. Scott

“A strange side-effect of having too many clothes is that we still have nothing to wear.”

Sound familiar? Fast fashion has led us to accept continuous consumption as the norm. Jennifer L. Scott unfolds the idea of the ten-item wardrobe, a concept she discovered while living and studying in Paris. She discusses practical ways to create a wardrobe that reflects your individual style, the freedom of owning less and the joy of wearing your favourite clothes everyday.

4. Fast Fashion's Effect on People, the Planet & You  |  Patrick Woodyard

Patrick Woodyard, founder of Nisolo, knows a thing or two about using fashion as a force for good. He looks at how our clothes are made, where they're made, where they end up, and why it matters.

5. Changing the World through Fashion  |  Eva Kruse

Fashion retailers follow the money, and that's where we come in. According to Eva Kruse, CEO of the Danish Fashion Institute and  founder of the Copenhagen Fashion Summit, "if we move the money, we move the industry". She tells the story of how her parents raised her to believe in the power of her own actions, and how she went on to explore the part she could play in making sustainability a strategic aim for the fashion industry.