Challenging the fast fashion machine and shifting mindsets

This article is part of the 'Celebrating Circular` initiative and story collection that spotlights trailblazer Irish businesses making strides towards a more sustainable and low-carbon economy.

The fashion industry is infamous for exploiting natural and human resources and is estimated to be responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions, more than international flights and maritime shipping combined.

Textile production alone is causing 20% of water pollution globally while using clean water supplies on a massive scale. According to an EU report, producing one cotton t-shirt requires about 2,700 litres of fresh water, which would be enough to meet one person’s drinking needs for 2.5 years.

The list of environmental and ethical issues that need to be addressed in the fashion industry could go on, raising the question of whether we can really change all of them.

“My question was how to challenge a system that has been working in a specific way for decades."

Exploring circular and sustainability angles relentlessly

She started to explore every angle of creating a brand and product that is entirely circular and sustainable, looking at aspects from selecting garments to design, manufacturing and logistics.

“I found that small things like removing a plastic tag from the garment can make a difference, and using ethical and sustainable certified materials are not making production drastically more expensive.”

Even naming her business AFORE AFTER encapsulates her commitment to considering the before-and-after stages and moving away from the linear thinking that only focuses on the before part but ignores what happens with an item after its use.

Admittedly, Sandra is still figuring out how to make her business completely sustainable, but she has already created some groundbreaking solutions.

The power of exchanging ideas and experiences

Sandra is keen to learn and expand her horizons, so it was a no-brainer for her to join the MODOS circular business course.

“I was probably more prepared from the circular economy point of view, but other areas like communication and customer engagement were certainly less known to me, and the course provided an excellent insight into these areas. Working with a mentor also helped a lot in translating what I learned into everyday situations.”

Another valuable part for her was that she could exchange ideas and experiences with other businesses.

She recalls that managing sustainable packaging was a common issue for everyone in her group, regardless of their sectors.

“I decided to use paper packaging and eliminate plastic completely. I use a solution that I call a “bagvelope”, which is a mix between a delivery bag and an envelope.

I prefer this even if it means that sometimes I have to take a return due to delivery damage from rain.”

Sandra learned unexpected things during the MODOS course, and she says that no matter what level you are at, there will be something you can take from this learning experience.

There’s no copy-paste solution for a sustainable, circular business

“Sustainability in general is not figured out. You can’t blindly follow and adopt a model like a copy-paste solution. There’s a learning curve in this for everyone.”

Sandra says there's a lot to do in not just educating businesses but consumers, especially when it comes to fashion.

The additional hurdle of shifting mindsets

She adds that due to the complexity of fashion and the massive communication budget, big brands spend on “brainwashing” people to keep buying new stuff, making it very difficult to change how things work.

“I have a strict transparency policy so my buyers can see exactly what makes up the pricing.”

Sandra plans to build her business on the two pillars of product innovation and knowledge sharing, addressing both raising awareness and providing a solution to make fashion more sustainable.