Putting the Brakes on Fast Fashion

The garment industry is the third largest in the UK (behind automotive and technology). It produced 92 million tonnes of waste in 2022 alone and contributes to 20% of carbon emissions. With the recent growth of fast fashion giants like ASOS, PrettyLittleThing and Boohoo this figure is sure to rise in the future. Fast fashion is a high turnover business model: the clothing is priced low and is essentially disposable. Garments don't even have to be particularly well-made because there's no expectations they'll be worn more than a few dozen times.

Greener fabrics, such as organic cotton and recycled polyester, are unfortunately still slightly more expensive than their standard counterparts, so of course because cutting costs is prioritised at every opportunity, fast fashion doesn't bother with sustainable materials, making it even more of a problem for the environment.

Slowing it down...

But lately more and more people are starting to making conscious choices in terms of the clothes they buy, and turning their back on this hyper-consumerist fast fashion model. That's why at Navillus we've partnered with garment suppliers who focus on durable, long-lasting clothing made from sustainable materials. They favour timeless styles that look good and fit well on every body type, and they have the technical know-how to add custom branding that still looks bright and clear, wash after wash.

And that small premium you pay for more sustainable materials is coming down all the time. With ever more people choosing these greener options, there's more investment going into their supply and the prices are falling.

The following are a sampling of our current suppliers that we think best exemplify this more sustainable "slow fashion" ethos. Just click on the buttons to see the full range...

AS Colour

This retail fashion brand specialises in quality basics with a clean, unfussy look. They invest a lot of effort at the design and testing stage to create durable, hard-wearing garments that should stand the test of time.

Browse AS Colour

Continental

This company has been making high quality garments for the wholesale market since the nineties. Their latest clothing ranges include EarthPositive, which are organic, ethical and climate neutral, and Salvage which are made from 100% recycled materials including RPET polyester and pre-consumer organic cotton.

Browse Continental

Iqoniq

This low impact clothing range is at the forefront of the push towards maximum transparency on the environmental effects of production. They've developed some innovative technologies to verify their claims of sustainability, including Digital Product Passports. All their clothing has a comfortable unisex fit and is made from a blend of organic and recycled cotton.

Browse Iqoniq

Mantis

Mantis aims to create well-made garments in classic styles. They were our first supplier to start using organic cotton back in 2005 and since 2019 have been using exclusively organic and sustainable fibres in their our production. They also offer children's sizes and have a very cute range of baby clothing called BabyBugz

Browse Mantis

BabyBugz

This is the organic cotton range of baby clothing from Mantis. You might think any clothing for young kids is going to represent a particular problem if you're pushing back against fast fashion - simply put babies grow so fast the clothing has a limited lifespan anyway. But Mantis work on the assumption that high-quality clothing will be handed down to other families, possibly more than once, so they use exactly the same meticulous construction on the BabyBugz range as they use on their adult wear.

Browse our full kids range

Neutral

This company was started in 2008 as a vehicle for providing sustainable clothing in ways that showed respect to both the planet and its inhabitants. They're a great example of a company turning its back on quick profits and taking a longer term view on manufacturing. Their Tiger Cotton project for instance, a scheme to convert conventional cotton farming to organic, was five years in the making, but now that it's finally in place it's protecting biodiversity in a growing number of farms across India.

Browse Neutral

Next Level

Next Level Apparel are a Southern Californian brand, so you'll notice their range includes a lot of timeless retro pieces inspired by American sportswear, as well as modern classics borrowed from festival and street wear, including crop hoodies and muscle tanks. Over the last 20 years they've invested a lot of effort matching new fabric blends with innovative print techniques. The result is that we can consistently create high-quality bespoke branding on their garments, designs with vibrant colours and high definition that will still look great after many multiple wash cycles.

Browse Next Level

Stanley/Stella

This company is popular with white label fashion brands and it's easy to see why. The clothing here combines style and wearability, and the range includes all the iconic staples plus some very cool outerwear too. Their cotton is organic and they offer a Natural Raw cotton collection that’s completely free from dyes and drastically reduces the amount of water and chemicals required.

Stanley/Stella exemplify the commitment to high build-quality that all these companies share, their skilled use of expert tailoring techniques result in garments that are crafted to endure, and will provide a long-lasting platform for your brand.

Browse Stanley/Stella

More to come...

Lastly, we've chosen to work with all of the above people because of their outstanding commitment to both quality and sustainability, but other suppliers are waking up to these concerns all the time, and coming up with their own solutions. If you're choosing branded clothing and you're concerned about these issues then please contact us and we can advise you on the latest developments.

Contact us here

Products pictured in this article are linked to below...