Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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Could Covid-19 be the beginning of the end for fast fashion?
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CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
IN the summer of 2019, we spent £2.7 billion on single-use clothes. Some 50 million outfits were purchased for festivals, day-trips and holidays, only to be discarded after a day or two of wear.
It may seem shocking, but this statistic is little more than a drop in the ocean. Britain’s fast-fashion habit is one of the most significant in the world, with one in four stating that they would be “embarrassed” to wear an outfit more than once.
Simply put, the term “fast fashion” refers to garments that are mass-produced quickly (often in large textile factories overseas) then sold for a short period of time, before being replaced by brand-new lines. Such products are the bread and butter of companies like ASOS, who have recently come under fire for their lack of warehouse restrictions during the Covid-19 epidemic.
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