FASHION REVOLUTION, a New Way of Thinking Around Fashion, Consumption and Production

BY RUDINA HOXHA & JOSE PINTO

If we would just keep the clothes three times longer, we would actually reduce the negative climate impact by 60 %.

At the end of Fashion Revolution, the first event of this kind in Albania, dedicated to sustainable fashion, the brain behind this event, the Ambassador of Sweden to Albania, H.E. Elsa Håstad, gave an exclusive interview to TRAILBLAZING MAGAZINE stressing how important is for Albania in a near and long run to embrace a new thinking about fashion, consumption and production. “It was fantastic to see the variety of people in this event. I think that was the biggest success of it,” Håstad said.

According to her, Albania can find inspiration on sustainable fashion in Sweden, as an internationally advanced example but even in some local champions such as Hana Vintage Shop.

FULL INTERVIEW BELOW:

What is your personal relation with sustainable fashion? Is it an early one or has been developed over the years?

Well, my personal relation I think is like the relation Sweden has. It is developing because the more we understand that we need to be environmentally conscious, the more implicit we get in sustainable fashion. When we as a country understand that we need to move away from fast fashion, quick production, too many clothes, too cheap or in bad conditions, then we start to get interested in sustainable fashion. And I think this journey was equal to my personal journey as Swedish journey. And I consider this is the journey that Albania needs to start because what we did during the Fashion Revolution event was to kick off that journey for Albania. Because I am convinced that Albania is now in a sort of transition phase where you

want to buy a lot of things, you are happy that you have money to spend, you can afford things while from the environmental prospective, that is of course very dangerous and a catastrophe. So, we need to stop “We need to that behavior. We need to introduce something that is attractive for move away from fast people who love fashion like myself. So, Fashion Revolution event was a way to introduce a new way fashion” of thinking around fashion and consumption and production.

Fantastic! You organized Fashion Revolution event recently. What can you highlight about it please?

I think the main highlight of this event was that it was a success. So many people came, from all the strata and professions, from decision-makers on municipal level to business owners from all over Albania, to big companies from Shkodra city, from Dibra and others. Also just trendy, fashionable people, who understand that this is something new as well as vintage shop (second hand shops) representatives who introduced the concept of second-hand. It was fantastic to see the variety of people. I think that was the biggest

success of this event.

Also representatives from EU Delegation and UN took part in this event showing their support for such projects. you produce your clothes. It is also about labor conditions, being a responsible business, responsible company and supporting gender equalities. I think Sweden is a great inspiration for that.

But you already have some interested companies in Albania such as vintage shops. So, I met a lady, who was producing out of second-hand clothes. So, I think we can find some local champions in Albania and they are worth to be searched and worth to be supported. Say, Hana Vintage which is a shop in Albania. The lady talked about the importance of sustainability in this event. Local champions could also be an inspiration.

What are the main obstacles you see in the sustainable fashion sector?

I think that one of the problems is that people are attracted to the fast fashion. It is a very polluting industry. You have pollution all the way, during the production, during the transportation. Then, one problem is that people choose clothes to be worn over a short time and then they threw them away. If we would just keep them three times longer, we would actually reduce the negative climate impact by 60 %. So, it is an attitude, it is everything. It is about production, raw material and about changing behavior among us, the consumers. So, I think we need to work on all levels and we need to create awareness about this. When Albania becomes an EU member country, this will be something that Albania needs to be attentive to because it needs to be a competitive country. I strongly think that Albania can be a competitive and a sustainable business country.

In your view, where Albanians can find the best inspiration about sustainable fashion?

Well, I think that internationally, Sweden is very advanced in this regard. If you are interested, you can google around. Sweden provides a lot of information on sustainable business, what is it, what we are talking about. It is not only how