The Titan Thread
The month in fashion, condensed.
Hi Hey there!,
Welcome to the first edition of the Titian Thread newsletter! Thanks for subscribing, I'm really excited to share my favourite fashion content from October with you.
The idea to launch this newsletter came from the simple fact that whether you care about fashion or not, we all have to wear clothing. Just like we do with the food we eat or skincare we apply, we ought to care about what we're wearing. The more knowledge we have, the more power we have to make decisions that accurately reflect our values.
I've been writing about sustainable and ethical fashion on and off for about five years across a variety of print and online platforms in the UK, the US and Australia. This year, I made the decision to dive deeper into this world to be part of the solution and face the fact that the industry is inherently broken, unjust, wasteful and destructive.
Recently, I've been writing about supply chain transparency, fashion tech, textile innovations, consumer psychology and human rights. Despite the doom and gloom, I'm determined to seek out the silver linings, change-makers and opportunities that prove a better future is possible.
The world of sustainable fashion tends to be a bit of an echo-chamber, but to make any real lasting change, we need everyone to be part of the conversation. So that's why I launched this newsletter: to bring together the news, ideas and tools we need to be better consumers.
Got questions or comments? Hit reply to this email to get in touch!
Meg x
Stories I Wrote
How Can Fashion Brands Keep Workers Safe? for Remake. This was the question I asked experts, including Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi union leaders, who have been dealing with the fallout after fashion brands failed to pay millions of garment workers when COVID-19 hit. The situation is devastating and it blows my mind that billion-dollar businesses (who can afford to pay their shareholders) still won't pay the people who make their products. Click the title to read the story and sign the petition to help garment workers get their wages here!
The Technology Transforming The Green Carpet Fashion Awards For 2020 for Eco-Age. The GCFA is usually held during Milan Fashion Week, but not this year. Fusing augmented reality, holograms and virtual FX together, La Scala Theatre was digitally transformed into a terrarium for the 2020 awards. Watch the show here.
The Best Eco-Friendly Handbag Brands for 2021 for Eco-Cult. I cover what to look for in a handbag: materials, social impact and of course, it's gotta look good. There are so many brands that support their communities, use innovative fabrics & design beautiful bags. Brother Vellies, pictured, is a personal favourite!
Stories I didn’t write
The Twilight of the Ethical Consumer — Elizabeth Cline for Atmos. "When it comes to creating a sustainable and equitable world, what better choices do we have than smashing the state or reshuffling the contents of our shopping carts?" asks Cline.
Why Even the Pandemic Couldn't Kill Fashion Fashion — Emily Bootle for New Statesman. Depressingly, Boohoo's sales rose 45% in the pandemic, despite tonnes of bad press. But why? Bootle digs into consumer psychology to understand why fast fashion is seemingly indestructible.
The Murky Business of Fashion's Cash Cow: The Logoed T-Shirt— Eugene Rabkin for Highsnobiety. What's the difference between a £10 t-shirt from Uniqlo and a £450 t-shirt from Dior? Rabkin breaks it down.
Influencers are Buying Empty Shopping Bags to Pretend They're Rich — Chris Stokel-Walker for Input Mag. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Do what you gotta do, influencers.
The Newest Thing in Fashion? Old Clothes — Vanessa Friedman for the New York Times. Resale sites, upcycled collections and outfit repeating celebrities are booming and now the media is jumping on board. Meet Display Copy, a new platform with a twist: you won't find any new clothes here, all content features vintage, secondhand and pre-loved fashion. Love it.
The Hidden Blues in Your Denim — Anvita Srivastava for Fashion Revolution. We know that denim manufacturing is incredibly resource-intensive, but what about the people making your jeans? Srivastava uncovers a sector rife with sexual abuse and shares stories of the women left behind by the global #MeToo movement.
The Best Sustainable Fashion Brands (That Are Actually Sustainable), According to Experts — Liza Corsillo for The Strategist. Shop your values! Whether your main concern is responsibly sourced materials or reducing waste, Corsillo offers 16 ethical brands to know now.
What Can Fashion Learn From Food in the Fight Against Climate Change? — Ruth MacGlip for Sustainability Action Network. There are lots of parallels between food and fashion — consumption, waste, supply chain fragility...this story uncovers the lessons our industry stands to learn from food.
The To-Do List
Why is fashion still ignoring disabled people? Journalist Clare Press from the Wardrobe Crisis podcast talks to Keah Brown, author and creator of #DisabledAndCute. Keah talks about the urgent need to address the lack of inclusive and adaptive fashion.
Fashion Checker is a handy tool launched by the team from the Clean Clothes Campaign. Find out whether the brand names you're wearing right now are paying their workers a living wage, or not. A depressing 93% of brands surveyed aren't.
Not gonna lie, I watched this webinar mainly for the amazing line-up, but I found it to be an insightful and nuanced conversation. All the women involved are industry experts who are driving the sustainable fashion conversation with their work. It was hosted by the Sustainable Fashion Forum.
I'm a big fan of the @ssustainably_ Instagram account, which takes your burning ethical and sustainable fashion questions and answers them in 10 slides or fewer. The founder Gaia packs a lot into her posts that are always topical and really well researched.