Brief and Client
More than two tonnes of clothing are bought in the UK each minute, the production of which places great strain upon resources such as land, water, man power
and fossil fuels (Fortescue, 2019). This inevitably comes at great cost to the environment and just as it is easy to acquire an abundance of clothing, it is just as easy to
bin and replace these items, with 235 million items of clothing sent to landfill each year (Harrabin, 2018). Our seemingly harmless habits and desire for clothing has
become reckless and damaging. “We are in a climate emergency - we can no longer turn a blind eye to the emissions produced by new clothes” says Sriskandarajah,
D as cited by Fortescue, 2019. As influential brands and figures, such as Greta Thunberg and Vogue (seen in figure 2) begin to shine a light upon the matter, the need
for sustainable shopping facilities and products is of increasing urgency. Brands such as TALA (figure 6), Junky Styling (figure 8) and even Urban Outfitters (figure 9)
are now working to create clothing sustainably or remodel old clothes and are becoming incredibly successful, both financially and commercially. “As consumers, it’s in
our power to make a real difference. Buying second-hand clothes helps to slow the ferocious fast fashion cycle, giving garments a second lease of life” (Sriskandarajah,
D as cited by Fortescue, 2019).
A densely populated city, Portsmouth possesses a variety of fashion shops, from Gunwharf Quays to the smaller shops of Portsmouth, Fratton and Southsea High
street. Yet with such opportunity and audience, there is little evidence of sustainable fashion within the island. Furthermore the opportunity to recycle is even more
limited, with no curb-side textile recycling available. With the 12th lowest recycling rate in the UK and 673kg of waste produced annually per household, Southsea’s
Knight and Lee with it’s high-street location is a prime building in which to position sustainable fashion facilities (Portsmouth City council, 2014)
The new premises for sustainable fashion brand, ‘Regenerate’, Knight and Lee will offer a place where you can not only buy men and women’s sustainable clothing but
where you can bring your clothes and textiles to be recycled. They are then either up-cycled or recycled to form the brand’s clothing range, preventing wastage and
protecting the environment. By positioning the brands factory, offices and design studios also within Knight and Lee, they remain as sustainable as possible. Furthermore
by allowing customers to see how their clothes are made, they can witness first hand the how something deemed ‘rubbish’ can be made worthwhile, furthering
an appreciation for the clothes they buy and thus educating people on sustainable clothing.
Figure 4. Mass of Unwanted Clothing Figure 2. Greta Thunberg, Vogue 2019 Front Cover. Figure 5. Clothing in landfill
P. 8