Page 56 - 155 Varsity ebook

54 / Lifestyle

fashion retailers who break down
industry’s “four-seasons-a-year rou-
tine” into 52 mini collections a year.
The brands use synthetic materials
for their cheap garments which are
mainly oil by-products and cause
pollution during laundry.
The garment material is not the
sole problem of fast fashion. Having
worked in the fashion field for over
two decades, Crispy says she has wit-
nessed the dark sides of the industry,
such as “severe pollution, animal
abuse and exploitation of labor.” “I
(no longer) could accept to work
hard for this selfish and ignorant in- Some example work from Toby Crispy's workshops
dustry,” she says. (Photo courtesy of Toby Crispy)
Tired and disappointed, Crispy ing every time I listen to stories peo- Let's Redress
quit her job as a design manager at ple have with their garments and see The fast-fashion model adopted
Agnes b. HK— a label she worked happy faces when they receive rede- by Zara and H&M has been success-
for before creating her upcycling signed clothes,” says Crispy. ful in sales since the 2000s. They are
fashion brand. She created her up- Crispy holds regular workshops especially popular in Hong Kong
cycling fashion brand, Lastbutnot- in an effort to promote sustainable with net sales of 1,502 million kro-
least in 2013. She is committed to fashion. She explains how garments nor (around HK$1.23 billion), ac-
fighting against waste and pollution are made and shares tips on how to cording to H&M 2018 annual report.
problems in the fashion industry by turn old clothes into new ones. “I The figure is significant considering
repairing, reshaping, and redesign- feel proud when I see the partici- the net sales of other neighbouring
ing secondhand garments from cus- pants feeling happy and learning dif- regions like Taiwan and Singapore
tomers. ferent types of upcycling skills in my are just 600 million (around HK$467
Crispy believes upcycling can workshops,” she says. million) and 800 million kronor
make the best use of old clothing (HK$ 620 million) respectively.

“

The mission as a
designer is to
propose a

sustainable life-

style, rather than
producing the
unnecessary

”

while it also helps reinforce the Volunteers sorting out second-hand clothes at Redress' Sort-a-thon during their Get
sense of attachment customers share Redressed Month 2019 (Photo courtesy of Redress)
with their belongings. “It’s so touch-