Written by Isabella Hamilton, Communications Assistant @ Threading Change

November 5th, 2024.

5-minute read.

We’re rounding up our favourite books covering sustainable fashion, consumerism, and the history of textiles! If you’re looking for your next read, you’ve come to the right place.

Worn: A People’s History of Clothing by Sofi Thanhauser

Textiles carry the weight of history, reflecting human growth, development, and the different ways humanity has adapted in order to survive. In Worn, Thanhauser takes the reader through a journey of the evolution of textiles, highlighting 5 main materials – Linen, Cotton, Silk, Synthetics, and Wool – each representing significant milestones in human history. Linen, one of the oldest textiles, can be traced back thousands of years, while synthetics point to a rise in consumerism and fast fashion.

Thanhouser explores how the introduction of synthetic materials into the fashion industry has turned it into a global perpetrator of exploitation. Today, we consume clothing at unsustainable rates that leave irreversible environmental damage. This overconsumption is made possible by the use of cheap materials and even cheaper labour, often rooted in a plethora of human rights violations.

The book also highlights how personal narratives are embedded in the materials we wear, emphasizing how we have become disconnected from the people who make our clothes. Thanhauser urges us to develop a deeper connection with our clothes and question the intent of our purchases. Are we buying a piece of clothing only to wear it once? Twice? Maybe three times? Or are we doing it to look “cool” to others?

How to Break Up With Fast Fashion by Lauren Bravo

Are you in a toxic relationship with your closet? In “How to Break Up With Fast Fashion,” Lauren Bravo reexamines our connection to clothing, offering practical tips to overhaul shopping habits for the better. She points to the disconnect between those who create clothing and those who purchase it, noting that Western culture tends to embrace a “throw it away and replace it” mindset whenever something breaks. Instead of being a critic, pointing fingers, and shaming those who purchase in unsustainable ways, Bravo emphasizes: “we can only do the best we can do, but most of us can probably do better than we are.”

Bravo suggests thrifting, clothing swaps, and vintage shopping as alternatives to purchasing new, and asks the reader to contemplate purchases with a higher degree of thoughtfulness. She asks, for example, “Do I really need this shirt in multiple colors?” This kind of mindful consumption is at the heart of her advice.

What’s a book without a little motherly advice? Bravo shares her mom’s rule of thumb: Before buying a new article of clothing, name three things that you already own that will go with it. Bravo balances the hard truths with hope, leaving readers empowered to create a more thoughtful and sustainable relationship with fashion.

To Dye For by Alden Wicker

While many of us are mindful of how the foods we consume affect our health, we often overlook the impact of what we put on our bodies. Award-winning journalist and sustainable fashion expert, Alden Wicker, explores the impact of fashion on the health of those who wear it. She investigates the connection between autoimmune issues, eczema, asthma, infertility, and synthetic fashion. She highlights the troubling lack of regulation in the fashion industry regarding textiles, questioning why so little oversight exists for materials that “play the most intimate role of any consumer product in our daily lives.”

She leaves the reader with some to-do’s and reminders when shopping:

Always wash clothing before wearing it.
Trust your nose – if it smells of chemicals, don’t wear it!
Avoid cheap brands or knock-offs.
Buy second-hand or swap.

Loved Clothes Last by Orsola de Castro

Orsola de Castro, founder of Fashion Revolution, believes in the ability to scrutinize fashion, while also loving it. In her book “Loved Clothes Last,” she highlights her personal relationship with textiles and the environment. When she first began critiquing the fashion industry in the 90s, she often felt defeated, as if she was playing a losing game. Sustainability wasn’t nearly as large of a conversation as it has now become, and she had to fight for what she believed in, even if it meant feeling alone, helpless, and on the brink of giving up.

Today, Fashion Revolution is a global organization fighting for the rights of workers and the health of the environment. Although de Castro has stepped away from her role at Fashion Revolution, she is still fighting for her beliefs. Focusing her time on projects that reimagine waste, she is devoted to “reusing what we’ve covered the ground with.” Her book explores how we often equate the quality of clothing with its price, overlooking more meaningful factors. She critiques the fashion industry’s lack of transparency, accountability, and integrity, advocating instead for valuing garments by the care and craftsmanship behind their creation.

While affordable clothing is essential, it must be produced in ways that reduce the burden on the people who make it. She argues that the solution lies in producing fewer garments and paying workers fairly. Her message to fashion executives: “Instead of investing in yourself, invest in your supply chain and the people that made you the money in the first place. Take a pay cut. Forego the yacht.” While customers are often pressured to shop more sustainably and ethically, the greater responsibility lies with companies—to serve their customers, treat their workers fairly, and protect the planet.

Consumed: The Need for Collective Change by Aja Barber

Making meaningful changes in the fashion industry cannot rest on a single individual, corporation, or country. Shifting our thinking and lowering our environmental impact will require a collective effort. Aja Barber explores this idea in her debut book, “The Need for Collective Change.”

She illustrates this concept by separating her writing into two sections: learning and unlearning. Centred around topics of colonialism, climate change, and consumerism, Barber describes how oppressive systems, such as slavery, racism, and wealth inequality operate within the fashion industry. She reiterates that how we spend our money matters, and that there is power in our dollar. The unlearning portion touches on introspection and why we consume in the way that we do. Are we filling a void? Are we choosing consumption over compassion? Barber’s main mission is to teach people how to be more of a citizen and less of a consumer.

Balancing Fashion Education and Climate Anxiety

While we encourage you to stay educated on issues relevant to the fashion industry and the environment through these books, we also acknowledge that climate anxiety is real! Many of these book recommendations offer helpful advice on how to shift your mindset when it comes to shopping but remember to take them with a grain of salt (or maybe two!). As Lauren Bravo put it, “we can only do the best we can do.”

Links to Book Recommendations:

Worn: A People’s History of Clothing by Sofi Thanhauser

How to Break Up With Fast Fashion by Lauren Bravo

To Dye For by Alden Wicker

Loved Clothes Last by Orsola de Castro

Consumed: The Need for Collective Change by Aja Barber

Edited by: Luiza Giocondo Teixeira, Communications & Engagement Director @ Threading Change