A documentary on the unsustainable nature of the fashion industry has won the award of the Best Fashion Documentary at the London Film Festival. The film, made by Alex James – best known for being the bassist in the band Blur, highlights the importance of reconsidering the modern wave of fast fashion in the industry.

In the documentary, James highlights the poor working conditions and lack of fair pay that stems from the requirements of fast fashion. Additionally, the film explores the environmental impact that the fashion industry is currently making.

For example, the film shows how the process of making raw cotton for a pair of jeans uses around 10,000 litres of water. Considering that in the areas where cotton is grown, water is in short supply, it is clear that the fashion industry’s current direction may need to be reconsidered.

Furthermore, in UK alone, over one million tonnes of old clothes go to landfill each year. Most of these clothes are non-biodegradable. As a result, clothes that ‘go out of fashion’, stay in landfills for many years to come, negatively impacting our environment.

The documentary was supported by the ‘Campaign for Wool’, an initiative that was set up by Prince Charles in order to educate consumers about the benefits of wool. As part of the documentary, Prince Charles himself was asked to bury both a wool, and synthetic sweater in a flower bed. After 4 months, he dug up both the sweaters, only to find that the wool had completely decomposed, whereas the synthetic sweater was still intact. This is an ideal representation of what must be happening in landfills all over the world.

In a blog written for the Huffington Post, James emphasised the message that ‘cheap doesn’t always mean good value’, citing examples of clothing made from wool and other natural materials as the solution.

Not only is wool biodegradable and therefore beneficial for the environment, but it is also a comfortable, durable and non-flammable material, which doesn’t begin to smell for up to a month of use. It is no wonder that NASA, SAS Soldiers, and fire-fights use these advantageous qualities to their benefit.

Summarising the documentary’s message and impact, Nicholas Coleridge, the Chairman of the Campaign for Wool said: “This is a profoundly important film which must be watched by anyone who cares about the future of planet earth.  We are delighted it has the recognition it deserves.”

Standard Wool strongly advocates this documentary and urges everyone to watch and appreciate the significant message it conveys.

Watch the trailer here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFCQQDFAoqA

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