Slow fAshion For thE faShion indusTry

Fashion's rapid production cycles rely on cheap, synthetic materials produced through unsustainable agricultural methods and the use of harmful chemicals. The fashion industry ranks as the world's second-largest polluter of clean water sources, consuming a significant portion of industrial water resources. Moreover, the dyeing process involves toxic chemicals that contribute to approximately 20% of global wastewater. As a response to the impacts of fast fashion, the movement of slow fashion has emerged, based on which the SAFEST project was born. The project was based on addressing the following needs: •To showcase how slow fashion advocates for sustainable practices and ethical working conditions throughout the design, manufacturing, and purchasing processes; •To raise awareness on how slow fashion emphasizes durability, quality, and respect for both the environment and laborers, opposite to fast fashion, which prioritizes speed and low cost; •To inform the audience that slow-fashion items often come with higher price tags, reflecting the superior quality of materials, ethical manufacturing practices, and support for environmentally conscious farming.

SAFEST is a project designed to shed light on the impact of the fashion industry on the environment and the role consumers can play in changing this attitude and making a positive impact towards reaching the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the European Green Deal objectives. Textile production is estimated to be responsible for about 20% of global clean water pollution from dyeing and finishing products. Washing synthetics releases an estimated 0.5 million tonnes of microfibres into the ocean a year. Laundering synthetic clothes accounts for 35% of primary microplastics released into the environment. A single laundry load of polyester clothes can discharge 700,000 microplastic fibers that can end up in the food chain [EEA, 2019]. Based on this data the project aimed to achieve the following objectives: •To raise awareness on the topic of responsible textile consumption; •To create tools to empower European consumers to make better choices regarding fashion items; •To promote new methods, tools, and practices to improve the educational offer for adult learners around the topic fashion industry and its impact.

During the SAFEST project, we implemented 3 main activities: A1 was Project Management and Implementation activities. IRIS SD was the leading association, and the following actions were fulfilled: -The Project Management, Budget, Risk and Quality Plans; -The Kick-off Meeting in Stockholm, Sweden on the 14/11/2022, hosted by IRIS SD; -The Final Evaluation Meeting in Salerno, Italy on the 28/4/2024, hosted by BASE; -The SAFEST WEEK, during which the three partners implemented activities to raise awareness about the topic of slow fashion. A2 was the development of the SAFEST Toolkit, led by BASE and partners worked to produce the main intellectual outputs of the project (SAFEST Transnational Report & Toolkit). Precisely, researchers, administrative staff, and translators of each association conducted desk research on the state-of-the-art fashion industry and consumer trends in the 3 partnership countries. A3 was the SAFEST Pilot Event, held in Valencia, Spain on the 17-21/01/2024 and led by UNO; 4 participants and 1 trainer per association visited Spain for 7 days learning about the importance of the fashion industry in fighting climate change; enhancing their capacity in evaluating their environmental footprint.

SAFEST generated the following tangible and non-tangible results: Tangible results - Desk and field research on the state-of-the-art fashion industry and consumer trends in Sweden, Italy, and Spain; - The SAFEST Transnational Report on the topic comparing the situation of Sweden, Italy, and Spain to the rest of the Eurozone available on the website of the project in English, Swedish, Spanish and Italian; - The SAFEST ToolKit with all the material produced available on the website of the project in English, Swedish, Spanish and Italian; Non-tangible results The non-tangible results refer to the participants of the activities carried out throughout the project (workshops held by each association, the SAFEST Pilot Event) and the public who reached the intellectual outputs of the project (SAFEST Toolkit, SAFEST Transnational Report), being the following: - Raised awareness of the importance of the fashion industry in fighting climate change; - Improved knowledge of the key characteristics of how the fashion industry and our fashion choices can affect the environment; - Improved capacity and expertise in evaluating our environmental footprint based on what and how we consume.