By: Mia Lee
As a girl who loves fashion, there is always room for reinvention. There are many ways for it to be interpreted and give each person a new approach to inspire the best ideas. Whether it’s your closet, your look or your outfit approach, UP Magazine steps “up” there game to keep their ideas fresh and relevant to Miami students.For the latest Spring 2018 issue, the UP Magazine team decided to use the theme of new beginnings, and they decided for the first time ever to print it as a full sized, sustainability-focused issue. They were able to flawlessly capture their theme as well, keeping it sustainable by printing the cover pages with 100 percent renewable green electricity on 100 percent recycled paper. The team truly has outdone themselves by sticking to their theme and keeping it eco-friendly! An article that stood out was by Bella Douglas on the impact on fast fashion. She did an amazing job exposing what fast fashion has become and the harsh environmental and social aspects of the overall industry. She wrote about “[how] we are getting rid of our clothes almost as quickly as we buy them, which exerts an enormous amount of pressure on our planet.” As a consumer, we need to be more mindful of the consequences fast fashion has. Not only does it affect the amount of waste, it impacts the cost of our global resources such as water. She tied in great examples and points throughout the article, some from my favorite book “Overdressed” by Elizabeth L. Cline.
Another article that focused on sustainable fashion is “Rethink Your Closet With Cladwell” by Evie Howard. It talks about how Cladwell app enables its users to create different outfit combinations that are already in their own closet to promote garment sustainability. This is a great way to be able to use what you already have and make it your own in a sustainable way. As a fan of retail therapy, UP also includes some articles recommending sustainable brands and collaborations such as Reformation. This brand has an urban outfitters vibe to each piece as well as a focus on sustainability. She also discusses how Adidas plans to collaborate with Parley for the Oceans in an effort to keep the oceans clean from plastic waste. Adidas has also eloquently been using a strategy called A.I.R. (Avoid, Intercept, Redesign) to encourage consumers to not use plastic.
Overall, the Spring 2018 Issue for UP was very inspiring in regard to a sustainable fashion industry. Incorporating sustainable fashion into your wardrobe will positively impact the environment and encourage people to focus on our planet’s well-being on their next shopping spree.