London - The rise of so-called "fast fashion" has been condemned by the ultimate outfits arbiter – Vogue’s Anna Wintour.
Wintour, the inspiration for Meryl Streep’s formidable magazine editor in 'The Devil Wears Prada', has called on stylistas to cherish, re-wear and pass on their clothes to their children instead.
The 70-year-old’s intervention comes amid growing concern at the fashion industry’s impact on the environment.
Fast fashion – the cheap clothes turned out by popular high street brands and websites – is believed to be second only to oil as the world’s largest polluter as the production process leads to high carbon emissions and waste water.
In addition, the throwaway nature of many items means the industry also generates large amounts of landfill.
A recent report from Pulse Of The Fashion Industry, an organisation tracking the sector’s effects on the planet, stated that fashion generates four percent of the world’s waste each year – or 92 million tons.
Now Wintour has added her voice to those calling for action. In an interview with Reuters, the British-born journalist – who has edited the American fashion bible for more than three decades – called for shoppers to focus their attention "more on craft, on creativity, and less on the idea of clothes that are instantly disposable, things that you will throw away".
She added: "[It’s all about] talking to our audiences, our readers, about keeping the clothes that you own, and valuing the clothes that you own and wearing them again and again, and maybe giving them on to your daughter, or son, whatever the case may be."