Over-Consumption: The Problem

When the pandemic hit in April 2020, the high street closed it’s doors and fast fashion brands cancelled a record number of orders, much of which was already produced, packaged and shipped, usually to the upfront cost of the  suppliers and garment workers. We, the public, would have to just make do and mend, while across the world suppliers and garment workers, already grossly exploited, went unpaid.

Currently, most high-street retailers receive shipments of new stock, every two weeks, with stores like Primark, H&M and Zara pushing a model of consumption that is designed as disposable. The fashion calendar, once had two seasonal collections; Spring/Summer vs Autumn/Winter. Now we have reached a staggering 52  micro-collections a year; a new collection every week.

Here’s a challenge, if you’re willing: do a count up of all your clothes. If you want to go in deep, do a list of tops, trousers, dresses, jumpers etc. List where you bought it from, if you can remember and make a note of how often you wear each item. Then separate in to three piles: what you wear regularly vs. occasionally vs. haven’t-touched-in-over-6-months. then see how those piles measure up. If the largest pile is the latter, especially if it's full of high-street labels, it may be time to rethink your shopping strategy.

Buying so much clothing and treating it as if it is disposable, is putting a huge added weight on the environment and is simply unsustainable. Elizabeth L. Cline - Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion

There are many, many problems that need to be addressed in the fashion industry and we are but one tiny brand trying to make a difference, so we try to identify what we can do to lead a better example, over-consumption is something we desperately want to advocate against and build awareness of in our community. The fast fashion industry wants us to treat clothing as single-use, but we say no to that. Garments are made to last a handful of washes and designed to drive you back through their doors in search of the next micro-trend, at the Den we want to do things differently.

When Bambi’s Den was first being launched back in 2019, the challenge was straight-forward but by no means simple. We would no longer buy any new materials that weren’t absolutely necessary and that we couldn’t make ourselves or find second-hand. We looked at our shelves, that already consisted of mostly dead stock or thrifted fabric and said no-more until every scrap we currently own is gone. This has led us to a fabric first design process, we cannot just simply decide to make something without regard to what is available, the size and amount of material informs the design and that constraint has pushed us to find creative solutions in our quest to create sustainable and affordable clothing. Now, two years later, the last collection; No Bad Trips, much to our delight and appreciation, has nearly sold out, only now are we ready to turn our attention to the next project.

Over production and over consumption have been ‘elephant in the room’  issues for so long, yet big fashion brands and retailers have mostly ignored them. The Fashion Transparency Index 2021, Fashion Revolution

That is why we strive to be a part of the solution and pledge to continue to use up-cycled materials, we are committed to re-imagining the possibility of what can be achieved with second-hand fabric, much of which is now sourced from the off-cuts and scraps collected from the work we do in Friargate Alterations, every scrap that can be used is saved, sorted and re-worked.  Furthermore we have no desire to keep up with a business model that not only promotes over consumption but is not a sustainable business practice for a small independent brand like us. Which is why, we are looking forward to bringing you a capsule collection that will expand the made-to-order model we have successfully trialled with our hugely popular, Up-cycled Bucket Hats. Going forward we aim to prioritise the production of a garments that will last for many years to come, in an inclusive range of sizes, ethically sourced and transparently manufactured by us, in our shop here in Derby.

So stay tuned as we are preparing to launch our Conscious Capsule Collection in Spring 2022 and will be sharing our production process along the way so if you want to stay up-to-date head to our Instagram for the latest.