An annual event held on the 22nd of April, this year represents the 54th year of Earth Day. Signifying the importance of the environment, looking after the planet and taking sustainable actions in our everyday lives, now is the perfect time to do your bit and start making environmentally conscious decisions surrounding your shopping habits, if you don’t do so already.
Here at Ed & Sarna, sustainability is at the core of what we do, giving a second chance at life to old, genuine vintage frames to save them from going to waste - all whilst offering unique products to you, our happy customers!
In fitting with the theme of Earth Day, we’ll be taking a deep dive into what makes what we do so sustainable and why that’s so important within the fashion industry. Keep reading to get stuck in.
An Insight into Earth Day
First held in 1970, Earth Day is now a global event, with more than one billion people getting involved from across 192 countries. The event is more than a day, rather it’s a movement - one that continues to encourage and mobilise people to take climate action and protect the future of the environment.
Each year, there is a new theme that is focused on for Earth Day. This year, the theme is ‘Planet vs Plastics’, which aims to highlight and spread awareness of the health risks surrounding plastics, as well as advocate for the phasing out of single use plastics, pushing for a UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution and demanding an end to fast fashion.
Being a danger to humanity, living creatures and the environment, EARTHDAY.ORG is committed to making their goal of a 60% reduction of plastic production by 2040 a reality.
We fully support these ambitions, especially their bid to end fast fashion, which is something we value highly here at Ed & Sarna.
The Importance of Sustainable Fashion
The fashion industry has a vice-like grip on society, being an industry that has persevered in popular culture for millennia. From fashion weeks and seasonal releases to consistently changing trends and even microseasons, there is always something new coming out on the market - making it no surprise that roughly 100 billion garments are produced each year.
However, as prevalent as the industry is, it’s also heavily unsustainable. Currently, 87% of garments end up in landfill or an incinerator; furthermore, the average person buys 60% more clothing items than 15 years ago, yet only keep them for half as long.
This is incredibly wasteful and is arguably directly influenced by such frequent changes in industry trends both seasonally and yearly, which ultimately creates this linear lifetime of waste, when really we should be aiming for a cycle of sustainability and reusability.
Largely, this comes down to the presence of fast fashion.
Fast Fashion vs Sustainable Fashion
Fast Fashion
Fast fashion refers to the mass production of stylish, trendy clothes that are cheap to make, at high speeds, as a way to maximise profits whilst retail demands are at their highest. On top of that, many fast fashion companies tend to exploit labour, meaning those who actually make these garments do so for little wages and often work long hours in poor or even miserable conditions.
The materials used to make fast fashion clothing items also plays a part in their cheap production, with unsustainable materials often being used, such as synthetic fibres, plastics and inorganic cotton.
Not only this, but the quick turnaround of fast fashion pieces also makes it an incredibly wasteful practice. In order to keep up with the latest trends, many consumers lean into this dangerous cycle, often wearing certain garments only a handful of times before buying more new clothes, only for their old ones to be disposed of - often ending up in landfill or incinerators and harming the environment.
Sustainable Fashion
Sustainable fashion, on the other hand, aims to operate in the complete opposite way to fast fashion. Rather than being based on a linear, wasteful structure, it aims at operating as a cycle.
This is done through the use of sustainable materials, creating quality clothing that lasts and can be worn time after time, repairing old or faulty clothing, then either repurposing, recycling or reselling preloved items.
As well as placing responsibility on businesses, responsibility is also placed on consumers, who are encouraged to be be mindful of how they dispose of their unwanted clothing items (e.g. selling them on platforms such as eBay, Vinted or Depop), as well as where they buy them from - such as buying from ethical brands or secondhand from these same platforms!
What Makes Vintage Online Eyewear a Sustainable Fashion Choice?
Buying authentic vintage fashion of any kind is already a much more sustainable choice to be making than purchasing something that’s newly made, and that includes glasses frames.
Just like clothing, glasses and (especially) sunglasses have fallen prey to the fast fashion market. Such frames are often produced using low quality materials - largely plastic, which not only is of a low quality and poor durability, but not necessarily recyclable, either.
By choosing to purchase vintage frames, you will instead be rewarded with a better quality pair of frames that have been made using expert craftsmanship, subsequently saving a pair of perfectly usable glasses from otherwise going to waste as well as standing against the exploitation of labour.
Below, we’ve listed more of the reasons why the selling of vintage eyewear operates according to sustainable principles.
Longer Lifespan
As we’ve mentioned, vintage frames are made to a high quality. Many glasses and sunglasses from decades ago were handmade by experts at their craft, ensuring that the most meticulous care went into each pair of frames. This was done to create eyewear that would last, being able to be worn time and time again without breaking or losing their integral quality.
In buying such a pair of glasses, you will be able to get incredible wear from them. This not only saves you money, but means they will last longer before breaking or becoming damaged from natural wear, unlike many modern glasses, thus reducing the demand for new frames to be made and subsequently reducing the production of the non-environmentally friendly materials used to make said modern frames.
When you wear glasses everyday, you want to invest in a pair that you know are going to last you - like these exquisite Fendi frames.
Save Waste Going to Landfill
The rising popularity of vintage clothing items and accessories means many fashion items are being given a second chance at life, eyewear included. If not given this chance, then all of the frames that we find and stock would otherwise go to waste - most likely landfill.
Many usable glasses that are in perfectly good condition end up wasted in landfill, where they contribute to the emission of harmful greenhouse gases that accelerate the rate of climate change - one of the most pressing issues in today’s society.
You’re doing your part to stop this from happening by purchasing vintage frames, allowing them to be worn as intended rather than unnecessarily wasted. Afterall, seeing these iconic Dior sunglasses being wasted without a chance to be worn would be a crying shame - we’d argue even a sin against fashion!
Reduce Demand for Fast Fashion Products
The more people who choose to shop vintage and refuse to support fast-fashion, the more the demand for fast-fashion products will reduce, ultimately reducing the practice of fast-fashion itself.
Whilst you may feel as though your choices and actions won’t make an impactful difference in the grand scheme of things, you’ll be playing a bigger part than you realise. The more people who adopt the mindset that their choices can bring around change, the more likely said change is to happen.
By choosing vintage sunglasses over the latest modern pair, you will be actively reducing the demand for new products from these unethical and unsustainable companies. You will be making it so that they have one less sale. When you then put into perspective the number of like-minded individuals who have done the same - that adds up to a notable difference that these companies will quantifiably see.
Why would you spend quarter of your paycheck on the latest Gucci sunglasses when you could instead secure these exclusive vintage Gucci frames, instead?
High Quality Glasses from Ed & Sarna
So, are you ready to take another step towards a sustainable future this Earth Day? Sustainability doesn’t need to sacrifice style, which is why you can rely on us here at Ed & Sarna to supply you with your next pair of glasses.
Whether you’re a fan of cat eye frames or the aviator style of sunglasses, we’ve got a pair for you. Rest assured that all of our frames are genuine, never worn vintage deadstock. We can even fit them with prescription lenses at your requirement!
Shop our frames today, or get in touch with us with any queries - we’re passionate about what we do and are always happy to help!
