In an industrial underground space in central London, models in contrasting period dresses and playful streetwear strutted down a brightly lit London Fashion Week (LFW) runway. But unlike most other shows, all the floral dresses, trending workwear and double-denim outfits were second hand at the event by charity Oxfam and online used clothes retailer Vinted's "Style for Change". Bay Garnett, a sustainable fashion pioneer who picked out the pieces from Oxfam's warehouses, called the runway "really exciting".
"When we first did this show eight years ago, it was really not like this," Garnett told AFP backstage, noting the stream of enthusiastic attendees. Despite the excitement surrounding the Oxfam show alongside another "pre-loved" runway by online auction site eBay, British fashion is struggling with sustainability. Around 44 percent of all British companies overall have put in place a structured climate action plan, according to insurance company Aviva's "Climate-Ready Index".
By contrast, the fashion world is lagging sorely behind, a situation the Collective Fashion Justice (CFJ) charity said was "an embarrassment". A recent CFJ report found that just seven of the 206 members of the British Fashion Council (BFC), which organises London Fashion Week, had set out targets to reduce their carbon emissions. And only five of these -- or less than 2.
5 percent -- had goals aligned with the 2016 Paris Agreement to cut global warming, CFJ said. The UK is the third largest footwear a.