Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes

If you have more than just a passing interest in the topic and are looking to educate yourself then this is a brilliant book. I was encouraged to educate myself about the impact of fast fashion by Emma Hill (a YouTuber) who recommended this book. It’s got a lot of information although not always in a particularly clear order. It looks in depth at particular companies eg Stella McCartney, Levi’s and new fabrics like Evrnu - perhaps more than most people need. But it feels like a thorough education and it’s hard not come away from it ready to make a change.

A very interesting insight into aspects of the fashion industry of which the general public is not always aware. I was fascinated to learn about the various methods of producing textiles without damage to the environment, and the many ways of recycling textiles. The drawback for me that it was too focused on Americam business practice, and large-scale business with turnovers of millions of dollars......I would have preferred more information about small-scale business in Europe. Overall, though, very useful and informative.

For anyone who works or is interested in the fashion industry and most importantly cares about the impact of fashion in our environment and in the global economy, this is an absolute must read. Dana's writing makes it not only very informative but also entertaining.

Good book

Started reading this really rapidly and intensely as I am very interested in this subject. I wanted to learn more with a view to making fewer and more informed clothing purchases. The review from the Telegraph (on the back cover) states that Thomas researches meticulously. She might well do, but because of the referencing technique used, I can't properly follow up on references. I know this is not an academic paper but when you go to the bother of including references, it would be nice to follow up on them and be able to understand more about the point being made. For instance p189 states that 'regenerated cashmere is 92 percent less damaging to the environment than virgin cashmere'. I thought this is amazing and really wanted to find out more. I turned to the reference section for chapter 7, and it seems that this might stem from something mentioned in reference 169 (not indicated in text and clearly not correlating to the page number) When the reference is googled, we learn that same 92% figure and the product, called Re.verso, is made in Italy. But the actual quote is not exactly the same, as it states 'impacts the environment 92% less than virgin cashmere' and this in turn seems to be taken from a Stella McCartney Press release. The press release, again mentions the 92% and impact rather than damage, but I'm not able to find specifically from where this has come. Everything impacts the environment, but not all impacts are damaging, so it is disappointing that this subtle change has been made. I'm now wondering if there are there other quotes that have been subtly changed to make a specific point? I'm not even going to elaborate on the irony of the author then going on to discuss green-washing by brands from p193. On to the Re.verso website; there are environmental performance stats, but nothing that correlates with the 92% less damaging originally stated on p189 of this book. So although I have been able to access the publication that the 92% came from, I am unable to find any information to verify the figure. I honestly don't know if I can be bothered to read the rest of the book; really disappointed. Three stars because I was entertained until I decided to look for more detail.

The kind of book you can’t believe what you are reading and you just can’t put it down. Excellent for anyone. Detailed, sad in places but shocking the company’s that sell the clothes and how some workers are treated plus how fabric is made. Very very interesting

Fantastic, balanced and well researched expose of the problems of fast fashion, and the behaviours and technologies that will get us out of this predicament. Must read!

An informative book that can be quite frightening when you think of all that we take for granted. I now look in all the labels of clothes. Hope I'm doing some good.