Theshoppingforecast.com has recently launched with a focus on cutting waste in the fashion industry by allowing retailers to make more accurate predictions on fashions and trends for the season ahead. The site will be the first of its kind to offer detailed information on customer preferences including by age, location and a number of other demographics based on user activity through a social site
Theshoppingforecast.com is an interactive site where users can vote, rate, comment, share, win and make outfits using pieces of clothing for the season ahead that have been picked out by the Style Council, a team of fashion enthusiasts. The site will provide information to retail buyers on preferences relating to various demographics whilst keeping data protection for the users as an upmost priority and not revealing any of it’s users details to third parties.
The site represents a significant step forward in the reduction of waste in the fashion industry which should not only represent financial savings for retailers but also greater customer satisfaction and environmental sustainability.
Site Founder Matthew Murfin commented ‘We are really pleased to offer a solution to the ever growing problem of waste in the fashion industry. The Shopping Forecast provides a win: win scenario for everyone involved. Shoppers get the opportunity to buy more of the clothes that they like, retailers can save money and improve their customer satisfaction at the same time and those concerned with the environment can help to reduce waste as well as making their preferences for sustainable fashion known by voting on The Shopping Forecast’
Theshoppingforecast.com was launched in September 2010 by Matthew Murfin with the aim of providing detailed quantitative data for fashion retail buyers as a solution to the problem of predicting trends for the season ahead. The site will provide data on style and colour preferences for women’s clothing by a wide range of parameters including age, geographic location,>. The site will not share any data on individuals with third parties.
Theshoppingforecast.com will also provide a fun and interactive social network where users can win prizes, earn incentives, share and discuss their favourite items as well as discovering what others think of what will be a hit, or not, in next season’s fashions.
Theshoppingforecast.com, an innovative new fashion democracy and social shopping website, has just launched.
The groundbreaking new website will allow users to browse, comment, vote on and save to their own personal wardrobes, the fashions and trends for the season ahead. It is the first of its kind to highlight the key trends for the season as identified by experts, fashion enthusiasts and the public. It will also provide invaluable quantifiable information to buyers in fashion retail allowing them to make informed decisions. The website will provide ongoing quantitative information and analysis on consumer preferences of women to fashion buyers for the season ahead.
Fashion enthusiasts can register with theshoppingforecast.com for free and vote, comment and save items for their next outfit. The items on the site, which will include women’s fashion for a variety of occasions, will be carefully selected by an expert style council comprising of popular fashion bloggers, stylists and industry insiders as well as forward looking consumers of fashion. By voting on the clothes on the site, users will also have the chance to win their favourite item each month. The results of the voting and most popular items will feature in the monthly newsletter along with plenty of other information on fashion and style for the season ahead.
Matthew Murfin founder of the website commented ‘Theshoppingforecast.com is the first of its kind to give fashion enthusiasts and consumers a say in which clothes they would like to see in stores. It aims to create a fashion democracy that will be a link between female shoppers and retail buyers, so no more puffball skirts!’
Our verdict - we love the idea that by giving our input and helping to decide what clothes will be in the shops, we can help to reduce the waste of the fashion industry. It is also a great way to discover new trends.
Just sometimes the process of using recycled materials in fashion designs causes something amazing. In the case of his SS10 collection it was Christopher Raeburn who brought about this transformation turning decommissioned military stock that would usually be destined for the bin into some very beautiful clothes. The designer who is a graduate of the Royal College of Art and has recently been awarded NEWGEN sponsorship reinterprets streetwear into luxurious high end pieces made from parachute silk, heavy wools leather and quilting. The collection will also be accompanied by a range of hats and bags.
An interesting report entitled Well Dressed? and published by the University of Cambridge, Department for Manufacturing in 2006 explores the present and future sustainability of textiles in the United Kingdom. Most of us are probably aware that there are many issues surrounding the sustainability of the textiles industry in the UK but the report gives a really in depth and neutral look at the problems and identify the potential for significant and lasting change.
The report is highly relevant for consumers, media, business, education, government and campaigners and provides balanced evidence based information. Some of the key findings of the report in relation to the recycling of clothes are summarised below:
The UK’s current behaviour in disposing of used clothing and textiles to landfill is not sustainable as volumes are growing.
The second hand sector is growing and there is further demand so improved collection and sorting procedures will be beneficial in reducing waste and providing usable clothes to developing countries.
Recycling is siginificant for materials with high impacts in the production phase.
According to the analysis in order to create change a consumer would:
Buy second hand clothing and textiles where possible.
Buy fewer more durable garments and textile products.
When buying new products, choose those made with least energy and least toxic emmissions, made by workers paid a credible living wage with reasonable employment rights and conditions.
Lease clothes that would otherwise not be worn to the end of their natural life.
Extend the life of clothing and textile products through repair.
Dispose of using clothing and textiles through recycling businesses who would return them for secondhand sale where ever possible but otherwise extract and recycle the yarns or fibres.
Swapping, buying and selling second hand clothes is a great way of recycling and improving the sustainability of textiles. You can swap, buy and sell your second hand clothes for free on www.posh-swaps.com.
The latest great idea for creating sustainable and desirable fashion by recycling old items into new are these beautiful shoes by Terra Plana. The shoes are created using recycled Pakistani quilts making each one a unique piece. But they are not just eco friendly, they are comfy and stylish too. I love the rich colours and the different textures. The shoes are high heel platform shoes, making them a great addition to a day time or evening outfit. They are lightweight with flexible memory soles for extra comfort.
Terra Plana works towards creating sustainable shoes by minimize waste and toxin use and maximize product use. They use eco friendly materials including recycled materials where ever possible and use innovative minimal glue constructions.
Frugal living is currently a necessity for many people but has also become quite fashionable as people find new and creative ways to live on a minimal budget. The media have likened this frugality to the second world war when rationing and shortages forced people to ’make do and mend’. John Lewis has even rewritten a wartime make do and mend booklet for modern times. It gives some great tips that still apply today as well as some new ones such as the economic use of the central heating.
This make do and mend philosophy, is not just frugal but also environmentally friendly and a real contrast to throw away society that has become so prevalent in recent years. Make do and mend positively encourages a reduction in waste and recycling in all sorts of different ways. Some thing that may be quite alien to many but that fits in perfectly with the current economic climate and make do and mend philosophy is making do with the clothes we have instead of buying new. Of course it help greatly if the clothes were great quality and classic styles in the first place.
A whole movement of fashionistas has began to spring up around the make do and mend idea. Clothes swapping, swishing parties, clothing repair and alteration, buying and selling second hand clothes and refashioning/ reworking old clothes have all become popular ways not just of saving money and the environment but also of creating unique, interesting and beautiful outfits.
At Posh Swaps, we love this recycled eco jewellery range by Anna Clifton. Anna’s newest work is made using or rather “re-using” aluminium drinks cans and recycled glass beads to create beautiful pieces of jewellery and bridal hair accessories. Anna also takes commissions for bespoke pieces.
Anna Clifton Jewellery prides itself on being an “Environmentally Friendly” company. It is a family run business where each and every piece of jewellery (including tiaras, circlets and hair accessories) is made by hand in the UK.
Anna Clifton Jewellery is a home run business and has strong environmental beliefs. They re-use, recycle and compost as much as is physically possible, use energy saving light bulbs, don’t leave appliances and electrical equipment on standby, always buy local wherever possible and are a one car family.
By using recycled materials in their work they cut down on the use of raw materials. All other pieces are made using traditional hand silversmithing and wire working techniques and waste material is kept to the bare minimum .
The perfect piece of jewellery to compliment your second hand eco wedding dress.
My first reaction to this picture of of two suited men at New York Fashion Week is to laugh. I found the picture on Lela Luxe and on further reading realised that all is not as it seems. The clear plastic suit made from recycled bottles is not actually a fashion statement but more an elaborate statement to show how a suit made from recycled bottles is not what you would expect. The man on the right is wearing a suit made by Bagir, an Israel-based tailored apparel manufacturer that specializes in high-tech suiting innovations. It is made from ECOGIR™ a fabric made from recycled plastic bottles. The fabric is machine washable and can be tumbled dried so is also eco friendly in that it does not require dry cleaning.
This is another great example of ways that you can help the planet without compromising on style.
Glove Love is an initiative by Green Thing, where they take lonely single gloves that have lost their original partners, wash them and then pair them with brand new glove lovers. You can either donate single gloves, or buy a matched pair for a fiver. This shirt film/ commercial featuring the voie of Emma Thompson was filmed by Michael Wright and Mustard. A really fun way to recycle and cut down on waste, we love it. Alternatively, you could swap your old gloves on Posh-swaps.com.
Green Thing is a public service that inspires people to lead a greener life. With the help of brilliant videos and inspiring stories from creative people and community members around the world, Green Thing focuses on seven things you can do - and enjoy doing. Join people from 202 countries doing their green things and making a difference
Nina Dolcetti is the label started by Elisalex Grunfeld de Castro in 2008 after she graduated from Cordwainers in 2005. The high end shoes that she makes are both luxurious and sustainable. The upcycled materials used for these design led, avant garde shoes are off cuts and remnants and unwanted pre consumer waste. They are hand made in a work shop in East London.
The label which showed at Esthetica, London Fashion Week, recognises the waste within the fashion industry and the environmentally unfriendly effects of leather tanning. Yet another exciting development in our search for luxurious but sustainable style.
Nina Dolcetti 
