Why Anthora?

Greetings,

I am Hoiki, founder of Anthora, a new sustainable fashion brand aiming to provide ethically-made clothing while promoting positive environmental change. With this blog post “Why Anthora?”, we would like to introduce Anthora to our readers and discuss why fast fashion’s business model is no longer sustainable for our world.

Fast fashion brands aim to produce whatever is on-trend, as quickly and cheaply as possible. Their priority is quantity over quality, with cost and time as the key driving factors. With tight profit margins, these brands need high sales volumes to turn a profit. They rely heavily on social media, marketing, and discounts to drive consumer desire for the latest trend. The expectation is that garments will only be worn 3-7 times before being tossed, and price points are set low to seem economical for consumers. But no one is taking responsibility for the massive environmental costs that we all ultimately have to live with.

What exactly are those environmental costs? For starters, major overproduction. Of the 100 billion garments produced globally each year, 92 million tons end up in landfills. The industry is pumping out way more clothing than we need, can wear, recycle or donate. Brands are left sitting on excess inventory, relying on sales and markdowns to push product out the door. But the result is still a glut of unsold merchandise. This overstock leads brands to cancel ongoing orders - from current production to raw materials, fabrics, trims, etc. - creating waste at every step.

That waste often can't be resold or recycled. Off season garments and textiles tend to be of low grade polyester and nylon that falls apart but can't break down. Then there's the packaging, shipping, stocking, delivery, and returns required to get product into customers' hands and back again - massive carbon emissions from start to finish.

And finally, should fashion really be so "disposable"? Shoppers have been conditioned to buy whatever is trending, feel shame about re-wearing pieces, and expect fast fashion pricing. Clothing is one of the only sectors where prices keep dropping, even as material costs, wages, and production expenses rise. Slim margins leave brands little room to absorb the environmental impacts of their business model. As a manufacturer, I've lost count of how many times I've been told "We can't afford eco-friendly materials, because customers won't pay $3 more for a recycled polyester jacket." Cue eye roll!

The experience of seeing the wastefulness of fast fashion first-hand led me to launch Anthora, a sustainable fashion brand and a wake-up call to the industry. Our mission is to make fashion with purpose and ignite positive change. I hope you'll join us on this journey toward ethical, eco-conscious style!

Sincerely,
Hoiki

Photo by Hoiki Liu