The Books To Keep You In The Know

The Books To Keep You In The Know

As we enter the last couple of winter months and patiently await Spring to arrive, now more than ever is the time to search for that extra bit of inspiration and motivation. Whether starting or continuing your slow fashion journey, you can find the motivation by expanding your reading list with a few sustainable fashion books.

The best way to stay updated and informed on sustainable and responsible fashion is with continual education and growth. Books will help shape your perspective on how businesses and consumers can approach environmental and other sustainability problems. A book will offer a more in-depth analysis by looking at the entire industry as an ecosystem or honing in on a specific issue or event.

We have compiled four sustainable fashion books Tulerie feels are worth reading or listening to this year. We researched book reviews from Conscious Life & Style, Vogue, and I-D to describe each book's content and its recommended reader.
We encourage you to add these to your reading list and share amongst the community what you learned and how you will move forward on this journey of sustainable fashion.

1. Consumed | The Need for Collective Change: Colonialism, Climate, and Consumerism by Aja Barber
Author Aja Barber is a writer, stylist, and consultant. She released her debut book in 2021 and has become a must-follow Instagram user as she drives authenticity and change. Her book makes a powerful statement within the first few pages as she blatantly asks industry CEO’s what their businesses and the future of fashion would be like if they valued humanity over profit and sales. This book has been recommended for both industry professionals and beginners. She touches on a challenging conversation but a very needed one involving colonialism and fashion’s role in slavery. However, she still adds funny commentary and story-telling notes that make her writing relatable. The pace of the read is medium and offers an illuminating, honest, candid, and inspiring tone for its readers.

2. How to Break Up With Fast Fashion: A Guilt-Free Guide to Changing Up the Way You Shop for Good by Lauren Bravo

Lauren Bravo is a journalist who has written for Grazia, Refinery29 UK, Cosmopolitan, the Telegraph, the Guardian, and more. She released this book in 2020, and it's the perfect start to your conscious fashion journey. Bravo describes this book as a guide because she offers all the tips and tricks you need to stop purchasing fast fashion and change to a slower consumption model. This could be your answer if you want that extra push to break consumption habits. However, Bravo still recognizes and addresses the challenges of changing consumption habits like size privilege, income, and time. The pace of the read is medium to fast, and Bravo’s relatable, practical, funny, and light- hearted tone makes the reader feel the goals outlined in the guide are achievable.

3. The Conscious Closet: The Revolutionary Guide to Looking Good While Doing Good by Elizabeth Cline

Author Elizabeth Cline is a journalist who has another popular sustainable fashion book worth mentioning and reading, titled, Over-Dressed. She released her second book, The Conscious Closet, in 2019 to educate people on secondhand shopping, fashion activism, and tips on properly caring for your clothing. What is very nice about this read is that you would still walk away with valuable information even if you picked it up for just a light or skim reading. Building off the idea of a capsule wardrobe or solely buying clothing worth the investment, Cline shapes a curated guide on building that desired yet more sustainable wardrobe. However, Cline voiced that she wants the reader to know that this book isn't a style guide but rather a manifesto that calls sustainable policies to action. The
pace of the read is medium and has a conversational yet actionable tone.

4. To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out The World? By Lucy Siegle

Although this book was published in 2009, it is still relevant to today's conversations. Lucy Siegle is a British journalist who wrote one of the first comprehensive guides with a transparent research-based approach. Siegle uses facts, interviews, and other first-hand experiences to tell the story of water pollution, government worker dangers, wages, and exploitation of animals and the environment. I-D described it as the perfect starter book for those wanting to learn more about the darker side of fashion. However, instead of dwelling on the negatives, Siegle puts in place an action plan so individual consumers can be a part of the change. There has been significant change within the industry since
the book was initially published; however, the points addressed can still be applied to today's events. The pace of the read is medium and has a journalistic and persuasive tone.

-As always, elevate your wardrobe with respected fashion and embrace the shift in style