lauren mccrostie

‘Pen to Paper’ is a feature on TDP which involves an informal handwritten form of interview between myself and creatives –  from fashion designers, photographers, journalists, artists and musicians, to people who generally inspire me from day-to-day. 

~ READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPT ~

A while ago I had the opportunity to Skype with Lauren McCrostie (who you may have seen on the big screen last year, with her role as Olive in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children) after we connected on Twitter quite some time ago. Although I connect with dozens upon dozens of like minded people, a lot of them are usually directly within the fashion industry so when I get talking with someone who isn’t necessarily within that field, it’s always rather interesting.

Of course, I had to take the opportunity to ask Lauren to answer some questions for my Pen to Paper series because what she had to say was definitely worthy of sharing with the rest of you. It’s always good to see if peoples thoughts align with yours when they’re coming in at it from a different angle.

Being an actress, Lauren has wonderfully gathered a following on her social media platforms and I have to say, I’m really thankful for how she uses that audience. As if Lauren was Rihanna, Lauren holds up ethical brands highly and proudly, which I think we need more of. There’s a common argument that we need to praise fast-fashion brands that are starting to implement sustainable ideas, which is, of course, true to a certain extent, but I believe we need to focus on those who are doing good, just as equally and if not, more so.

And if you’re a vegan or a vegetarian, Lauren’s your go-to gal, as well. And for recycling. She’s got it all covered and she’s utilising the opportunity she has to share it all with a wide range of people.

I hands down agree with Lauren that making change and following a path of having ethics in mind can feel downright empowering. I feel as if it should feel even more empowering to a younger generation (myself and Lauren included – she’s 21 and already a superstar!), which is why I’m always trying to be as positive and as inspiring as I can be across my platforms.

Even if all this post does is inspire you to click the follow button on Lauren’s Instagram, I’ll be happy. I’m excited to see what she’s planning for the future and how she can use her platform to continue pushing for changes.

How would you answer these questions? Let me know in the comments!

Do you feel inspired? If so, perhaps you might be interested in nominating Tolly Dolly Posh for an Observer Ethical Award. If you believe my commitment to ethical fashion is award-winning, click this link and leave my name, link and a few words in the Young Green Leaders category. 

I’ve had this thought in my mind for a while now but I’ve never really known how to make the little seed in my mind into something helpful and useful for the rest of you but after a recent conversation with the wonderful and talented Lauren McCrostie, I finally realised my thought’s potential and it all starts with four very simple words – we all wear clothes.

FEATURED: Floral Trousers (ASOS Africa) // All others (Second-hand/Vintage) 

The reason for highlighting this simple phrase and statement is because I believe it is one idea that we can all understand and learn from especially when it comes to ethical education and conscious consumerism. There are a lot of terminologies thrown around when it comes to the issue of fast-fashion and ethics, so much so that the ethical platform, Project JUST, has a full page dedicated to slang terms you might not know the definition of.

In fact, it starts just there, with the phrase ‘fast-fashion’. It’s the most commonly used term when it comes to trying to explain why the shops we find on the high-street aren’t all as pretty as they seem and why the earth is being damaged by an industry which is supposed to be full of glamour and beauty. Although the term is relatively easy to understand – it’s the system in which provides fast and cheap fashion, producing large amounts of stock and creating large amounts of profit – if you were to use the phrase in everyday conversation, understandably, not everyone will understand you straight off the bat.

As someone who is expanding their knowledge of ethics and sustainability daily, I can admit that life was a lot easier to take for granted before it all started to click for me. Although I was aware of certain issues like waste and global warming, I now take it into consideration in my daily life, even if it’s in a context which isn’t remotely related to fashion or my clothes. It’s just within me now, to try and do better.

But with these phrases and words and all of the nitty gritty information, can we get just about anybody to understand the negative impacts of what we wear, by only focusing on ‘fast-fashion’ and ‘the industry’? And no, I’m not going back on what I said in my piece about second-hand shopping – the industry is important to understand but perhaps it’s not vital when trying to get people to start questioning their choices.

A great way to explain this more simply is looking at our food. Just like the statement ‘we all wear clothes’, the majority of us fortunate to be even having this discussion, are all able to say ‘we all eat food’. The food industry is often used as a way to explain what we mean by ‘transparency’, as, in recent years, it has become a lot more open to sharing where produce comes from, leading consumers to become more aware of what they’re actually consuming. It’s all essential to our lives and we all care in some respect or another because every day we aim to eat three healthy meals.

So, why don’t we all care about where our clothes come from if we’re putting them on our bodies just as frequently? Even beauty and make-up can inspire us – we care about what we put on our skin with what chemicals are being used or whether an animal has been used to test a product prior to being sold.

This is a reason why Fashion Revolution’s #WhoMadeMyClothes campaign should be so easy to get people behind. The term ‘clothes’ strips things down to the basics of what we all wear. Asking where our clothes come from is a lot easier to do than asking why H&M is producing 52 micro-collections a year; that’s fashion (fast-fashion, specfically). If we start to separate the two terms, clothes and fashion into two separate entities, then we’re more likely to get just about anybody on board in some shape or form.

Returning to food, there are a lot of questions we can adapt to our clothes. Questions like – What are you eating? How do you store your food? What do you do with old food? – can all be changed to revolve around clothing and get people thinking in that same way about something which is essentially, affecting us all in the same way. As a whole, we try to eat healthy food and we store it in the fridge or in a cool dry place. We recycle food and put scraps on the compost. If the fashion industry is supposedly the 2nd most polluting industry on the planet, why are we not all taking on this same mindset? It’s seems simple, really.

For those of you who are already starting to become more conscious consumers or are wondering how to go about spreading the message, here are some questions which can get people thinking in very simple terms:

~ QUESTIONS ~

Don’t stop there though, if you’re interested in learning even more or want to start asking some more in-depth questions, then make sure to take a look at my educational resources from the past year. They should be helpful for you, your friends and family and anyone else you want to pass on knowledge too. Oh and don’t forget, ethical fashion shouldn’t make you feel bad, either.

How do you think we can get people on board with ethical fashion? Let me know in the comments!