It will come as a surprise to no one that the fashion industry is the third largest and cruellest pollutant to our world. But what can we expect – I am sure many of us have seen the TikToks, Reels and many Instagram stories of fashion influencers promoting their monthly or even sometimes weekly fashion hauls! It is important to stop your social media from being cluttered with product pushing influencers but instead fill your social media with creative and sustainable led influencers; below are a range of fashion influencers that promote important messages and content surrounding this topic of sustainability.
Basma Whayeb – @besmacc
Platform: Instagram and Blog.
Known for: Founder of @ethicalinfluencers and promotes low impact living
The first thing that you notice on Basma’s Instagram is how chic it is. Her feed is filled with outfit pictures, simple informational posts and generally aesthetic pictures. Her blog is very much an extension of her Instagram where she writes articles about her personal experience, clean beauty, and low impact fashion, as well as other topics. She is the founder of @ethicalinfluencers, which promoters smaller content creators that are ethical: perfect if you are on the lookout for new pages to follow!
Kathleen Elie – @consciousnchic
Platform: Instagram, Blog and YouTube
Known for: Promoting small changes that make a big difference
Kathleen is certainly well established in the sustainable fashion industry; she has been blogging since 2009. Her Instagram promotes bright colourful yet, still chic fashion – which is of course sustainable. She has developed a brand-named Conscious Chic which has its own platforms. On their Instagram, there are motivational posts and fun reels. The blog is a larger resource that will answer pretty much any question you could ever have about sustainability. The YouTube channel provides helpful videos with tips and advice on ‘how to …’ topics. Overall, her message is to aim for progress and not perfection.
Victoria Magrath @inthefrow
Platform: Instagram, YouTube and Personal Blog
Known for: Lifestyle and fashion blogging
Victoria Magrath started her blog when she at the University of Manchester getting her PhD, yes that right, she is a Doctor of Fashion – pretty cool! Since then, she has moved on too many other platforms and collaborated with many luxury brands such as Dyson hair, Holland and copper and BVLGARI. She admits that she owns a lot of clothes but explains how she takes step to only buy what she must and is very conscious. Victoria is a big advocate for investment buy and then styling it multiple different ways (for which she has many YouTube tutorials). Her thoughtfulness doesn’t stop at fashion, she has many videos showing some easy, simple swaps that she has made in her life, to be more sustainable. So, if you like fun real, lifestyle vlog and high-end fashion, she is worth the follow.
@Susiegarvie
Platform: Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Pinterest
Known for: Her vibarant and edgy style, whilst promoting smaller brands
Just like many of us Susie is based in Leeds, Hyde Park and stayed after graduating last year and has begun to develop and larger following, mostly due to her epic styling and outfits. Similar to many other younger influencers, her YouTube videos are centred around hauls and fashion advice. But they have a twist – her videos are either promoting small brands or showcasing her new thrifted items. She also does very useful how to wear/how to style videos. Her channel has a nice, down-to-earth feel in which she shows her unique style which is very refreshing to watch.
I also got the opportunity to have a chat with Susie to talk about her thoughts on sustainable fashion!
How have you developed your style into what is it today?
I think having been interested in fashion for so many years now, I’ve found my sense of style through so much trial and error. I take massive inspiration from who I follow on Instagram, YouTube and on Pinterest and pick and choose what I like from other people’s outfits and give them a go with my style and what I can find around me from charity shops and Depop see what sticks.
Is there anything that helps you be that extra creative?
Yes, I definitely find myself getting those extra creative moments when I’m consuming media that serves me, so by watching my favourite creative YouTubers, like Julia Dang, Chloe Felopulos and Amanda Symonds, looking at my favourite Instagram accounts, as well as scrolling on Pinterest, looking for fashion inspiration, DIY clothing and art in general. Something can pop out to me and send me on a creative spiral, which is the best feeling. Surrounding myself with this sort of content really helps to put me in this headspace, especially if I’m feeling low and stuck within my style or my art.
Which platform is your favourite? And why?
That’s really tough to choose. Maybe I’d have to say YouTube as I love long format content, where you can really connect with someone for more than just 60 seconds. And I love editing so seeing others have fun with how they make their videos is really inspiring to me and way more valuable than content I consume on other platforms.
What makes sustainable fashion so important to you?
The environmental consequences and the people involved are why I love and promote sustainable fashion so much. It is scary to think how prevalent fast fashion still is within our generation and I’m hoping that by showing alternative ways to shop, more people will be changing their habits, as every purchase really does make a difference.
A quote that you live by?
One that I have always said is ‘everything happens for a reason’ as well as a new one (thank you TikTok) ‘I don’t chase, I attract, what belongs to me will simply find me’
What are your future goals!
My end goal is to start a sustainable fashion brand using pre-existing fabric to make it as eco-friendly as possible
Top tips for someone who wants to start shopping sustainable/thrifting etc.
Have fun with it! Go with friends so you can have a second opinion on pieces, be open minded and think of how things would look off the hanger and what you can do through DIY to make something fit your style more.
Do you have any other thoughts on the topic of sustainability?
There’s a quote that’s something like the most sustainable thing you can buy is already in your wardrobe – which is so true. Just because something is made ethically and sustainably, or second hand doesn’t mean it needs to be in your wardrobe. I’m guilty of this for sure and need to get better at parting with clothes and saying no to things that are too similar to something I already own.
I also love sustainable fashion as DIY clothes fit into this category. Upcoming something you already own gives you new clothes for free and saves that item going into landfill if it can’t get sold on to someone else. Sustainable fashion also breeds so much creativity as you can make your clothes into something completely new that no one else will have.