HS Styles Gives Back With the #WearSlow Movement

Have you ever wanted to make a difference in the world, but just didn't know where to start?

If you look around, you'll see the world is FULL of problems that need solving, but seemingly, almost no one is working to fix them.

Sure there's a few programs here and there that aim to do good, but they don't get anywhere near the attention or exposure they need to bring about change.

Why? Because bringing awareness to environmental or social issues just isn't important to most people these days.

Oddly enough, everybody cares when they're diagnosed with cancer, when a child is seen suffering, or when an animal is on the edge of extinction...

But the sad truth is, no one really cares about anything, until things get CRITICAL!

Then, and ONLY then, do people demand change. But unless that "critical" issue gets proper media attention, proper funding to get things done, and a system to make sure whatever went wrong before, doesn't happen again, the same old problems will come back...

With a vengeance...

What problems has HS Styles decided to tackle?

The following are two VERY BIG issues we're attacking head-on, and how we're getting things done…

1.)Child pregnancy, illiteracy, & poverty in 3rd world countries.

In India (and many parts of Africa, and Southeast Asia), the level of poverty experienced by most people is extreme!

Oftentimes, children don't even have basic necessities such as food, water, or a SAFE place to live. However, the only thing provided to them (in some places), is school!

But there's a catch... If you don't have a uniform, you can't go to class! And as a poor young girl on the streets of India, if you can’t attend school, you could quickly find yourself pregnant, illiterate (unable to read or write), and doomed to continue the cycle of poverty.

This is devastating to a young girl’s life. While the rest of the world moves forward, kids are forced to become adults, and never get to experience a happy & healthy childhood they deserve.

This has to stop…but how?

For EVERY ITEM WE SELL , $10 is donated to buy school uniforms for poor young girls in India, Africa, and right here in Bali! This helps them get the education they need, which helps develop essential life-skills, allowing them to go out into the world, become successful in a field of their own choosing, and break the cycle of poverty in their community!

2.)Fashion companies that destroy VAST amounts of ecosystems, rapidly produce TONS of clothing, and use child labor to make it happen.

“Fast” VS “Slow” Fashion…

According to Wikipedia, 

“Fast fashion clothing collections are based on the most recent fashion trends presented at Fashion Week in both the spring and the autumn of every year.”

In other words, Fast Fashion is how BIG-brands CASH-IN on what’s “HOT” by quickly releasing new collections as quickly as possible.

This may seem harmless, but in reality, this practice does MAJOR damage to our planet, and puts a tremendous strain on the planet's NON-renewable resources!

How do we “slow” it down?

Instead of chasing trends that die out as soon as they’re born, we chose to go a different route…

HS Styles designs 100%, All-ORIGINAL, high-quality clothing, that use as many EARTH & LIFE-FRIENDLY materials as possible!

This choice has three amazing benefits attached to it...

First, by creating unique, and highly sought-after designs, WE have the power to set trends instead of being a forced to follow them. 

Second, WE control the “flow” of resources used in our creation process, and slow down the excess use of fabrics, toxic dyes, etc., and their harmful effects on plant, animal, and human life.

AKA… “Slow” Fashion!

Third, WE become the ULTIMATE example for other brands that actually want to do good in the world, and still make a profit by PROTECTING the earth instead of destroying it...

What materials do we use? (and why it matters...)

In the world of fashion, there’s an endless amount of designs, and brands to choose from. Although many companies are unique in their own right, the overwhelming majority are identical when it comes to their choice of materials…

Every MAJOR fashion brand uses some form of cotton, leather, wool, polyester, etc. to make their clothing. But what most people don’t know about these materials, is how much is wasted to produce them!

For example… It literally takes 700 gallons of water to make a shirt… ONE T-SHIRT! If you think that’s crazy, let’s take a look at the bigger picture. The average American will throw away 81 pounds of clothing in a year. This adds up to roughly 26 BILLION POUNDS of materials in landfills!

Now, if it takes 700 gallons of water to produce ONE shirt, how much of Earth’s MOST PRECIOUS and NON-RENEWABLE resource (water), is lost every year?

The numbers are ASTRONOMICAL! ...and that’s just in North America!

...So what fabrics do we use?

-Modal: This uses 50% LESS water than cotton. Since you now know the insane amount of clothing tossed into landfills every year, just imagine how much more water would be available today if every company used this fabric type instead of relying on regular cotton!

-Bamboo: This eco-friendly alternative to cotton is FAST-GROWING,  SELF-REGENERATES after being harvested, and doesn’t require harmful fertilizers that destroy the soil! And here’s the BEST part… once Bamboo has been rooted in the ground for about 3-5 years, it no longer needs water to grow! When grown right, Bamboo literally uses “negative” amounts of water!    

-Organic Cotton: This material is grown using methods that have the lowest impact on the environment possible! That means no toxic pesticides, insecticides, or harmful fertilizers. It also uses MUCH LESS WATER to produce, which takes the strain off of our LIMITED fresh-water supply from rivers, lakes and natural springs.

And last but not least...

-As many earth & life-conscious materials we can find!

No matter what anyone says, you can make a difference in this world, and impact the lives of ALL living things on this planet…

We all know at least one person throughout history who has changed the course of our world, simply because their ideas, and actions, were so different, they had a lasting effect on people.

So at the end of the day, the fate of our fragile blue world, depends on you…

This is why we give back… #WearSlow

We’re on a mission to educate the world on the difference between “slow” and “fast” fashion! We’re doing so by using eco-friendly materials that REDUCE WASTE and damage to our planet instead of adding to it.

To help bring awareness to this movement, we created the hashtag, #WearSlow. All you have to do is post a pic or video wearing one of our outfits on instagram, twitter, or facebook with that hashtag, and let the world know you’re part of the family, and most of all... part of the solution!

Is eco-conscious clothing more expensive? Yes.. you may pay a bit more for fashion with materials like modal, bamboo, or organic cotton, but your clothes will last 3-TIMES LONGER!

This actually saves you MORE money in the long-run, and reduces several negative side-effects of fast-fashion.

In other words, if you really want to make a difference, but don’t know where to start, all you have to do is support a brand that takes sustainability SERIOUS, and makes giving back a TOP-PRIORITY!

This is why we fight…

Every 24 hours, a habitat is destroyed through logging, forest fires, chemical spills, trash dumping, etc… the list goes on…

But plants, animals, and marine life, aren’t the only victims of these selfish, and *very* dangerous practices.

In places like India, Bali, and many African nations, the population affected the most by fast-fashion, are children! ...This is why HS Styles exists, and why we’re fighting to bring change.

This is why we support young female entrepreneurs, and help them to realize their dreams by being able to go to school, and to not become another victim of circumstances outside their control.

We fight because we know the consequences of OVER-producing fast-fashion styles. But the sad, and scary thing is… companies like Zara, and Forever 21 to name a few, are fully aware of what’s going on, and the damage they're causing to this planet…

They simply don’t care.

Because of this, we fight for all living things to survive here.

HS Styles believes that...

-No child should be mistreated, be deprived of an education, or be forced into adulthood by others.

-No animals should die of starvation, or be hunted to extinction for us to look “cute”,

and…

-NONE OF US should continue destroying OUR PLANET after knowing how fragile it is, and how much we depend on it for our survival.

This is why we get up in the morning, and why we do what needs to be done, every single day…

This is why we GIVE BACK!

Because if we don’t... who else will?

 

From Bali, With Love...

-Hanalei Swan.