THIS year, Love Island will use second-hand clothing, ending its fast fashion love affair.
Here, sustainable Cumbrian business Ascendancy Apparel shares sustainability tips.
Instead of being clothed in the very latest brands, this year’s Love Island lineup of toned and tanned singletons will be wearing second-hand clothes.
The 2022 series of Love Island teamed up with eBay, in a major break from previous years, with sponsors such as Missguided and I Saw It First.
The second brand is owned by Boohoo, and sells clothes for as little as £2.80; fast fashion in its purest form. According to the show’s bosses, Love Island is now striving to be 'a more eco-friendly production.'
Laurie Crayston, director of Ascendancy Apparel, grew up in Frizington. He always loved exploring and Ascendancy is a combination of his love of the outdoors and his creative side.
Laurie and his brand strives to be more sustainable and highlight the issues fast fashion causes.
As Love Island cuts ties with fast fashion, Laurie says: "From a brand and larger global welfare point of view, anything that promotes sustainability in any form can only be a good thing."
READ MORE: 'There’s no stigma in wearing pre-loved clothes' - the North’s growing waste problem
Many have doubted whether to move to support more sustainable choices will have any influence on the audience's behaviour, Laurie said: "I think any program with that level of exposure would have an influence on consumer behaviour.
"If Love Island is seen by many as an example of what is 'cool' then I'm sure the masses will begin to adopt sustainable fashion faster than they would've otherwise."
Ascendancy Apparel sell a mixture of both casual and technical clothing suitable for a variety of outdoor pursuits.
Laurie spoke about how his company remains green and sustainable: "All of our items are either WRAP (world responsible accredited production) or Fairwear certified, and we are moving towards using solely recycled or organic materials in our products.
"The majority of our latest S/S collection was made up of fitness products containing recycled material.
"Moving forward our plan is to phase out anything that isn't either recycled or organic."
Laurie shared tips on how we can make more sustainable choices in our lives: "Quite simply, buy less things.
"Take better care of items so that they last, try to repair things rather than replacing them, and choose from sustainable brands when you do need to buy something."
READ MORE: Cumbria County Council take the top tier in enviromental report
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