Sustainability has never looked so appealing, walking in to a fresh new concept.

This event was put on to raise awareness of sustainability and eco’ friendly alternatives to fast fashion. Cleverly put on at a venue that is in the heart of industrial style warehouses often used for fashion purposes in Cheetham Hill Manchester. This will help spread the word of alternative fashion resources in small and larger scale businesses.

The Yard is a creative, collective space for people to use and has been home to the Future Fashion Fair for a year.

After being invited to hold a stall for their First birthday celebratory event it was a fresh experience.

Arriving in anticipation as the other vendors were setting up their individual stalls. A collection of quirky and interesting stalls surrounded us, up-cycled pieces, one off items made with sustainable fabric and vintage pieces.

Our items were curated vintage pieces from a local charity shop, in the shop we get a cascade of stock from several of the other shops that also are raising money for the same charity and are able to curate our stock. Our items also do not get sent on to landfill which is one of the reasons we were keen to join the vendors this year.

We wanted to raise awareness for part of our Secondhand September cause.

The venue offered a choice of plant based food which was situated just outside of the main atrium in the outside area. They also had a DJ and music playing throughout the day.

It also had a vast collection of outside stalls as well as an area dedicated to a Swap Shop. This seems to be a concept on the rise among people who are wanting to have a new item but to swap it for something they already have and don’t wear anymore. This is a innovative way to get people to re home pieces that others will use again.

There were also talks and workshops on run by sustainable fashion experts. Sharing knowledge on how to reuse items and discussing important matters on your individual impacts on the environment.

This gave the day a high sense of community.

This event is ever growing and is full to the brim with creatives all coming together for shared enthusiasm for helping the environment through the slow fashion movement and making a stand against fast fashion industries and their pollutive ways towards planet earth.

Some of the other vendors told me that

“it’s been a great place to be able to meet like minded people and network with Manchester based businesses wanting to carve a sustainable path for fashion.”

“This event has been running a year and has been gaining more popularity each time bringing different people to each event as well as some of the same faces, a community feel.

To find out more about The Future Fashion Fair click here.

To find out more about The Yard click here