Stepping into a Sustainable Future: Fixing my boots

Guest Post by Amber Tree:

Dear Wellington Boots Project – Fixing my Boots

Last month I was lucky enough to be invited to the Dear Wellington Boots panel, as part of the London Design Festival. I went along with Ali Clifford to this event hosted by London-based stylist and circular economy advocate Bunmi Abidogun with panel guests: Helen Kirkum, Elijah Grey Dalley, Valeria Pulici and Joyce Addai-Davis.

This panel gave me a whole new perspective on the fashion industry. Looking specifically at the future of the footwear space and the controversies of the wellington boot. I’ve often wondered how one would go about fixing a pair of broken welly boots—thanks to Bunmi, I have my answer! Keep reading to find out!

The conversation revolved around something that affects us all, our planet and its future. By looking at concepts of circularity and how these concepts work in practice, this panel gave an incredibly inspiring talk on how sustainability can be encouraged in the fashion world.

Bunmi’s ‘Dear Wellington Boots’ project

Bunmi kicked everything off with a humorous yet relatable story. Like many Londoners, in an attempt to survive the horrifically rainy weather, she invested in a pair of wellington boots.

But as we all know – nothing lasts forever. As time went on and the boots wore down, the previously practical wellies became very impractical. Here’s the problem however, when she searched for a repair shop to fix her boots, there was no one offering repairs for wellies in London. Ironically, on a trip to South Korea, the repair shops didn’t bat an eye when she requested to fix her older plastic wellies. This expedition exposed a serious concern, bringing to attention the UK’s casual acceptance of a ‘throwaway culture’ and ultimately sparked the inspiration for the Dear Wellington Boots Project. Check out the image too, encapsulating Bunmi’s process through a letter to her very own wellington boots!

While sitting there and watching Bunmi take us through her journey, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the rather similar situation my mother had with fixing her boots. She had bought her welly boots from a second hand shop in Camden market. While the boots lasted a rather long time, eventually holes started to poke through. To keep the wellies going, my mother used duct tape to cover these new unpractical holes.

To this day, thanks to a bit of duct tape, the wellies are still kicking and I am able to continue to ‘borrow’ them from my mother. However, wouldn’t it be great if we could simply pop into a local repair shop to fix anything – even trusty old boots – helping us to save money, reduce waste and keep things going a little longer?

Why does the UK have this disposable culture and why is it so hard to fix my boots?

So why do wellies, and most shoes in fact, end up being thrown away instead of repaired or recycled? This is a result of the materials used to create these shoes not being exactly eco-friendly. The more traditional rubber wellies have numerous environmental drawbacks such as deforestation and pollution. Additionally, the synthetic options of PVC are somehow even worse when we look at biodegradability. The designs of these shoes create a one way street from store shelf to landfills.

How is the Dear Wellington Boots project challenging this?

This lack of circularity in the footwear space leaves a consumer relationship which nourishes environmental devastation. The Dear Wellington Boots project however challenges this, calling for change in other fashion brands. This project is urging other artists to consider circularity from the get-go, to design footwear that can be recycled, repaired or even disassembled once worn out. This panel explored how artists can imagine the future of footwear – a future where shoes can be reinvented and given a new life.

Meet the Panellists: How they are reinventing Sustainable Footwear

So, how are the brilliant minds behind the Dear Wellington Boots projects actually challenging the world of fashion. Each panellist has provided their own unique perspective, from exploring waste in cultural heritage to using materials straight from landfills. Here’s a peek into their work:

Joyce Addai-David: Exploring Waste and Culture

Joyce Addai-Davis, known as ‘landfill explorer’ and a tutor at the Royal College of Art (RCA), shared a powerful story. While studying for her master’s degree at RCA, Joyce delved into her Ghanian heritage to understand how waste is perceived within her cultural identity.

On a research trip to Ghana, she spotted something surprising: a pair of New Look shoes washed up on the beach. New Look is not manufactured or sold in Ghana; it simply has no presence in Ghana. So how did these shoes end up on Ghanian shores? In response to these discoveries, Joyce is exploring why we discard footwear and is developing an innovating AI-driven approach to analyse consumer perceptions of shoes and waste. Her goal is to transform the ways we, as consumers, interact with our unwanted garments and the methods behind how we dispose of them.

Elijah Gray Dalley: Fashion straight from waste

Elijah Grey Dalley, a designer who sees the potential in the materials most of us overlook. They incorporate materials that have been salvaged from landfills, using forgotten trash as a foundation for his innovative designs. Elijah’s work gives a new life to these discarded materials, challenging the UK’s disposable culture one step at a time. This approach spotlights how waste can have purpose and a meaningful place in the fashion world.

Valeria Pulici: Bio-based and beyond

Interdisciplinary designer Valeria Pulici is pushing boundaries with her bio-based materials and upcycling. Holding an open approach to fashion, Valeria’s practice involves creating her own bioplastics (yes, handmade bioplastics) and experimenting with them. Most importantly, she is discovering the variety of ways this material can be applied to fashion garments and the huge versatility of what truly can be created. From one-of-a-kind textures to new ways of crafting, Valeria demonstrates how exciting sustainable materials can be. Valeria spotlights the potential biomaterials have to shake up the fashion industry, leading the way for a more circular future.

The common goal: imagining a Circular fashion future

All of these artists share a common goal: to make sustainable, circular fashion a reality. These artists are using their practice to showcase to us, the consumers, what the future of fashion could look like. A future where garments do not get disposed of after a couple years, but instead are designed to live on in new forms.

Helen Kirkum on ‘Sustainability’: what does it really mean?

The awesome Helen Kirkum was moderating this inspiring panel, challenging us to use our critical minds when we hear the term ‘sustainability’. By pointing out how slippery the term can be – in particular how companies too often use the term to greenwash their products. Helen challenges us to look beyond the buzzwords and ask the questions that matter: What are brands actually doing to make their modes of production environmentally responsible and ethical?

In writing this piece, I have used the term ‘sustainability’ as a broad term, referring to how practices can raise environmental and social standards. Helen’s insight however serves as a reminder to stay alert and to ask ourselves what lies beneath the surface. As consumers we need to be informed and carful to not fall for these empty promises.

The Bigger Picture

While this panel held its focus in the footwear space, the concepts discussed can be applied widely within the fashion industry. Dear Wellington Boots calls for the whole industry to embrace more sustainable practices. This project is a prime example that sustainable fashion does not need to be boring – it can be creative, fun and innovative.

Ultimately, this project invites us, the consumers, to rethink our habits. When contemplating how to go about fixing your boots, before you toss them out, consider: What is the afterlife of this product? Can it be repurposed or used in some other way? Dear Wellington Boots encourages us to see our products as part of a cycle, inspiring us to make conscious decisions that break us away from the endless loops of buying and discarding.