By Meg Pirie

My partner recently built me a floor-to-ceiling bookcase. Within seconds of its completion, the bookcase was full – books that had been used to prop up a bedside lamp; had acted as a plinth for my heels (from a previous life); and books that had been hidden for their sheer quantity under my bed – all made their way to their newly allocated shelves.

I have always loved to read and will often read a book to understand something better, before I search online. Unlike the internet, where information is often fragmented and shallow, books offer a more in-depth and nuanced understanding of a topic. I’m not saying that the internet isn’t an immense resource, but more that it has also become a platform for misinformation and that there has never been a better time to critically analyse what we’re being told.

That being said, and although my list regularly updates, I have compiled my most up-to-date list of my top 5 books on sustainable fashion. You can request any of these books at your local library or bookshop – keeping it local is always better.

1. Routledge Handbook of Sustainability and Fashion, edited by Kate Fletcher and Mathilda Tham

Although this book was published in 2015 it packs a punch on the topic of sustainable fashion. Containing the work of leading thinkers and activists, the handbook is a truly collaborative initiative and takes a multidisciplinary approach while suggesting creative initiatives to the topics of: fashion in a post-growth society; fashion, diversity and equity; fashion, fluidity and balance across natural, social and economic systems.

2. Fibreshed: Growing a Movement of Farmer, Fashion Activists, and Makers for a New Textile Economy, by Rebecca Burgess

A must-read for anyone interested in delving further into the current disconnect between the clothes we wear and our understanding of their impact on the environment, labour and human health. This book pushes the idea of localism to another level, and offers a farm-to-closed view of the clothes we wear. The book provides readers with a perspective of how natural plant dyes and fibres (think wool, cotton, hemp and flax) can be grown and processed within a scalable and restorative agricultural system.

3. The Sustainable Fashion Handbook by Sandy Black

Although again, this was published as far back as 2012, this handbook has an incredibly comprehensive view of sustainability in the fashion sector. The book is divided into five thematic chapters covering every aspect of contemporary fashion from culture to waste and business. Each chapter presents an array of illustrated articles including essays by leading writers and thinkers, statements from designers such as Stella McCartney, the late Vivienne Westwood, Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake, as well as presenting future scenarios which set out how things could be if we do – or don't – succeed in enacting radical change.

4. Open Source Fashion Cookbook, by Angela Luna and Loulwa Al Saad

Designed to democratise sustainable and ethical fashion, enabling all people – especially communities that cannot traditionally afford to shop from responsible brands – to participate in responsible consumption. The book offers detailed ‘recipes’ including step-by-step illustrations from six contemporary fashion brands with ‘recipes’ that vary in difficulty, from no-sew easy basics to more advanced designs. Not only an instructional handbook, the essays from industry leaders also offer an interesting perspective on what can be done to transition the fashion sector, sustainably speaking.

5. Wardrobe Crisis: How We Went from Sunday Best to Fast Fashion Paperback, by Clare Press

Global Sustainability Expert for Fashion Roundtable, Clare Press, proposes a persuasive argument for a fashion revolution, peppered with wit. Clare explores the history and ethics behind what we wear, examining the entire fashion ecosystem, from sweatshops to haute couture and unearthing the roots of today’s buy-and-discard culture. This book is insightful and compelling and a real-source of reference and the fact that Clare offers this from an ‘insider’s point of view’ ensures this is also relevant.

My Top 5 Books On Sustainable Fashion