In a World of Hyper-Consumption, Does Crochet Stand a Chance?
How our local, slow, and sustainable fashion brand endures within the fast-paced attention economy.
Image: Thibaut Grevet × Imruh Ashra
Every year, it feels like life moves faster and faster, but as an inherently slow practice, crochet demands an embodied and mindful focus, asking us to tune out all the noise, and engage deeply in craft.
Here at LOOSENDS, we’re interested in what this can mean for us in a larger sense: in both our overall brand vision, and also our day-to-day practices. With trend cycles moving at an unrealistic pace, and the global fashion industry hyper-focused on fast mass production, we at LOOSENDS are exploring what it means to slow down and actively resist the ever-growing push toward quantity over quality. Since day one, we’ve done things 100% by hand, and while it may seem contradictory, to try and expand while creating so slowly, we’re seeing the payoff in our communities, both in person and online.
From our first Saturday Marché back in May 2025, where we featured local Montréal brands.
Fast fashion is a $150.82 billion industry, and it is estimated to nearly double by 2032. It’s the third biggest polluter in the world - contributing 10% of the world’s global carbon emissions from production alone (2023 United Nations Environment Programme). In addition to its global impacts, fast fashion pushes its consumers to act impulsively, spend money without thinking, and attach their identity to the trends that they follow.
It's exhausting. We're all exhausted. Exhausted by the endless mental depletion of capitalism, the constant bombardment of pressure to consume and buy more, to replace our closet every season; by the feeling that we are forever fitting and shrinking into standards that don't reflect who we really are.
Image by Emanuele Morelli
“We aren’t looking to compete with fast fashion.
We are in a league completely of our own.”
More and more people are turning away from this endless defeating cycle in search of intentional artistry and meaningful community. That’s where we see LOOSENDS. There is growing recognition that this wasteful cycle of endless drops, disposable garments and manufactured urgency isn't working for anyone, except the mass corporations who profit off of it.
When LOOSENDS began, we realized that community, story and intentional slowness is the best recipe for resisting a fashion industry consumed by urgency and financial gain.
Building community has been central to shaping the LOOSENDS brand, and we’re only leaning into that more. This inherently slow art form opens doors for connection, which we’ve really been able to explore this year. A highlight of our journey was starting our very own Saturday Marché small business market, where we had the opportunity to host local artists and makers in our studio. We got to connect with guests and learn from community oriented small businesses who share the same values as us and believe that embracing intentionality is worth the extra work it takes to grow a small creative brand in the 21st century.
Photography by @liam.iso
Our purpose runs deep, from our community events and customer interactions, right down to the sustainable materials we use to craft our products.
Each LE bag is made from 100% reclaimed t-shirt fabric.
What is reclaimed t-shirt fabric? It is scraps of fabric from discarded clothing that, instead of sitting in a landfill, get transformed into yarn which is then used to crochet our bags. A 2020 study from the Textile Exchange estimated that recycled yarn reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 32% compared to conventional yarn production, and producing yarn from recycled materials can reduce waste sent to landfills by 65%! Sustainability is a core pillar to us, and it goes beyond quality materials that can withstand extended wear, to versatile and functional pieces that echo you - and accompany you through ever evolving unique style, personality, and rhythm.
Looking Ahead
Crochet is evolving beyond tradition, merging artistry with modern fashion and lifestyle, and we’re here to guide it in the right direction. Could sustainable, community-driven crochet brands like LOOSENDS be leading us all towards slowing down? Towards emphasizing quality over quantity? For us, it's a no-brainer.
But the bigger question is, how do we hold our own and stand on our values in a capitalist fast-paced world?
What we do know is that choosing to create slowly, repurpose materials and craft pieces meant to last already feels like a quiet act of resistance, and a reminder that slow fashion makes a big impact.
Crochet is inherently slow, and nothing’s gonna change that. At LOOSENDS, we invite you to join us in embracing slowness this winter, through shopping with intention this holiday season, and finding and crafting items rooted in creativity, community, and sustainability. In this spirit, we’re excited to share what we’ve been working on — our DUSK bag restock launched on November 10th and features 2 new colours we’ve been loving, as well as our new crochet bag charms. And for fellow crocheters, we’ve got LOOSENDS Yarn available here so you can join our sustainable crochet journey.
