Redressing the System: Fashion’s Responsibility with Venetia La Manna

The Turning Point: Venetia La Manna’s Journey into Sustainable Fashion

Sophia: Your work as a fair fashion campaigner is inspiring. What was the pivotal moment or series of events that led you to dedicate your life to sustainable and ethical fashion? Is there a specific story that opened your eyes to the realities of the fashion industry and compelled you to take action?

Venetia: In 2020 [during the pandemic], I realised that ethical shopping alone wasn’t enough—garment workers worldwide were having their wages stolen by major fashion corporations. This led me to co-found Remember Who Made Them with friends, amplifying garment workers’ voices and demands. Through conversations with garment makers in Mexico, Bangladesh, Pakistan and beyond, it became clear that brands hold all the power—setting wages, dictating rights, and controlling access to healthcare and paid leave.

At the same time, the PayUp campaign was fighting to unlock billions in unpaid wages, demonstrating the power of social media as a tool for solidarity. Seeing people take direct action, signing petitions, calling out brands, shifted my perspective. Now, while I support ethical brands, my focus is on holding corporations accountable and standing with the communities most impacted by fashion’s waste crisis.

Personal Connection to Clothing

Sophia: Your wardrobe is a reflection of your values and journey. Could you share the story behind one of your most treasured items of clothing? What makes it so meaningful to you, and how does it embody your relationship with fashion?

Venetia: It’s a plain black t-shirt, originally from American Apparel, but it has a much deeper story. My friend Chloe, who lives in Accra, Ghana, sourced it for me from Kantamanto Market, the largest secondhand clothing market in the world. Every week, around 15 million used garments arrive there, mostly from the Global North, including the UK.

Chloe upcycled this t-shirt by hand, adding beautiful embroidery before gifting it to me. Not only is it an incredible present from a talented designer and dear friend, but it also carries a powerful message. In many ways, it represents a garment returning to its sender, borrowing the words of the brilliant secondhand upcycling brand, Baza Hill. This t-shirt originally came from the Global North, made its way to Ghana, and now it has returned—where, arguably, it should have remained all along. It’s a piece that embodies my relationship with fashion: mindful, conscious, and deeply connected to the realities of the industry.

Mindful Consumption and Slow Fashion

Sophia: In a world dominated by fast fashion, how do you approach building a wardrobe that aligns with your values? How do you approach shopping for new (or new-to-you) pieces?

Venetia: For me, the first step is celebrating the clothes I already own, adding to their stories rather than replacing them. As part of the Speak Volumes campaign by The Or Foundation, I recently counted my wardrobe—a simple yet eye-opening exercise in transparency, something fashion brands should be doing as part of industry-wide transparency efforts.

I believe in fostering meaningful relationships with my clothes. The more we value them, the more likely we are to take care of them, repair them, and appreciate the hands that made them. Fashion is deeply interconnected with labour rights, and every garment connects us back to the people who crafted it, many of whom are women.

My shopping habits have evolved, from initially over-consuming secondhand fashion to becoming far more intentional. Recently, I’ve started making my own clothes, which has deepened my appreciation for craftsmanship. My first piece, a pair of pyjama bottoms made from 1970s deadstock fabric, has become a wardrobe staple. Moving forward, I plan to continue making rather than buying whenever I need something new.

The "Something Old, Nothing New, Something Borrowed, Something Renewed" Rule

Sophia: Your wedding was a beautiful example of sustainable fashion in action, from your antique lace wedding dress to repurposing childhood dresses for your bridesmaids and encouraging guests to wear something old, nothing new, and something renewed. What inspired you to make these choices, did this rule spark conversations about sustainable fashion among your guests, and do you think it could inspire others to rethink how they approach special occasions?

Venetia: My partner and I wanted our wedding to reflect our passion for sustainability. Our dress code; something old, nothing new, something borrowed, something renewed—encouraged guests to embrace what they already owned rather than buy new. It naturally sparked conversations about the stories behind their outfits, making the day even more meaningful. My own dress, made from antique lace with such history from Jane Bourvis London shop, felt like an extension of my values. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing—it reinforced our commitment to sustainability and hopefully inspired others to rethink how they dress for special occasions.

Fashion as Activism

Sophia: Your upcoming TEDx Talk, "We Are Not Consumers, We Are Citizens!", focuses on solidarity with garment workers and communities in the fashion value chain. How can everyday people move beyond being passive consumers and become active participants in creating a fairer fashion system?

Venetia: Under capitalism, we’re conditioned to believe our only power lies in purchasing. But we are citizens, not just consumers, and we have the power to take action. The best way to do this is through collective organising. Whether it’s joining a climate justice group, a workers’ or renters’ union, a Palestine solidarity movement, or a fair fashion campaign—whatever it is that you’re passionate about. All liberation struggles are interconnected, a free Palestine is climate justice and a thriving fashion industry is climate justice.

If you’re unsure where to start, look into groups like Labour Behind the Label, Clean Clothes Campaign, or the AWAJ Foundation. Many organise online, making it easier than ever to get involved. Taking on systemic issues is far less overwhelming when you do it alongside others.

Renting, Repairing, and Renewing Fashion

Sophia: You’ve embraced renting clothing and repairing garments, to give them a new life. How do you see the role of repair, renewal, and rental in creating a more sustainable fashion industry?

Venetia: Repair, rental, and renewal play a vital role in circular fashion, but these initiatives must go hand in hand with systemic change, like campaigns advocating for extended producer responsibility, where brands are accountable for their garments' entire lifecycle. Disclosing production volumes and ensuring fair wages for garment workers. Overproduction fuels the textile waste crisis, with some of the UK’s so-called "sustainable" brands ranking among the biggest polluters. True change requires pushing for living wages for garment workers, (which would naturally curb overproduction), and demanding full industry transparency.

Some of the biggest British brands with strong sustainability reputations are actually among the worst offenders when it comes to pollution. For example, Marks & Spencer is the number one biggest British polluter found on beaches in Ghana. While repair and renewal initiatives are great, they must be coupled with fair living wages for garment workers. When workers are paid fairly, brands would have to produce less, reducing the sheer volume of clothing flooding the market and causing environmental harm.

Calling Out Greenwashing

Sophia: Why do you think greenwashing is so prevalent, and how can consumers cut through the noise to identify genuinely sustainable brands?

Venetia: Greenwashing is rampant because brands know people want to shop ethically. They respond with "conscious" collections and take-back schemes, but these are often smokescreens. A simple way to cut through the noise? Look at who owns the brand. If it’s a global giant, it’s likely operating unsustainably.

If a brand is operating on a global scale, chances are it isn’t truly sustainable. Large-scale production inherently conflicts with sustainability goals, no matter how ethical a company claims to be. One way to assess a brand’s commitment is to look at its size, if it’s a smaller brand, reach out directly and ask key questions: Are they paying their garment workers a fair living wage? How many items do they produce annually? Are they willing to sign the Speak Volumes campaign for transparency? These questions cut through marketing buzzwords and help consumers make informed choices.

The Role of Policy in Fashion

Sophia: What role do transparency and accountability play in creating a fashion industry that truly prioritises the planet and its people?

Transparency is crucial but not a solution in itself. Right now, fashion brands produce between 80 and 150 billion garments annually, an enormous data gap of 70 billion. With this high level of churn, no amount of organic cotton or recycled polyester will save us, and without concrete data, we can’t enforce policies to cap production or hold brands financially responsible for their environmental impact. Transparency is the first step toward real accountability.

It is crucial that the solutions we uplift are ones coming directly from the communities who are most impacted by Big Fashion’s systemic oversupply. The Or Foundation, a nonprofit working with the Kantamanto community, is asking all fashion brands to share their annual production numbers and Speak Volumes. From here, we can close the data gap and build globally accountable Extended Producer Responsibility [EPR] to ensure that brands are held responsible for the entire life cycle of a garment.

Baking Up a Storm: Recipes for Accountability

Sophia: Your recipe videos, like “Icky Toffee Pudding” for Zara and “Dead Velvet Cake” for Shein, are a creative way to spark conversations about fashion brands and hold them accountable. Have you received any reactions - positive or negative, from the brands you’ve featured? Do you think it inspires them to change, or does it empower consumers to think critically about their choices?

Venetia: Early on, fast fashion brands engaged with me, but that’s no longer the case, especially with my Recipe for Disaster series. I haven’t had responses from Coca-Cola or LVMH, for example.

That said, the public reaction has been incredible. People are increasingly frustrated with corporate greed, and these videos help them feel more informed and empowered to question brands. While it’s hard to measure their direct impact, I hope they contribute to a broader awareness of greenwashing, labour rights abuses, and environmental destruction by billion-dollar corporations.

Fashion and Identity

Sophia: Fashion is often tied to identity and self-expression. How do you balance expressing yourself through clothing while staying true to your values of sustainability and ethical consumption?

Venetia: I aim to build meaningful relationships with my clothes, knowing their history, who made them, and the memories attached. But sustainability isn’t just about what we wear; it’s about how we engage with the world.

For me, ethical fashion is one part of a larger commitment to systemic change. While I love storytelling through clothing, my focus is on activism, organising, and pushing for industry-wide reform. True impact comes from community action, not just individual choices.

A Vision for the Future

Sophia: If you could redesign the global fashion industry from scratch, what would it look like, and what’s next for you?

Venetia: I would put the decision making power into the hands of garment makers and their unions and the start of the fashion value chain, and in the communities on the frontlines of the textile waste crisis at the end of the reverse supply chain. Fashion monopolies would also cease to exist.

I’m going to Ghana this week to spend time with The Or Foundation and learn more about their work!

Conclusion

• Embracing a mindful wardrobe starts with valuing and extending the life of clothes we already own.
• True sustainability in fashion requires transparency, fair wages, and responsible production.
• Repair, renewal, and rental initiatives must be paired with systemic industry change.
• Thoughtful consumer choices and advocacy can drive meaningful impact in the fashion industry.

If we want a truly fair and sustainable fashion industry, we must move beyond conscious consumption and into collective action, because real change won’t come from what we buy, but from what we demand.
To follow Venetia’s work and insights on sustainable fashion, find her on social media here.