ADIFF’s Open Source Fashion Cookbook features ‘recipes’ for upcycling clothes and is designed to make sustainable and ethical fashion available to everyone. The book, which costs $60, is inspired by IKEA’s DIY manuals and includes step-by-step illustrations from six contemporary fashion brands. The designs are tailored to empower people to make clothing from items they have readily available at home.

The designs vary in difficulty – people can choose from basics that don’t require sewing as well as more advanced designs. The founders hope this approach will encourage more sustainable consumption: “We’re trying to inform people that these items take time, they use a lot of materials, and you can do it yourself,” says co-founder Angela Luna.

The book, which costs $60, is inspired by IKEA’s DIY manuals and includes step-by-step illustrationsPolina Zimmerman (2020)

Fashion brands that are hailed for their sustainability efforts aren’t always the most accessible and often use their sustainability marketing edge as a reason to mark up their prices. Research suggests that two-thirds of people don't buy from sustainable fashion brands, and of this group, 80% cite sustainable brands being 'too expensive' as the reason. Brands in this space would do well to make sustainable fashion consumption more accessible, and for the people who just don’t think it's worth the price bump, products such as ADIFF’s cookbook can give them an idea of the process behind the price. For Gen Yers and Zers who are eager to explore their creative side, initiatives like ADIFF’s have the added benefit of encouraging and supporting passions and hobbies.

Precious Osoba is a junior behavioural analyst at Canvas8. Fascinated by the hows and whys of people and culture, she has a background in social sciences and a degree in marketing. You can often find her in aesthetically pleasing restaurants writing articles for her Medium profile