COSH!’s new informative fashion route takes you along multiple eco-fashion and lifestyle shops in Antwerp to discover more about living sustainably. The tour offers a physical counterpart to COSH!’s online platform that connects customers to stores near them through a free interactive map.

The route can be followed with COSH!’s free Conscious Shopping Guide booklet which instructs you every step of the way along the trail. The exhibitions in shop windows show tips and tricks for a more sustainable lifestyle and QR-codes near the installations reveal even more.

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Student Media and Entertainment Business Yente Leysens raises the question of the cost of sustainable fashion, however: ‘It could be interesting to walk along the route and learn about sustainable fashion, but I wouldn’t buy anything because it always costs a lot.’ His classmate Milan Sweeck says he usually doesn’t look at the sustainability of clothing until it comes up: ‘It adds value, so it could be a deciding factor for me to buy a piece if it is advertised as sustainable.’

Others are willing to pay more for sustainable items. Jessica De Backer studies International Communication and Media and works as a model: ‘I mostly look at sustainability when I buy beauty products. I check if it’s Fairtrade, biological or has natural products. And for clothing, I often buy vintage pieces.’

The exhibitions will be shown from October 3 to November 15, and the Conscious Shopping Guide can be found at every participating shop or the Visit Antwerp booths on the Grote Markt.

Text: Lisa Poppe, picture: Becca McHaffie via Unsplash