What We Buy Matters: Why the UK Heatwave Has Us Thinking About Slow Fashion
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If this summer has made you think a little more about climate change, you’re probably not alone.
The UK has experienced another extraordinary summer of heat. In August, temperatures reached 38.1°C at Kew Gardens, making it the fifth-hottest day ever recorded in the UK. Earlier in the summer, the UK also experienced one of its longest recorded heatwave spells, lasting from 30 June to 5 August.
Of course, one heatwave cannot simply be blamed on one cause. But the bigger picture is increasingly difficult to ignore. The Met Office says the long-term trend towards rising UK temperatures is linked to global climate change.
And while the climate crisis can feel enormous, it has made us at Näpp think about something much smaller and closer to home:
the things we choose to buy.
Fashion has an impact
Clothing is something almost all of us buy, yet it can be easy to forget everything that happens before a garment reaches our wardrobe.
Fabric has to be produced. Clothing has to be dyed, manufactured, packaged and transported. And when huge quantities of clothing are produced quickly, bought cheaply, worn briefly and replaced again, those individual purchases become part of a much bigger environmental problem.
Recent figures from WRAP's UK Textiles Pact illustrate the problem particularly clearly.
Brands participating in the Pact have managed to reduce the carbon footprint per tonne of textiles by 6% compared with 2019. Yet the overall carbon footprint actually increased by 10%, in part because the volume of textiles being put onto the market continued to grow.
In other words, making individual products better isn't enough if we simply keep making and buying more of them.
The problem with fast fashion
Fast fashion has made clothing incredibly accessible.
New collections appear constantly. Trends come and go within weeks. Clothes can sometimes cost little more than a coffee.
But that can also change the way we think about what we own.
When something is incredibly cheap and easily replaced, there's less incentive to look after it, repair it, pass it on or ask whether we really needed it in the first place.
And the scale of clothing waste in the UK is startling.
WRAP estimates that 49% of used textiles are being put into general waste, with the average person throwing around 35 unwanted textile items into general waste every year.
For us, that's one of the strongest arguments for moving away from a disposable approach to fashion.
Slow fashion doesn't mean never buying anything new
Sustainability can sometimes feel like another impossible standard we're expected to meet.
We don't think it should.
Slow fashion isn't about having a perfectly sustainable wardrobe or feeling guilty every time you buy something new.
It's about becoming a little more intentional.
Before buying something, perhaps we can ask:
Do I really need this?
Will it be worn again and again?
Is it made well enough to last?
Could I find it second-hand?
Can I pass it on when we've finished with it?
For children's clothing in particular, that last question matters.
Babies grow ridiculously quickly. Something that fits beautifully today might be packed away a few months from now.
So perhaps the goal shouldn't be for one baby to get as much wear as possible from a garment.
Perhaps it should be for several babies to.
Buy less. Choose well. Pass it on.
This is one of the ideas behind Näpp.
We believe baby clothes should be made to be worn, washed, loved and passed on.
That means thinking beyond the first owner.
When your baby outgrows something, it doesn't necessarily have to be the end of that garment's story. It might go to a younger sibling, a cousin or friend's baby. It might be sold second-hand, donated or tucked away for the future.
Keeping clothing in use for longer can make a genuine difference.
WRAP has found that extending the lifespan of clothing by just nine months could reduce its carbon, water and waste footprints by up to 20%.
That's a pretty powerful argument for buying things we actually want to keep.
Second-hand should be normal
We're big believers in preloved children's clothing.
There are some things worth buying new. There are plenty of things worth buying second-hand. And increasingly, our wardrobes can be a mixture of both.
In fact, more than half of UK citizens surveyed by WRAP said they were happy to purchase preloved clothing, and children's clothing was identified as one of the categories that could particularly appeal to people trying resale for the first time.
And buying second-hand isn't just about saving money.
Every time an existing garment replaces the need for a newly manufactured one, we're making better use of resources that have already been consumed.
WRAP's 2025 research found that around 65% of preloved purchases displaced the purchase of something new.
That's why we'd love to see a Näpp sleepsuit on baby number two, three or four.
The second-hand sale isn't a failure for us as a brand.
It's the point.
Designing baby clothes with a life beyond one baby
Slow fashion also influences the way we design.
Näpp sleepsuits are made from 95% bamboo lyocell and 5% elastane, with a substantial 260 GSM fabric chosen to feel beautifully soft while standing up to the realities of baby life.
We use practical details such as fold-over feet and cuffs, stretch and generous sizing because extending how long something can comfortably be worn matters.
And our bold prints aren't designed around a micro-trend that disappears next month.
We want them to be the sleepsuits you remember.
The one in the baby photos.
The one you reluctantly pack away when it finally doesn't fit.
And hopefully, the one another little person gets to wear next.
Small choices still matter
Buying one sleepsuit instead of another isn't going to solve climate change.
We would never pretend it will.
The fashion industry's environmental impact requires change from manufacturers, retailers, governments and consumers alike.
But our individual choices are still part of that system.
Buying fewer things.
Choosing better-made things when we can.
Wearing them for longer.
Repairing rather than immediately replacing.
Buying second-hand.
Selling or donating what we've finished with.
Passing baby clothes between families.
And perhaps resisting the idea that we constantly need something new.
This summer's extraordinary heat has been another reminder that our climate is changing.
None of us can fix that alone.
But collectively, the things we manufacture, the things we buy and the things we decide not to buy all matter.
At Näpp, we'd rather make fewer, thoughtfully designed sleepsuits that can live through multiple babies than encourage you to constantly replace what's already perfectly good.
Because sometimes the most sustainable item of clothing isn't the newest one.
It's the one that's already in somebody's drawer, waiting for its next little owner.
Looking for slow-fashion baby clothes?
Discover Näpp bamboo lyocell baby sleepsuits, designed in London for babies from newborn to 24 months. Soft, practical, colourful and designed with a life beyond the first wearer in mind.
And when your little one finally outgrows their Näpp?
Pass it on. Sell it. Gift it. Let another baby love it.