Amid a frankly unfathomable current affairs climate, perhaps the most unexpected piece of news of last week came from an unlikely source. Previously the ultimate hawker of the worst of throwaway fast fashion, Love Island has revealed that it is dropping former show sponsor I Saw It First in favour of a new deal with eBay.
Gone will be the skimpy wardrobes of £2.80 polyester minis and barely there bikinis and in their place, contestants entering the villa this year will choose their outfits from a shared wardrobe of second-hand and pre-loved vintage clothing.
The news was music to the ears of model Brett Staniland, whose turn on last year’s show brought the sustainability conversation into the Love Island spotlight. Last year, The Flock spoke to Brett about his mission to introduce his anti-consumerist message to ITV’s audience and the mixed response it had provoked. So obviously, when this news broke, I had to go back to see how he was feeling. Victorious? Vindicated?
Read our full conversation below, or click the button to listen in – the choice is yours!
Why don't we start with you telling me your initial reaction to this news that Love Island this season is going to be sponsored by eBay? Because it sounds as though that's a pretty big win for you…
“Yeah. I was delighted to hear the news. It was really refreshing just to know that they'd actually dropped all their sponsorship with that big, fast fashion conglomerate of the Boohoo group, which they'd been intertwined with for so very long, and instead had really gone to the other end of the spectrum to say, ‘Yeah, now no one's going to be wearing anything new from their main sponsor and it's all going to be secondhand’.
“It was such a refreshing news to hear. It finally felt like a win, but a win beyond the echo chamber of the sustainability community that we've built, in London particularly. It was something that's actually going to break those walls down and get to the general population for a change.”
