Slow movements is the collective name for heterogeneous organizations covering many areas of life that oppose fast-paced consumer society. The first slow movement, called “slow food”, was launched by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986 to set them against fast food restaurants, which were gradually gaining ground in Europe. In 1999, Geir Berthelsen had a vision of a whole slow planet when he founded The World Institute of Slowness, while in his book In Praise of Slowness published in 2004, Carl Honoré defined slowness as a principle affecting all walks of life.
Instead of constantly rushing, busy working, hustling and “multitasking”, slow life encourages you to do fewer tasks and activities, but to do it in the best possible way, being present at the moment in different areas of our lives. Slow food emphasizes eating quality food bought at farmers’ markets rather than fast food, and enjoying delicious meals with others. Instead of mass-produced, poor-quality clothing, which becomes obsolete in a month or two, followers of slow fashion support buying or making more expensive but durable, well-tailored clothing once in a while. Similarly, the principles of slowness can be applied to the field of travel, parenting, work, or health.