I wrote in one of my earlier posts about food waste. I thought my clothes purchase success rate was better than 20%, which is the percentage of food we throw away every year. Well, I was wrong. According to the report Waste Couture, by Environmental Health Perspectives, 21% of all clothes purchases stay in the home.In America, the average person buys 31 kilos of clothes per year. I hate to be the one to tell you this but this rate of fashion consumption has a big environmental footprint. For example, polyester is a petroleum based product, is energy intensive to produce (so emits greenhouse gases) and uses a lot of chemicals in its manufacturing process which have to be disposed of. Demand for Fast Fashion has resulted in a doubling of demand over the past 15 years for man made fibers like polyester. You might think you don't wear polyester, but you would be surprised.
Cotton is not much better. It accounts for 25% of all pesticide use in the US and one cotton t-shirt requires 25 bathtubs full of water to produce as it is one of the most water-intensive crops in the world. There is also the issue of where clothes travel from. This is a complicated issue. On the one hand, further distances mean higher emissions. However, developing countries depend on the export of clothes to create economic improvement. The question for me is more about making sure the manufacturing practices are ethical. Finally, did you know that only 20% of donated clothes are actually sold as there is just not enough demand for all the clothes we throw out? Disposable fashion is really just that and takes up 4% of landfill and growing.
So what's a Green Girl to do? Well, let's face it we are not going to stop shopping but at least we can be more eco-couture friendly in our decisions. I have set myself a challenge for this season to Green my closet. Here are my simple rules:
- Use my Clothes. What a novel idea! I am having a major clean-up and sort through. I have a pile for the tailor to fix, shorten, alter. A pile for the shoemaker (including a beautiful cream leather bag that is in much need of love). And, a pile to take to a resale shop. (My favorite is Di Nuovo in Paddington for you Sydney Girls)
- Find Gorgeous Green Fashion. There are some divine things out there in organic cotton and other eco-friendly fabrics. I promise my blog will have some beautiful suggestions next week. (This is not to say I will never buy another non-organic dress but I really want to see what is out there.)
- Buy Less (!). I explained to my husband that this does not mean that I will necessarily spend less, but I will definitely be more choosy and avoid the one season wonder.
- Go Vintage. The best thing us girls could do is buy a bit more vintage and second hand clothes.
Coco Channel said. "Elegance does not consist of putting on a new dress." The same goes for looking gorgeously green. xxx
P.S. The closet featured is Carrie Bradshaw's
Sources: Environmental Health Perspectives, ACF, ABS
2 comments:
Patty,
i love how you have tied in your love of fashion into your love for a greener world. This is the future for our children.
The husband and wife team that designs shoes, Rickard shah, have created a thong sandal that is environmentally sound. Style and eco-awareness do not need to be mutually exclusive. From the materials ( natural dyes, rubber soles, water-based glue) to the manufactoring process to the transport, the final product is eco-friendly. Their PURE line can be found at Rickardshah.com.
have fun.
your sister, melissa
Hi. Will check out the shoes. Let me know if you have found any great websites for organic t-shirts! xxx
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