Greetings All!
Welcome back, ladies and gents. Today I want to talk about a topic that effects everyone of all shapes, sizes, genders, and color: fashion. Everyone needs and wears clothing, unless you live in a nudist colony, in which case, you can take what you will from this week’s post. Fashion plays a large part in any individual’s life. It can be an expression of self, provide a sense of shelter, and serve a function. I’ve always thought people bring out their personality in their fashion choices and is one of the many things that make us all unique. Even for those who care not for what’s considered “in style” clothing is still a necessity that requires a decision and choice for the individual.
When most people think of their clothing, shoes, and fashion in general, the environment probably isn’t one of the first thing that crosses their mind, which is understandable. We tend to go straight for the plastic, oil, and greenhouse gases and the bad guys polluting the environment, but clothing is a major player as well, and its roots run deep through the supply chain. Most people, myself included for most of my adolescent and adult life, will purchase clothing items, wear them a couple times, and then either throw them out or donate them. Now, just because you donate clothing items to your local Goodwill or other resale shop does not guarantee that they will find a new home, they could very well end up being thrown out and end up in a land field. Sorry, not sorry, to burst that bubble. Depending on what type of material your clothing item is made from, it can take years for it to decompose. Check these numbers out and try not to cringe too much. A cotton glove takes three months to decompose, wool is one to five years, leather shoes is 25 to 40 years, nylon is 30 to 40 years, and rubber soles 50 to 80 years. That is essentially the lifetime of a healthy human. Here’s another statistic to put the magnitude of human waste around clothing into perspective – back in 2012 the EPA reported that leather, rubber, and textiles make up about 9 percent of the 251 million tons of waste produced in the United States. To state the obvious, that’s a lot. Shockingly, a lot. We must do better. Fortunately, there are a vast number of ways to create more sustainable shopping and lifestyle habits around the clothing we purchase.
One of the methods I am, actively and continuously, learning to embrace and create is a capsule wardrobe. It aligns with the minimalist lifestyle and is a small collection of a few essential items of clothing that do not go out of style. Think of the timeless little black dress, but with shirts, pants, jackets, and skirts, all of which can be interchanged with seasonal pieces. I have approached this by first degerming a color palette for my wardrobe, making sure all colors match and coordinate with their other so it is easy to mix and match pieces. This makes shopping easier when you know what to look for. Personally, I gravitate toward dark colors, such as black and greys, which also make up 80% of my closet. But the end goal is there, I have key items of clothing that can be arranged to accommodate each season and can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. Another upside to creating a capsule wardrobe, and focusing on sustainable, eco-friendly brands, is this help eliminate the habit of continuously purchasing cheaply made clothes, wearing them a couple times, then throwing them out to make room for more clothing items. It’s a vicious cycle of waste. An upside to a sustainable capsule wardrobe, is that yes, you do pay more for each item of clothing, BUT they are high quality items that will last for year and stand the test of time. I have several select pieces I have invested in following the eco-friendly model and I am thrilled to report that these items have become my favorite and are worn all the time, been in my possession for years, and still look and feel like-new. And since I am a constant enabler as to why you should invest in a good piece of quality clothing, if you break down the math you’re really spending the same, if not less by purchasing one quality item as opposed to multiple cheaply made items. Let’s say you spend $20 on a shirt every spring, summer, fall, and winter season, that’s $80. Now if, you spend $65 on an ethically made shirt from a brand that practices sustainability all throughout its supply chain and environmental impact, that you can keep for years and wear, then you’re saving $15. I would call that a win-win situation!
The next order of business if finding quality brands that are eco-friendly and maintain a sustainable supply chain. I cannot stress enough the importance of knowing how, and where, a product is made and what impact the manufacturing process has. This is the age of technology, people. Let’s be proactive in educating ourselves on where our products come from and how they’re made, including our clothes. Sustainability in the fashion industry in my mind runs deeper than ensuring we are polluting our environment as little as possible, it also means those who manufacture the products are being treated and compensated fairly. Fast-Fashion brands like H&M, Forever 21, and Zara (yes, I’m name dropping), are not able to provide these things because to reduce the cost of their manufacturing, they use cheap labor, which typically means relying on factories in developing countries where working conditions tend to be less regulated.
One brand I am an obsessive fan of is Nisolo. This is a company that practices what they preach. The founders stay tightly connected to the supply chain and manufacturing process, and actively include their customers with transparency on social media. They have created a sustainable process where all of their workers are paid a fair, living wage, have health insurance, along with many other well-deserved benefits. And importantly to the end consumer their products are all well-made, durable, and affordable. A good pair of ethically made leather boots and pair of sandals will more than suffice for the summer and winter months and last years, keeping the landfills free of additional shoes that take decades to decompose. A few other brands for all you shoe lovers out there are Rothy’s and Allbirds. Ever wondered if all the plastic bottles thrown away could be put to good use? Well, Rothy’s has and did. All of their shoes are made out of recycled plastic bottles, come many different colors and style, and completely machine washable. Meaning you will always have a clean, new feeling shoe that will last years. Allbirds specialized in the everyday sneaker or loafer and use only sustainable materials, even eucalyptus fibers for a breezy, sustainable summer sneaker. These brands have found a way to use our wasteful trash to product ethical and eco-friendly fashion items, not to mention stylish.
If you’ve made it this far, then I applaud you for sticking around. This was a long post this week. But a topic I am fiercely passionate about. Living a well-rounded, healthy, sustainable lifestyle means making conscious changes in almost all areas of your life, how you consume goods, and how you dispose of them. All these small changes accumulate to having a lasting positive impact.
Until next time,
Mare
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