My essential question is how can I help create a more sustainable fashion industry? How can I help create less waste and more ethical work conditions? These are very broad questions and there are so many different answers. However I want to focus on my two discussions I had with people who worked in the fashion industry. Being sustainable is both hard and easy, depending on the path of sustainability you would like to follow.
When I spoke with Lisa Metcalfe the other week, we spoke about the importance of the process which sustainable brands follow. To make a singular item of clothing, it follows so many steps and goes through so many locations. The fabric can be sourced in one location, died at another, sewed at another, shipped off to another place and then distributed to many other places, and that is with a couple steps missing. The idea of fast fashion is to make clothing at the cheapest cost and sell it an affordable price to benefit consumers. So a lot of these brands buy the cheapest fabric they can find, usually polyester which is partly made from plastic, they dye it in factories that pays the workers very cheaply and are usually in dangerous conditions and in addition they send them off to get sewn by garment makes that are also in dangerous conditions. So, the choice of where you want to buy your clothes not only affects the environment but real people. It is important to look at the brand you are buying from and see if they are transparent about where they source their fabrics and make their clothes; if you can’t find it, it’s usually because they have something to hide. In addition, making sure that if you are buying clothes first hand that it is not polyester. Instead, buy organic cotton, and many brands are also using hemp, recycled fabrics, and many more sustainable fabrics. Since polyester is made from plastic, when we wash it the micro plastics detach from the clothes and go into the water further polluting it.
When I spoke to Miko Underwood, she said one of the main things to keep a sustainable closet is to shop second hand. So, going to thrift stores or taking your parents old clothes. Buying used clothes and resewing them or mixing different fabrics from second hand clothes is a way to make your clothing more unique if that is something that you care about. Also, buying pieces thoughtfully and not just buying because it is a trend; putting thought into what you purchase so you can keep these pieces for a long time. Miko said, if you are going to buy fast fashion, try and take good care of it and try to wash the clothes the exact way it says to to really prolong the life of the piece. She also mentioned to hang dry clothes because it doesn’t shrink them, keeps them in better condition, and also doesn’t use the electricity form the washing machine.
Overall, being aware of where you buy your clothes is so important to assure that you are buying from a brand that treats workers well and also cares about their environmental footprint. One of the best options is to purchase second hand, but if that’s not possible, make sure to take good care of your clothes so you can keep it for as long as possible and not have to purchase new ones.