Sustainable Fashion

Sustainable fashion is a hot topic right now. Let’s talk about it.

First, Happy New Year! I can’t believe that it’s already 2019. The year 2018 just flew by because of how busy I was with school and work in the summer. It was a difficult year for sure, but I learned a lot about myself as a person and gained much more independence. I can truly say that 2018 made me very “adultish” because I learned how to live on my own (for real), how to pay rent/do taxes/clean an apartment/buy groceries/get a real job/etc. This year has started with me moving to Guelph for my first co-op, which I am both excited and nervous about. I start work on the 7th but moved on the 2nd so I could settle in and get acquainted with Guelph. I already love the city and its quaintness, the small shops and how close everything is. I’ll keep you all posted on how the job goes!

Today’s post is inspired by my best friend (shoutout to Nalu [you better be reading this]). He really got me interested in sustainable fashion and what it means to support ethical clothing companies. I never realized how unsustainable our current fashion industry is until he explained it to me and I explored the topic further on my own. Without further ado, on to today’s post!

So, what does it mean when clothing is “sustainable”? Yes, there is an environmental component to it, but sustainable fashion encompasses much more than that. It is also about social sustainability, the health and wellbeing of people, and the economic prosperity of communities. In an ideal world, all of our clothing would be “sustainable.” However, today’s demands for fast fashion, cheap clothing and rapid production does not make this dream feasible.

Sustainability in fashion can take a variety of forms. Whether it be the dyes or fabrics that companies use, the waste accumulated during production, distance travelled to deliver new clothes to stores, or the working conditions for those producing the clothes, sustainability can be incorporated into all aspects of the fashion industry.

Why should we value sustainability in our clothing?  When you think about it, clothing is an integral part of our lives. It’s socially unacceptable to wander around without clothes on in public, so you kind of need it to go anywhere or do anything. It is an important barrier between our bodies and the harsh seasons (especially in Canada!), providing us warmth, comfort and protection against dangerous substances and other organisms like poison plants or mosquitoes. It helps define who we are, allowing us to express our personalities to the world. Clothing is used as a symbol for who we are: teams we play on, the country we live in, and our history. Our lives today would be very different without the clothing styles and habits we have.

While clothing can have a very traditional history rooted in community culture, when we think of clothing today we mainly think of the affordable, cheaply made designs available in malls across the world. The importance of clothing in our culture has grown tremendously with the rise of consumerism, no longer just being a sort of scrapbook for cultural history but as a way to determine our worth in society. Youth and adults alike feel the need to define one’s worth in society by the clothes on their back; if you’re not wearing what is trendy then you don’t fit in. This is where unsustainable clothing practices really begin: with consumer demands.

I was first introduced to the idea of fast fashion when I was in grade six, but didn’t understand it until Nalu started sharing his interest in it with me. I remember the day I got sucked into the fast fashion curse very clearly, the moment I won the approval of my peers because I started buying into the rapidly changing trends my classmates presented on their bodies.

Back in grade six, Aeropostale was the brand you had to wear to be cool: I was so exited when I got my first Aeropostale T-shirts, one black and one navy blue, the brand’s name boldly printed on the chest in white, a token that granted me temporary acceptance amongst my peers. I remember the feeling of warmth that spread through me upon receiving my first complement for my shirt, by one of the coolest girls in our grade no less. I liked the feeling and was disappointed when it faded. I couldn’t keep wearing the same two shirts day in and day out, so I had to keep buying more shirts, pants, hoodies, socks, everything, until my wardrobe was one big walking advertisement for Aeropostale.

No sooner than when hundreds of dollars of my parents’ money was spent on this cheap clothing was Aeropostale out, TNA, Roots and Lululemon in. The elation I felt after purchasing my first pair of $100+tax leggings was very short lived; I had to keep buying to get that same feeling of belonging. I wasn’t the only one that fell into this trap where I needed to dress a certain way to belong: everyone in my school, in schools across the city, province, country and world are falling victim to this. Different cultures may value different brands, but at the end of the day we are all using cheaply made, labour-driven, environmentally damaging pieces of fabric to provide us with a few moments of “happiness.” It’s a curse in a way, making billions of us all over the world sick with envy. Our demands to constantly fit in by wearing these “cool” clothing items have grown so high that the fashion industry has become an unsustainable monster of an industry.

The Workers

If you read the labels of your clothing items, you may often see “Made in China/Bangladesh/Cambodia,” without thinking twice about what these labels may mean. In these low income, production-driven countries, the fashion industry is often the only form of work people can find. In Bangladesh, 80 percent of the country’s export revenue comes from their garment factories. With low working standards and human rights protection, the conditions that factory workers are put in are dangerous, often times lethal. These are dominated by red industries: those that pose the highest risk to environmental health, as determined by national Bangladeshi laws.

Workers, often women and children, are forced to work 14-16 hour days, 7 days a week, sometimes finishing at 3am and starting again at 7:30am. They earn far below minimum wage: majority of garment factory workers in Bangladesh earn 3,000 taka per month, or about 49 dollars Canadian. An audit released last year on a Chinese factory producing clothing for Ivanka Trump’s line reported that employees earned 62 dollars per month and worked 60 hours a week. The Chinese government prevents workers from forming trade unions to protect their rights unless they are registered by the state-run federation. Audits of factories also found working conditions to be dangerous to the health of the workers: temperatures on production floors reached 38 degrees in one audit, yet employees worked without sympathy or protective garments; men sometimes would work topless because of the heat, putting them at even higher risk of injury from chemical spills, burns or cuts. Poor ventilation in factories makes the workers susceptible to respiratory diseases such as byssinosis from the toxic dyes and materials floating in the air. Factory deaths are also common from workers falling off elevated platforms or ladders.

Despite this, factory owners and companies deny that these incidents occur, and we (the consumers who purchase these items made in factories denying human rights) are hardly made aware of the implications our actions have on others. You may recall the news story from 2013 about Joe Fresh’s Bangladeshi factory that collapsed and killed 1,130 workers. I remember it, and it has stuck in my mind since the horrific incident. The disheartening story called attention to brands like Joe Fresh with appalling factory conditions: weak audits with little promise for improvement, workers earning 37 cents CAD per hour, 6 days per week, and highly populated factories with dangerous structural support. While promising to improve their production methods and employee standards, Joe Fresh still makes their items in poorly maintained, deadly factories. The collapse of Joe Fresh’s factory is considered the “deadliest accidental structural failure in modern history.” However, the company’s top priority is still to make a profit. As a result, they have effectively mitigated any talk about their company or their factories in the news since the incident.

I am throwing all of these statistics, facts and depressing stories at you for a reason. I am trying to show you that you shouldn’t purchase cheap clothing made on the other side of the world just because it’s a good bargain. You have to think about why it is so cheap, what the implications are behind those clothing items. Do we save a few dollars at the expense of another person’s health and wellbeing?

Not all companies support these dangerous practices, though. My suggestion to you is to do your research on a company before you buy from them. There are some cheaper clothing brands out there with great employment standards; there are also luxury brands that support these unsustainable working conditions. That said, here are a few things to consider when looking for a more sustainable clothing choice.

The Materials

Synthetic materials were mass produced after the Industrial Revolution for clothing and other purposes because they were cheap and easy to make in large quantities. Some of the common synthetic materials in your clothing today include polyester (a plastic by-product of petroleum), nylon and rayon. Polyester is made with chemicals like formaldehyde, tetrepthalic acid and barium sulphate. These chemicals are known carcinogens and can cause allergic reactions to the materials; plastics like polyester have been linked to breast cancer for over 30 years, proven to be endocrine disruptors. Clothes made of plastic also create an environmental problem: when you wash your clothing articles, little pieces (microplastics) release into the water, which escape into our rivers, lakes and oceans. I talk about the harm of plastic pollution in our waters in this post, but for a brief summary they kill wildlife by suffocation, chemical poisoning and destroy natural waterways. Even worse, a 2016 study found that these little plastic particles shed while we’re just walking around. We are living, breathing pollution.

Clothing dyes are equally as harmful for the planet. You know when you get a new piece of dark clothing such as jeans and the label says “wash separately before wearing” because their dyes may transfer? Have you ever thought about where those dyes actually go when you wash them, or how they were made? Enough dye escapes into our waterways to sometimes change the colour of the actual water. These dyes can also be harmful to those in direct exposure of undiluted amounts: those producing and exporting them are putting their health at risk. Some of these dyes have been determined to cause respiratory diseases such as asthma, allergic skin reactions and can even be cancerous. Not surprisingly, many hazardous dye houses and textile mills are found in China, India and Bangladesh, where workers rights have minimal protection.

The Waste

Aside from the fact that most countries allow clothing manufactures to dump their untreated waste water into natural waterways, there are also issues with clothing manufacturing that exist after production. What happens to fast fashion clothing articles once a style is no longer in season? Perhaps it is donated, or may be thrown out, especially if the fabric is cheap and the article has been damaged in some way. According to CBC, Canadians purchase on average 70 new articles of clothing annually, many of which contribute to the 12 million tonnes of garments sent to landfills each year. Since many of these articles are made of synthetic materials like plastics they will not break down for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

Even donating clothes does prevent it from ending up in a landfill eventually: Salvation Army’s sorting centre in Oakville, Ontario, accepts more than 90 tonnes of clothing each week, not all of which is used: some is shredded or recycled, others sent overseas to other companies/organizations just to keep it out of landfills. According to CBC’s report, only 1 percent of donations are actually recycled, meaning old clothes being broken down and repurposed into new products. You’ve probably heard about H&M’s sustainability initiative to recycle clothing in store: their own 2016 sustainability report illustrates how only 0.7 percent of their donations were recycled that year. This figure surprised even me, but it makes sense. Of course it is not marketed this way, and statistics are manipulated to hide how dissuading this data is. It is all just a form of greenwashing. As a prime example of fast fashion, H&M is one of many companies producing too much, too quickly for cheap prices. They only recycle so much, and are actually one of the greatest recyclers of cotton and polyester. The only way to deal with the clothing waste problem is to directly reduce the amount of clothes being produced, which requires us to stop demanding so much from companies.

Clothing items are also repurposed by selling them to other countries, Kenya being Canada’s largest buyer. Even this can be unsustainable when you consider the greenhouse gases emitted during transportation, as well as the amount of fuel, electricity, water and packaging used to transport them. Sometimes too many articles are collected, and the only way to deal with them is to burn them. When faced with too much, burning is always the easier, cheaper option. Material blends like cotton-polyester are also difficult to physically repurpose (i.e. break down into fabric and create new clothing items out of them) because you cannot separate these materials easily. Natural materials like cotton and wool also degrade every time you repurpose them, making it hard to make quality recycled items out of them.

What needs to be done

In general, we simply want too much and consume too much. We don’t stop to think about where our clothes come from, what materials they’re made of, the whole life cycle of what we wear and discard. We need to reverse our thinking if we want to take a stand and protect our people and the planet. We need to invest in brands that support ethical, sustainable production. Most importantly, we simply need to be content with what we have and stop trying to buy our worth and social acceptance with the clothing we put on our backs.

What can YOU do to make a change?

There are a few easy steps each and every one of us can take. We need a global change in this unsustainable industry, a change which starts with consumers. Every single one of us can make a change, and it all depends on where we choose to put our money.

• Clothing swaps. Organize an event with friends, family or with your community. All you have to do is to get a group of people together, each of you bringing a few pieces of clothing that you no longer want, and swap them! I’ve seen these happen in Waterloo and love the idea. Not only are you getting rid of what you no longer find joy in, but you are getting new, previously loved clothing pieces, preventing them from ending up in a landfill or being burned, saving money, and having a great time!
• Stop buying fast fashion items. That neon/striped/fuzzy sweater may be cool now, but in a year from now do you think everyone is going to be wearing it? Probably not. Instead of reaching for that item in the store, opt for items that won’t go out of style: monochromatic items with classic cuts are a great choice. Functionality and comfort is important, too, but it doesn’t mean sacrificing style if we shop smart. When I go out and buy clothing now, I always ask myself: Do I see myself wearing this a year from now? Two years? How long will I be able to wear this before it goes out of style? I have put so many clothing items back on the sale rack after asking myself this question.
• Do your research. This pertains both to a clothing company and an organization accepting clothing donations. Do they value their employees? Where are the articles made? Do they have a sustainability report? Where do donations go? Here are a few companies with more sustainable practices that I recommend. If you have any of your own, please share them in the comments!
  • Kotn
  • Matt and Nat
  • Pixie Mood
  • Asket
  • A Day’s March
  • Veja
  • Nudie Jeans
• Read the label. I make this a practice every time I purchase clothing. What materials is the article made of? Anything with synthetic materials I try to steer clear of; I also try to avoid purchasing items made in China, India or Bangladesh unless I know the company is being ethical in their production.
• Check your local thrift store. I would say that almost half of my wardrobe has been found at my local thrift store. You can find great styles here for a fraction of the price; you’re also preventing items from eventually ending up in a landfill. As the old saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
• Try a capsule wardrobe. I’ve heard about this from other bloggers/podcasts that I follow, but haven’t actually tried it myself. You have a set number of clothing items that you cycle in your closet. Depending on where you live, you can have one warm weather and one cold weather capsule. The way you execute this practice varies by person, but as an example you could have five blouses, two dresses, five pairs of work pants, a pair of jeans, etc. that you continuously mix and match to make new outfits. It may seem challenging, but it is definitely rewarding if you can do it! It saves a lot of space, money, and allows you to be creative with your looks. If you want to learn more about capsule closets, check out these link (1, 2, 3).
• Hand-me-downs. Similar to the clothing swap idea, holding on to clothes to give to a loved one is a great way to reduce your garment waste. If you have younger siblings, other family members or friends, I bet that they would love to take your items! My friends and I did this a lot years ago, giving jewellery/clothes to one another that we no longer wanted.
• Buy quality, not quantity. While this is easier said than done, it is important to look at the quality of clothing when making a purchase. Check the materials an item is made of, and where it was made. Wouldn’t you rather purchase a top slightly more expensive, made of ethically produced materials and by a local producer? In the long run it can also save you money if you are purchasing fewer items that will last longer.
• Share your knowledge. The only way the fashion industry will change is if the consumers demand a change. The more people who are aware of how unsustainable the fashion industry is right now, the more change that will be demanded, and the more we can improve current practices. Share this post with friends or family, or do some research on the topic yourself. What I am discussing only covers the surface of this issue, and it deserves way more attention than it’s actually receiving.
• Stop buying for the sake of buying. “Retail therapy” is a go-to for many people when they’re feeling down, are celebrating something or are just bored. Having this mindset when walking into the mall is dangerous; we’ve all been guilty of walking in a store without any set item in mind and leaving with more shopping bags than we care to admit. Chances are those items are the ones ending up in the landfill in a few months or years. The more intention we have when shopping, the more we ask ourselves, “how long will this last me?” the more money we’ll save, the less clothes we will send to landfills, and the more we will demand sustainable production practices in the industry.

This issue is bigger than I think most people realize. Just because the issue isn’t regularly discussed in the news doesn’t mean it isn’t a serious problem. People like you and I are the ones who can change perceptions around this issue and can show others that something needs to be done. Our love for fast fashion is causing environmental and social problems around the world; it is up to us to change our habits. Demand better workers rights in textile factors. Put your money into companies with ethical production methods and good quality materials. Once we start supporting these brands, fast fashion companies will have no choice but to comply to consumer demands if they are to survive. It comes down to you, the individual. You have the power to shape the way this industry runs. You can be the change.

I hope you enjoyed the post, and as always thank you for reading!

Until next time!

Jenna