Making sustainability a part of your wardrobe
Sustainable, earth-friendly, eco-conscious, green – whatever we call it, the new hip thing to do in our everyday lives is to try to be considerate in our daily decisions about the environmental and social impact of our affluent Western lifestyles. In earlier days, it wasn’t always clear how to apply sustainability to everyday living, but today, information about “green” options for many decisions we make on a regular basis abounds.
There is organic produce at grocery stores, fair trade coffee at a good number of franchises, cosmetics companies that do not participate in lab animal testing, locally crafted and artisanal goods at farmers’ markets – the list goes on and on. The more serious eco-conscious consumer now even has the option to consider hybrid or fully electric automobiles, cutting their carbon footprint significantly.
Despite the fact that sustainable choices are available in many industries, the apparel and fashion industry has been slow in picking this up. Both from the industry side and the consumer side, clothing seems to have been neglected as an opportunity to make great change happen, both for the environment and for the social benefit of the supplier communities across the world.
Perhaps the very nature of the fashion industry prevents the uptake of such initiatives – fashion is always moving, changing, and being redefined. What was fashionable last season is no longer desired; something fresh has to always be made and distributed to satisfy the masses. It is a tragic consequence of an aesthetically driven industry, which encourages the belief that perfectly good and relatively durable consumer goods should instead be considered disposable and readily replaceable. It is fair to say that the garment and apparel industries need special attention if we as a society wish to ensure that our conduct does not devolve into vain self-absorption.
At first glance, one would believe there are viable solutions to the quandary of disposable fashion – give away your unwanted clothes to some sort of good cause, for example. But believe me, the clothes that go in the donation bins do not end up benefitting many people at all – only about ten percent of donated clothing is considered good enough to resell. The rest are sold to textile recycling plants or dumped into the waste stream. Facts aside, there is a more important moral consideration to be made: just because we can afford to do so does not mean that we should participate in such a wasteful lifestyle.
Consider also the source of the raw materials. According to the Organic Trade Association of the United States, the cotton industry uses twenty-five of the world’s pesticides. Its processes produces toxic plant wastes that are also reused for animal feed, most often for cattle. Furthermore, the notorious case of Monsanto’s Bt Cotton, a genetically modified cotton variety with built in resistance to certain pests, is incredibly concerning. The 2011 documentary Bitter Seeds exposed the reality that small-scale farmers in India have been coerced into increasing production of Bt Cotton farming which has led to devastating hardships and resulted in thousands of suicides.
The reality is that the negative impact of the fashion industry can be challenged if only we, the consumers, redefine our understanding of need versus want. We need to learn that more does not necessarily render us fashionistas; to be fashionable is to be able to develop our own individual aesthetic, as well as the ability to define our identity by more than who we are wearing.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel, however, and change does not seem impossible in the near future. For one thing, a global group of like-minded industry specialists have come together to form the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. The group has developed an industry tool, called the Higg Index, that purportedly helps give manufacturers a way to measure the environmental and social impact that their products may have. In addition, some brands and vendors (though they may be few and far between) have devoted themselves to providing more eco-friendly and socially responsible apparel. Some of the better known brands that have picked up this habit include H&M’s Conscious Collection, Montreal’s Matt & Nat vegan handbags, and Stella McCartney’s line of apparel.
Where can you start? The first step is to take a look at your own spending habits when it comes to clothing. Also, do a bit of research into the issues. There is a world of ugly truths that the fashion industry would prefer their consumers not to know about. It also helps to excited about sustainably-minded manufacturers and to make considered purchases that you intend to use for a good, long time.
In the end, the important take-away is that when it comes down to it, your beauty is defined not by what you wear, but who you are inside.