Want to get your head around ethical fashion and bring a little eco-ness into your wardrobe? Julia Rebaudo shows you how
Got a niggle in the back of your mind that you should be making more of an effort to be ethical about your fashion? Even the more hard-hearted of us know that walking roughshod all over the planet, destroying it for future generations isn’t ideal. But those of us who cast an eye over various ‘living ethically’ columns soon find out the reality is time-consuming and costly.
But to reawaken your fervour, consider the following:
Enough cotton for one T-shirt requires 257 gallons of water
Cotton crops are grown on less than 3% of the world’s farmlands but account for 22% of all pesticides used in agriculture
20,000 people a year die in developing countries from poisoning by agricultural pesticides
One cupful of pesticides and fertilizers is used in producing one T-shirt – one third of a T-shirt’s weight is made up of chemical residue. Our skin absorbs 60% of what we put on our bodies
700,000 tonnes of synthetic dyestuffs are applied to 40 millions tons of fabric a year. Dye toxins, excessive use of energy and resources and disposal of excess dye all cause a lot of damage in countries with no regulations on procedures
Cheap labour: the basic wage in China is 60p per hour. The standard wage for a garment industry worker is 16p per hour. Workers toil through 10-12 hour days with no breaks, longer if deadlines need to be met
Garment waste: 500,000 tonnes of unwanted clothes end up on landfills each year. It is estimated that 95% could be recycled
So what can you do?
Get into a retro groove and patch and darn clothes to give them a longer lease of life
With its revival going strong knitting (and crocheting) is an eco-friendly way to make clothes for your nearest and dearest. If you’re really hardcore, recycle wool by undoing old garments, steaming the wool to take out the kinks and start a new project
Make your own clothes. A dressmaking class will set you in good stead for life and give you an excuse to indulge yourself in fabric shops and haberdasheries
Wash clothes at 40º instead of 60º and save up to a third as much energy per wash
Get on the charity shop circuit and scour vintage stores and recycle your old clothes by selling them on eBay, having a car boot sale
What fabrics are eco-friendly?
Hemp doesn’t require pesticides and chemical – it smothers weeds as it grows. It also needs little or no irrigation. It is easy and efficient for farmers to grow; per acre it produces 250% more fibre than cotton
Growing cotton organically reduces the number of chemicals used and offers safer working conditions for workers and consumers
Although synthetic, polyester has eco-friendly aspects. It can be produced in eco-friendly ways i.e. it has low energy usage, is 100% recyclable, can be washed at low temperatures and drips dry, saving on ironing electricity
UK reared Alpaca is spun locally requiring minimal transport, and the alpacas are not slaughtered for the meat industry
Bamboo and soybean fibres can be used for making clothes. Neither crops need pesticides or chemicals. Bamboo produces a breathable, biodegradable, light and cool fabric. Soybean fibre is soft with light-reflecting properties, making it a possible alternative to silk. (Though these materials are not yet widely available.)
Most silk is, sadly, extremely un-environmentally friendly. Modern methods require the silkworm to be boiled to death inside its cocoon forcing it to hatch unnaturally early – this allows long filaments of silk to be reeled out of the cocoon in one long strand. However, there are environmentally sounder methods, one of which allows the worm to hatch at its natural pace. The silk fibres are broken which gives the fabric a rougher texture
What makes clothes eco-friendly?
This is the interesting part. A thouroughly eco-friendly garment be assessed for its ethical and environmentally friendly status at every stage of production.
Designing the garment:Is it a design classic that will inspire sentimental attachment and one that the wearer will keep and love for years or is it throwaway fashion? Does the garment design allow for ease of washing at lower temperatures bearing in mind that 90-95% of energy used on a garment in its lifetime occurs in its usage i.e. washing phase.
Fibre production: Are chemical and pesticides being used to rear the crop? Are the producers working in good conditions for fair pay? If synthetic, what methods are being used to produce the fabric? How much energy and water is being used?
Making up the fabric: Are the factory workers working in safe and good conditions? What are their hours? Are they being fairly paid?
Dyeing the fabric: Does the dye contain toxins? Does the dyeing method use up excessive amounts of energy and resources? Are the workers working in safe conditions and being paid fairly? How is the excess dye disposed of?
Making up the garment: Are the factory working conditions safe? Are the workers properly treated and paid?
Transportation: Is there an excess of unnecessary transportation? More often than not all these different stages take place in different locations all over the world using up resources on shipping and driving.
A small business shearing wool from its well-looked after sheep, spinning and dyeing without toxins, designing and making up its own fabric and garments, selling on location or online sets the standard for the perfect eco-friendly garment. But addressing all these stages for most businesses, especially small ones, is not financially viable or profitable. What you will find is companies producing eco-friendly garments will have focussed on one or two stages of the process and eco-fied them. Everyone has to start somewhere and the more we, as consumers, demand higher standards in the production of our garments the more progress will be made.
Where to buy eco-friendly fashion, and it's not all scratchy bag-looking dresses!
www.americanapparelstore.com
Sweat-shop free. All jersey garments – great for T-shirts and leggings, and more exciting garments like tube dresses and bodies – yes, they’re making a comeback!
www.greenknickers.org
If you’re obsessed with knickers you’ll love these pretty panties all made from ethically sourced materials. Set up by design graduate Sarah Lucy Smith.
www.blackspotsneaker.org
For ethically produced sneakers that look just like Converse, but infinitely cooler because of their eco-cred.
www.redmutha.com
Takes old garments and revamps them, turning them into very cool looking new clothes!
www.beyondskin.co.uk
Truly glamorous and luxurious heels (think Jessica Rabbit and Betty Blue). Unbelievably comfortable, it’s all in the weight distribution! Expensive but you’re getting the best.
www.thinkfairtrade.com
Simple, elegant designs in clean, bright colours focussing on Fairtrade and environmentally friendly methods of production.
Other links
www.fairtrade.org.uk
www.fashioninganethicalindustry.org
www.pan-uk.org Pesticide Action Network
www.newconsumer.org
Photograph: Lisa Marker
