Thousands have descended upon Manhattan this week for New York’s Fashion Week, where collections from the world’s top designers take the stage. Soon, these designs from the catwalk will be interpreted and sold by fast fashion retailers across the nation at a low-cost for consumers, but at a shockingly high-cost for the environment. This month, we delve into “fast fashion” – a system based on selling high volumes of fast trend items at low-prices—and look into more environmentally-friendly alternatives, with guest contributor Ana Bogusky of Mrs. American Made.

We all wear clothes, but many of us don’t think about the effects our clothing has on the planet and people. The truth is our clothing can negatively impact both humans and the environment all along the production line and beyond. Most clothing manufactured today heavily pollutes waters, uses up natural resources, and contributes to climate change. According to the must-see documentary “The True Cost," the fashion industry is the world's second-largest polluter, second only to the oil industry. And while fashion is big business, with experts valuing the global industry to be almost $3 trillion a year, workers in countries like India, Bangladesh or Cambodia who support the industry often earn less than $3 per day, with some only earning $1 a day.

BUY LESS, CHOOSE WELL
That’s a cute dress, and cheap! But who made it, how was it made, and what resources were used to make it?

With the advent of “fast fashion,” where the focus is on speed and low costs in order to deliver frequent new collections inspired by catwalk looks, we have gone from a few seasons of new looks each year to new collections dropping into stores every week, making shopping for novel clothing items possible 52 times year. The world now consumes a staggering 80 billion pieces of clothing each year, that’s 400% more than two decades ago.

In the past, clothing has been something we used for a long time. But with the cheap clothing now abundantly available, many people view clothing as “disposable”. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, in their report titled “A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion’s Future,” we are wearing pieces far fewer times before disposing of them. In fact, more than half of fast-fashion items are disposed of in under one year. Getting rid of clothing by donating it may have the best of intentions, but only 10% of the clothes people donate to charity or thrift stores actually gets sold.

“Buy less, choose well.” These are the wise words of fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and great advice on how we can all minimize our negative impacts on humans and the planet. To avoid participating in fast fashion, you can:

• Buy for quality. No matter what your income level, buy clothes of the highest quality you can afford, which will serve you (and the planet) better in the long run! Look for durable, well-made pieces made from sustainable materials like organic cotton, hemp, and recycled materials.
• Buy for long use. Several companies today produce clothing with an eye toward longevity. For example, Buy Me Once, which champions long-lasting products, and Patagonia, which makes high-quality items that last for years (sometimes decades!) and can be repaired through their Worn Wear program.
• Look for great fit. Pieces that flatter you are pieces you’ll keep for decades.
• Use outfit formulas or capsule wardrobes to help determine what pieces you need to create a mix and match wardrobe (here are ideas for women’s and men’s wardrobes).
• Look certified for “fair trade” labeling to know the clothing you choose was created with ethical and sustainable practices.
• Buy used! You can get your fashionista on by buying used clothing at local stores and now even online!

Handle Your Clothes With Care

Check clothing tags to learn more about how best to care for it. More than one-third of the negative impacts of our clothing comes from how we care for it.2 Washing and drying incorrectly or excessively can waste water and energy.

When synthetic clothes are laundered, they shed plastic microfibers. These microfibers are so small they may pass through wastewater treatment plants and get into our waterways, adding to increasing levels of plastic in soils, rivers, and the oceans. Because plastics, including microfibers, do not biodegrade, they represent a serious threat to aquatic life which mistake the tiny particles for food. To help keep microfibers out of the water supply, try buying more clothes made from natural fibers, such as cotton (preferably organic), silk, hemp, and wool. Another good option is to wash only full loads of synthetic clothes in cold water to reduce the friction that produces microfibers or invest in a GuppyFriend to prevent fibers from getting in the water.

Swapping, Donating, Reusing and Recycling Clothing

Lastly, it is important to remember the circular model of the earth: What happens to clothing when people are “finished” with it? The average American throws away an astonishing 80 pounds per year of textiles and clothing; some 68 pounds of which goes to the landfill. When textiles are landfilled, the natural fibers break down creating methane—a potent greenhouse gas with 84 times the heat-trapping power of carbon dioxide in the short term, making methane a big contributor to climate change.

So the next time you clean out your closet, consider repairing garments before disposing of them, swapping your unwanted clothing with a friend, donating quality clothing to charities, or upcycling or down-cycling your textiles and clothing (here’s one idea from Eco-Cycle). But dispose of them responsibly, and don’t let them end up in the landfill.

In the words of fashion icon Joan Crawford, “care for your clothes like the good friends they are.”

Visit Eco-Cycle’s Center for Hard-to-Recycle Materials (CHaRM) for clothing, textile, and shoe recycling.

Upcoming Local Zero Waste Events & Trainings

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Eco-Cycle
PO Box 19006 | Boulder, Colorado 80308
(303) 444-6634 | recycle@ecocycle.org