clothing

April 3 – Buy Second Hand

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[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] They divide my garments among them- Psalm 22:18 Second hand shops and sales A guaranteed way to reduce the fashion industry’s impact is to avoid buying new stuff in the first place. Secondhand stores are the ultimate clothing recyclers – and thrift shop fashion definitely doesn’t have to be unfashionable. Considering that fashion is about looking good, you want to be on top of the game. So why should buying secondhand mean anything to you and are donated clothes and secondhand shops the best way to deal with textile waste anyways? Here are the 3 reasons why its the best way to deal with textile waste and why it should mean something to you. 1) It Saves You Money Shopping secondhand means that whatever price you pay is only half of the original. Most often, clothes are donated because the person that bought it no longer likes it, or the piece no longer fits them. You can find nice brands that appeal to you Since used clothes come from all decades, you can explore fashions of the past to express the unique person that you are. Go vintage! It’s the best way to deal with textile waste, because clothes don’t get thrown out after a few uses, it goes to a new home for another five years or more. This sounds pointless but think about where your thrown out clothes go. Landfills. There’s a big possibility that one day, the city you live in may have no choice but to turn the only available space into a landfill because there’s no space elsewhere. It may be your neighborhood…or your backyard. 2) It’s More Sustainable There’s a lot of water and chemicals that go into our clothes. When I say a lot, I mean 1,800 gallons of water to make one pair of blue jeans. If we recycle unused clothes, that means we won’t be paying the price in the future. Aside from landfills there’s damage to the environment, loss of habitat for animals, and pollution of natural resources. Whose money goes to fixing that? Your tax money! Where do those landfills go? Anywhere. And the water that’s used to make clothes is probably drinking water… You’d think, it wouldn’t run out but let’s not wait for that surprise. How is this a better way of dealing with textile waste? Clothes get a longer lifespan. When things get thrown out by hundreds of people, at around the same time, it creates an exponential amount of waste. But when people use clothes to the fullest extent, that clothes can take up to a decade before it touches a landfill. That means one pair of jeans could be used by someone else’s sibling, cousin, or friend. You paid a small amount and the benefits were a hundred times over. 3) Its a Recycling System that Directly Helps Everyone in Your Community If you think secondhand clothes makes you look poor, it’s quite the opposite. Yes, there’s outdated items but overall, it’s relatively recent stuff that doesn’t get used. Everyone knows that being poor is one thing but looking poor can keep you that way. Your appearance is a key factor in areas like job interviews. Say you meet all the resume criteria but the place you’re having your interview requires a black suit. Buy a second hand one! Even if you’re well off, you might have to watch your money at certain times and secondhand clothing stores have been supporting people of all income range for a long time. Why is this a better use of textile waste? Because it creates a recycling community. Recycling clothes becomes a resource to people while helping those in need and the environment. On a social level, it’s a place where people can build a new identity out of used clothing that gives them greater mobility in the social world. On a community level, it builds a culture of recycling. There are lots of facebook groups now where you can buy and sell vintage/second hand items. Don’t leave your unworn clothes in the closet – give them away or donate to second hand shops or sell online. And how about having a clothes swop event with friends?Switching to more ethical fashion options does take forethought, but the health of the planet and the safety of workers in developing nations depends on it.

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April 2 – Shop less, Mend more

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[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Matthew 9 : 16 Every day, most of us dress ourselves in items churned out by what is arguably the world’s second-most polluting industry. Reportedly topped only by oil, the fashion industry is contributing to major environmental destruction – mainly because consumers insist on buying so many clothes at such cheap prices. Water is a significant part of the problem. Textile manufacturing uses huge amounts of water, much of which gets flushed into waterways laden with contaminants such as bleaches, acids, inks and dyes. Horrifyingly, farmers in parts of China and India are reportedly predicting fashion’s next biggest hues by the colour of rivers tainted by textile industry runoff. Fast fashion has terrible impacts on people, too, with workers in developing nations often paid a pittance to labour in unsafe conditions. Alternatives do exist. The solution lies in buying less and choosing better quality items that are made as ethically as possible. But how to tell good brands from bad? Step one is choosing brands that consider the planet and their workers. Te desire to wear cheap new looks daily has led to offshore manufacturing in often deplorable circumstances – buying local, well-made pieces can sidestep all that. You will also contribute to local jobs. Where possible, skip petroleum-based synthetics such as polyester and nylon, which are actually plastics that take forever to break down once tossed. Each time such fabrics are washed, they shed thousands of microfibres that end up polluting rivers and oceans. Natural fabrics must also be selected with care. About half the world’s clothes and textiles are made from cotton, usually grown with pesticides and requiring mammoth water inputs. Bamboo has been touted as a more ethical option, but while the plant is farmed sustainably, toxic chemicals are often used to turn bamboo into fabric. Organic cotton and bamboo linen are better, as is hemp, linen, silk and wool. Lyocell, made from natural cellulose found in wood pulp (harvested from sustainably farmed forest plantations), also rates fairly well. Some brands are even recycling waste into fabric. “If you consciously decide to purchase a garment made using a recycled material or an exciting new fibre, you are supporting start-up companies creating new markets, and avoiding the toxic impacts associated with conventional textiles.” Extend your wardrobe’s lifespan by mending Once clothing becomes tired and hole-ridden, don’t rush straight to the bin: try mending instead. Mend it or take it to a tailor (creating local jobs) “Most clothing problems are easily mendable: missing buttons and loose stitching, for example. “One creatively mended garment might not save the planet, but it might inspire three other people to start mending and become more aware.” Those with more time and skills can join the slow clothing movement and sew garments from scratch. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/feb/10/shop-less-mend-more-making-more-sustainable-fashion-choices

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April 1 – Natural Fibre Apparel

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[siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] “I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandal has not worn out on your foot.” Deuteronomy 29:5 More than ever, our clothes are made of plastic. Just washing them can pollute the oceans. How much plastic is your washing machine sending out to sea? Polyester, nylon, acrylic, and other synthetic fibers — all of which are forms of plastic — are now about 60 percent of the material that makes up our clothes worldwide. Synthetic plastic fibers are cheap and extremely versatile, providing for stretch and breathability in athleisure, and warmth and sturdiness in winter clothes. Every time we wash clothes made of plastic tiny micro fibers end up in the water. Estimates vary, but it’s possible that a single load of laundry could release hundreds of thousands of fibers from our clothes into the water supply. And these tiny fibers — less than 5 millimeters in length, with diameters measured in micrometers (one-thousandth of a millimeter) — can eventually reach the ocean. There, they’re adding to the microplastic pollution that’s accumulating in the food chain and being ingested by all sorts of marine wildlife, and even us. Most of the plastic that’s in the ocean, in terms of number of pieces, is not in the form of whole products like cups or straws, but instead broken-down shreds of plastic. Consider the lint you collect in the dryer. That lint is tiny bits of thread from your clothing that have become dislodged and are caught by a mesh screen. Similarly, synthetic fibers come off in the wash — but they’re so small, and there’s no filter inside the machines to catch them. Instead, these tiny plastic fibers pass through to sewage treatment plants, which often don’t have filters fine enough to catch them. (And if they do, the fibers may end up in another sewage byproduct: fertilizer.) Treated wastewater is then often dumped into rivers or the sea, carrying plastic clothing fibers with it. So what can we do? Buy second hand: All garments shed more when they are new. Wear clothes for longer. Check the label and avoid synthetic textiles such as polyester, acrylic and nylon. Look for organic cotton products. Wash cooler:  you can wash at  30°C/86°F is sufficient. Water in combination with heat weakens the yarn, resulting  in much more plastic ending up in our oceans. Wash less frequently. Air your clothes out and wash out stains by hand to avoid unnecessary laundering. Reduce the spin – lots of friction happens during the spin cycle. Skip the spin if you can or reduce the RPM (rotation per minute)  – your clothes will also last longer and reduce plastic fibrers coming off. Don’t tumble dry. The heat and the mechanical forces inside a tumble dryer are also a culprit of microplastic pollution. Synthetic clothes dry super fast anyway. Air-dry your clothes. If you have to use a dryer, please make sure to filter the condensed water. Use the shortest possible  wash cycle. https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/9/19/17800654/clothes-plastic-pollution-polyester-washing-machine https://www.stopmicrowaste.com/tenfortheocean Choose natural fibres. Synthetic fabrics create microfibre pollution when washed. Look for organic cotton, wool, and other natural fibres. 2 Old Shoes and Clothing into New. Take clothes to a tailor for alteration if thet dont fit/arent in style rather than throwing them away. 3 Buy clothing second-hand clothes. This not only saves you money but ensures that the clothes you purchase have an extra long lease of life. Do a clothes swop. 4 Avoid bargain plastic items. These often break easily, like cheap accessories.  

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