sigargh

[sigargh]

Viewing Experience

You can scroll through the main feed to experience the story or you can click through the links in the Navigation tab to view pieces of the story, individually. 

-Gabrielle

[sigargh]

Introduction

[sigargh]

History

[sigargh]

Industrial Revolution

Sewing machines, introduced during the Industrial Revolution, helped propel the mass production of clothing around the 1800′s. This dramatically decreased the price of clothing and allowed for the middle-class to have the opportunity to purchase their clothing from dressmakers; although, the lower-classes continued to make their own clothing. During this time, clothing begins to be made in

[sigargh]

World War II

The World Wars encouraged the continued idea of creating and mending clothing at home, because of the constraints on style and materials brought on from clothes rationing. Although there were many garment and textile factories, the value of mass produced clothing was not fully realized until after the war.

Sources: “I’m Wearing Dad’s Old Suit”  https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2recffzEvvc/WLb-lIGxZHI/AAAAAAAABz8/VVNL5ZJ2RLAatXH_Z6IeKFUNkVDkeKM8QCLcB/s1600/old%2Bsuit.PNG

“Go through your wardrobe” https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwm.org.uk%2Fhistory%2F8-facts-about-clothes-rationing-in-britain-during-the-second-world-war&psig=AOvVaw3A7RhsxIKZqhXEVea1jsrj&ust=1589188912566000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCOChgpv8qOkCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAh

[sigargh]

1960′s

Fast fashion really took off in the 60′s. People appreciated cheap and fashionable clothing and small shops began to stock up on trendy mass produced clothing. The demand for clothing grew at an unimaginable rate and some production became outsourced to foreign countries for cheaper labor.

[sigargh]

Today

Fast fashion retailers are the most popular places to get cheap and fashionable clothing. You can probably find an H&M, ZARA, or Forever 21 in any town or nearby. Although they may have seemed to become popular recently, they have actually been around since the 60′s, with H&M being one of the oldest. Their popularity is mainly due to the cost of the clothing. For example, a stylish suit can be purchased for around $100 from H&M, which sounds like an incredible bargain. Being able to purchase cheaper clothing at any time means that we perceive them as being easily disposable.

The price of looking good may come at a lower cost for us but is an enormous toll on the environment and the workers creating our clothing. Fast fashion is only possible with the help of outsourcing labor to countries that can provide it for cheaper. This usually means working conditions and environmental policies are overlooked.

[sigargh]

Ramifications

Fast Fashion and how clothing is consumed today brings up a lot of concerns about environmental health, human rights, and consumer behavior. Think about the cycle of going from raw material (like cotton or wool, etc.) to retailer to disposal or recycling/up-cycling. How long is the process? What processes are contributing to pollution? Where do I come into the cycle? Posing these questions will help us understand the underbelly of fast fashion.

[sigargh]

Raw Materials and Production

First, raw materials must be gathered then are processed into fabrics. The production process of raw materials presents a number of environmental and occupational hazards. For example, cotton, one of the most popular clothing materials, can be treated with pesticides which can not only cause respiratory illnesses to cultivators and farmers, but can also seep into the soil and be found in nearby water runoff that may harm local communities and animals. Similarly, the dying of raw materials can further contribute to environmental and human/animal harm if water used in production is not treated (Bick, Halsey, and Ekenga, 2018).

[sigargh]

Human Rights

Fast fashion is often built on the cheap labor that is outsourced to countries with minimal safety and infrastructural policies. With a lack of education and job opportunities, factory workers are paid dollars a day and forced to work in unsafe conditions for hours at a time. They are exposed to chemicals and synthetic particles in the air that can cause various respiratory illnesses, cancers, and other life-altering health hazards (Bick et al., 2018). 

Above is a picture of the collapse of Rena Plaza in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was a garment facility where hundreds of workers died because of insufficient and illegal building infrastructure. Many workers were forced to work despite the known safety risks of the building.

[sigargh]

Livia Firth, the creative director of Eco-Age, discusses her visit to a garment facility in Dhaka, Bangladesh and notes the poor conditions of the women working in them. 

This video is part of the “True Cost Movie” and was retrieved from their website: https://truecostmovie.com/learn-more/human-rights/

[sigargh]

Waste

In general, the fashion industry is quite wasteful, especially when it reaches consumers. Buying new clothes every season is encouraged and almost conditioned in people. The newest clothes are cycled out so quickly that we are left with a lot of “outdated” clothing. Throwing out these clothes seems justifiable because they are so cheaply made and of low quality. Whatever might be left is usually donated. 

But did you know most of the clothing that is donated actually ends up in landfills anyways?

According to Marc Gunthor of JSTOR Daily, 12.8 million tonnes of textile waste is contributed by Americans, every year. Textiles, whether they are synthetic or not, take hundreds of years to degrade and sit in landfills and emit methane gas into the atmosphere (Reid, 2018). The biggest issue seems to be how unwanted clothes are handled. The trip from production to landfill has significantly shortened

[sigargh]

Waste Culture

[sigargh]

Sustainability

What is it?

Sustainability is a buzzword that is hot! Sustainable practices are basically ones that can provide for future generations without taking away from current ones and being able to maintain what we have now. How the clothing industry is functioning now is unsustainable, especially with fast fashion. Meaning that the practices being used today to mass produce clothing are harmful to the environment and society of future generations. Sustainable practices are so important when trying to maintain a healthy environment, workers, and economy.

[sigargh]

Sustainable Practices in Clothing

Sustainable practices and companies are essential to the health of people, the environment and the economy. At the production scale, things like lowering resource intensity, fair wages and utilizing organic and safe materials/dyes are ways to increase sustainability in an overarching way. Taking care of workers and giving them opportunities for education and livable wages is HUGE.

At the consumer scale...

Lengthening the time it takes for clothing to reach a landfill is one of the most important things you can do to increase environmental and economic sustainability. This means:

Recycling

Up-cycling

Buying less and less often

Buying vintage

Thrifting

Maintaining clothing

Thoughtful purchasing

Buying organic

and so on...

[sigargh]

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE!

Reduce: purchase less!

Reuse: According to (Sandin and Peter, 2018), reusing means to continue to use something without modifying it, by transferring it to others or by continual usage. For example, donating clothing or selling it.

Recycling: means to reprocess something into a new product, e.g. transforming a stained shirt into washcloths or old clothing into insulation.

[sigargh]

Think about how you will use your clothing and how often. Livia Firth, the creative director of Eco-Age, discusses being thoughtful about how we buy clothing. 

The video is from the “True Cost Movie” and retrieved from https://truecostmovie.com/learn-more/environmental-impact/