What are gas guzzling clothes, and why cut your clothing footprint? I recently came across this phrase, and it resonated with me as I’ve been thinking, for a while now, about not buying clothes. Read this to understand some of the problems that fast fashion, and a throwaway wardrobe, causes for us all and the environment – and my suggestions for solutions.
It isn’t just the quantity that we buy and throw away, it’s what many of the clothes are made of – synthetics. Synthetics are made, essentially, from oil and coal. Hence the term ‘gas guzzling clothes‘ or ‘coal-rich clothing‘.
The Seamless Pledge
Back in the summer, I joined a pledge and wrote about it in No new clothes: The Seamless Pledge. Lately I’ve been thinking through what’s been easy and what seems hard since turning to this pledge, and that’s not just centered on me, but what might be easy or hard for most people.
Easy Wins For Me
What’s been easy for me? Walking down the High Street, where I live, lately I don’t feel a great pull towards the clothes on sale. I’m often tempted into the food hall of ‘Marks and Sparks’ for some indulgent nibbles, but find I ignore the clothes. How come? I suppose because the arguments against fast fashion, that you see in the Seamless Pledge article, have lodged in my brain. Plus, I’m very motivated to make my own clothes, and I’ve been buying second-hand for a long time. Walking into a charity shop to buy clothes, or buying vintage, doesn’t make me have to change my mindset. I don’t have to overcome a prejudice against second-hand. It’s familiar territory to me, but for many it isn’t.
How to Overcome Barriers to Change
For many, making clothes seems an impossibility. In decades past though, making at least some of your clothes at home was normal, but now much less so. So, even if you’ve accepted the arguments against throw-away fashion, there may be some barriers to overcome.
Yet, there’s lots of help around for those who want to learn how to make their own clothes, or mend and upcycle clothes. Nearly every local college runs beginner dressmaking courses, knitting circles are springing up everywhere and most would help a beginner. An environmental centre near where I live runs a clothes swap, a ‘Second-hand First’ week and mending sessions. You’d be surprised what’s around, once you look.
Smalls and Synthetics
What’s been more difficult for the Seamless Pledge devotees? Well, firstly a small issue is ‘smalls’. Most people joining the Pledge have excluded socks and underwear from the not buying new. Probably, because you wouldn’t want to buy them second-hand, and few would make their own. I’m trying, at least, not to buy new socks.
However, now it’s getting colder I’m finding holes in my socks and warm winter tights – aargh! No problem, I can darn and I can knit socks. It’s just that I’m part way through knitting a cardigan, so I know I’m going to have to put that down and get the darning wool out.
But, here comes the big issue. I think it’s the move away from synthetic fibres. It’s easy-ish for me as I really don’t like synthetics very much. One of my husband’s favourite t-shirts is a horrid, totally synthetic Aston Villa t-shirt. Not that I sneakily try to hide it at the bottom of the laundry basket or anything 😉.
Plastic-free sportswear is particularly hard to find, so synthetic fibres are hard to avoid, but there are hints of change with more natural fibre sportswear appearing.
I much prefer natural fibres like wool, linen, silk and cotton, and aim to gradually phase out synthetics and bring in the natural.
Pure wool, linen and silk are hard to find in the shops now, and when you do it’s quite expensive. We see cotton everywhere, and it’s fairly cheap, but it’s mostly made using environmentally damaging processes and cheap labour. Add in our tendency to want easy care. We throw it in the washing machine on any old wash cycle, without a care. It’s no wonder that synthetics reign supreme. What’s to be done?
Follow a Campaign
Campaigns like Campaign for Wool, #ethicalfashion, #slowfashion and #makedoandmend are showing the way.
Tweet and ‘like’ their messages, buy wool, organic cotton, hemp clothing, knit/crochet with wool, alpaca and other plant or animal fibres, for instance, and you help the cause. For zero waste clothes I have some hints about make, mend and buy options.
Any other suggestions? How would you join the movement away from fast fashion? What do you think are easy wins, or hard to do?
