Zoe Girl
12-27-15, 2:36pm
HI all, I was inspired by my friend who posted on FB about the book Junkyard Planet. My thing is clothing since I can sew. I have not moved onto totally environmentally friendly fabric yet but I am cutting out the labor issues with a few items a year. So I started reading a lot about issues in the 'fast fashion' industry including how many gallons of water are used for one pair of jeans, the toxic dyes used for many clothes, and of course labor issues with sweatshops overseas. Meanwhile I get clothing gifts and hand me downs quite often. I would say my mom does a great job picking things out, she even got me some bamboo fabric items over the last year (OMG bamboo cloth is so amazing and long lasting, check it out). I also only take hand me downs that I know I will wear and have a few pieces that have become my faves.
One thing I read that we can all do, even if we do not buy eco-clothing or environmentally safe fabrics, is simply to wear our clothes more often. Even donating clothes has a huge waste factor since there is so much out there now. The advice I read was to wear items at least 30 times. Even a seasonal item worn once a week can add up to 30 times. I can do that, I honestly have the hardest time with clothes I have made or adapted right now. One project over the break from work is to fix any homemade clothes until they are items I would wear more often. I have a pair of pants I just forget to wear and another that needs major work (if you sew make a muslin!). I have the linen skirt I made months ago and I know I will wear it a lot, I just love the fabric.
I am probably preaching to the converted here, but thought I would share this for anyone who received clothing gifts and wants to make the most of it. Honestly at least half of my new clothes each year are from my mother, she just loves to buy clothes and does a good job picking, but I feel some environmental guilt because I have so much already.
One thing I read that we can all do, even if we do not buy eco-clothing or environmentally safe fabrics, is simply to wear our clothes more often. Even donating clothes has a huge waste factor since there is so much out there now. The advice I read was to wear items at least 30 times. Even a seasonal item worn once a week can add up to 30 times. I can do that, I honestly have the hardest time with clothes I have made or adapted right now. One project over the break from work is to fix any homemade clothes until they are items I would wear more often. I have a pair of pants I just forget to wear and another that needs major work (if you sew make a muslin!). I have the linen skirt I made months ago and I know I will wear it a lot, I just love the fabric.
I am probably preaching to the converted here, but thought I would share this for anyone who received clothing gifts and wants to make the most of it. Honestly at least half of my new clothes each year are from my mother, she just loves to buy clothes and does a good job picking, but I feel some environmental guilt because I have so much already.