We've been watching documentaries with our children to learn more about the clothing and fashion industry. For some time we have avoided buying new, imported clothes knowing that they were made by women and children in terrible working conditions, but until we realized the entire story behind the industry, it was impossible to truly grasp the magnitude of the situation. Fast fashion is a huge global human rights issue and an environmental problem of epic proportion.
Over the last few decades, we've seen the clothing manufacturing industry nearly totally disappear from North America. Clothing labels now seek manufacturing services in countries where garments can be made very cheaply (and often without regard for the health and safety of the people making them). As fashion (and consumption) has sped up (with "looks", colours and styles rapidly changing) people have taken up shopping as a pastime to keep up with trends. Consumption is at an all time high and our homes and closets are burgeoning as a result! Are you old enough to remember when closets were much smaller? In newer homes today, master closets are ROOMS with cabinetry and opulent finishing... literally, shrines to consumption and the fast fashion industry.
The word "decluttering" didn't exist in mainstream conversations a short time ago... Closet "purging" wasn't on the radar because none of us had the number of garments we have now. Excess abounds in today's culture. Growing up, I had ONE pair of good leather shoes for everyday wear, a pair of boots and leather sandals for summer. I recall owning 2 or 3 dresses, 2 pair of pants, 2 pair of shorts and a few shirts at any one time. That's it! All of it was good quality and it lasted the whole year (or until I needed the next size up). There was nothing to declutter from my closet (or my Mother's) because we wore everything on a regular basis. Clothing shopping was not recreational and it certainly didn't happen frequently. In fact, my Mother took me only twice a year to the department store to get what I needed (undergarments, socks, shoes or perhaps a winter coat or another needed item). Shopping was done as a pre-planned homemaking task not as a recreational pastime (as it is today).
From what I know through acquaintances and my daughters' friends, recreational shopping happens (at least) on a weekly basis in a great many people's lives. This makes our generation literal slaves to fast fashion and consumption! This pattern of shopping and discarding (because of changing styles or dissatisfaction with cheap clothes that don't wear or wash well) fuels the demand for yet MORE clothes (perpetuating the problem).
Retail stores are FULL of garments that perform poorly (fabric shrinkage, fabric pilling, twisting seams, buttons barely attached, flimsy zippers that break, etc) because they are made from inferior quality materials. These clothing items are often thrown out after just a few wearings which has created a HUGE problem of synthetic clothes in landfills (synthetic fabrics or "blends" do NOT biodegrade). The ever popular micro fleece is a terrible polluter as those very fine plastic fibres (which shed with each washing) ultimately end up in our lakes and oceans (and believe it or not, in fish!). Fast fashion comes at a tremendous cost to the environment. This must stop and the place to tackle the issue is in our homes.
Retail stores are FULL of garments that perform poorly (fabric shrinkage, fabric pilling, twisting seams, buttons barely attached, flimsy zippers that break, etc) because they are made from inferior quality materials. These clothing items are often thrown out after just a few wearings which has created a HUGE problem of synthetic clothes in landfills (synthetic fabrics or "blends" do NOT biodegrade). The ever popular micro fleece is a terrible polluter as those very fine plastic fibres (which shed with each washing) ultimately end up in our lakes and oceans (and believe it or not, in fish!). Fast fashion comes at a tremendous cost to the environment. This must stop and the place to tackle the issue is in our homes.
We have in recent years looked to buy clothing made in North America to remove our support from the "fashion industry", reduce the "travel miles" on our clothes and purchase better quality clothing but we are now taking this issue deeper to heart... With permaculture ethics as our guide (once again), we look to waste streams in our community to fill our clothing needs. We live in a fairly affluent area of Alberta so a huge amount of second hand clothing is on offer in several thrift stores near me. Much of it is in new or nearly new condition and often, I find quality garments made to last from wool, linen and cotton. As an example, just yesterday, this is what I found:
Six 100% cotton t-shirts and one 100% linen blouse all very good quality, in BRAND NEW or nearly new condition (some with original tags!) for just $9.00 in total. If I had to purchase these items new from a retail store, the cost would total well over $250.00.
Purchasing clothing in this way keeps discarded clothing out of landfills (and it certainly helps our budget), but most importantly, it keeps our money (and therefore our support) out of the fast fashion industry. We likely can't meet all of our needs in this way, but we can certainly be mindful consumers and look for ethically produced garments to fill any wardrobe gaps. Those ethically purchased items will be more costly than cheap imports, but the money saved on the bulk of our (used) purchases should balance this out.
Will you join me in taking this challenge on?
What a wonderful post! We are currently moving our boys into one room so they can have bunk beds (found on kijiji at 1/4 of the new price). My biggest challenge in consolidating their belongings (aside from toys, but there is a spot for excess in the rumpus room) is their CLOTHES. We are lucky in that almost all of their clothing comes handed down from friends but the sheer quantity is staggering. I pass on extras to a friend and donate a lot, and I save outgrown things for my brother's son. Still, the amount of clothing considered normal is so much greater than when I was a child. I was like you and had a set of play clothes and a set of school clothes. Mom sewed many of my things and a new dress once a year that would be worn to Christmas concert, music festival, and any weddings that might occur. It's going to take some sweet talking to get the 5 year old to make room in his dresser for his brother! My other problem with having so many clothes is the laundry and the unnecessary use of water. My husband grew up in the city and I grew up with a well. That went dry. So I encourage my kids to wear their play clothes a couple days until they are actually dirty. Pjs can be worn a few nights in a row. School/good clothes should be changed immediately and put away so they can be worn again. It's taken some time but my husband is coming around to my way of thinking and the kids are beginning to do this out of habit. I try to imagine what the world will be like when my kids are senior citizens. I have to teach them to save water and try not to waste. Thank you for this post it has really got me thinking :)
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about being overwhelmed by hand me downs. We were VERY fortunate to have received a great deal of hand me downs over the years but (like you shared) they can be a huge clutter problem if we don't sort them right away and pass along anything not needed. I used to keep boxes with sizes/seasons marked on the outside so I could access what we needed next from the storage room.
DeleteAt one point, I kept the 2 younger kids' clothes in the laundry room closet just to save time and hassle which worked very well. They changed in the adjacent bathroom which was totally workable until they were old enough to haul their own clothes up and down the stairs.
Yep, Im keen. I have never liked synthetic fibers due to the fact they are un-natural and hot. Really the main synthetic clothing we have is swimmers and rain/wind jackets. Though we do have blends with elsataine in them. I have been slowly collecting woolen long sleeve tops to layer under things over winter and recently started to make my own dresses out of cotton/linen. Not cheap, but gee I value them! Some of my favorite clothes are op-shop clothes, but with the kids being small I struggle to get to thrift shops as it is slow shopping. Its on my agenda this year though! But the op shops around here are often no so good quality clothing as yours by the sound. But I do need to find need new crockery and bowls so that all helps. Im going for a mis-matched floral theme! Just for fun. :)
ReplyDeleteWe have recently bought an old cottage as you know and I am deliberately NOT putting in built ins. We are making do with very modest sized wardrobes, in the aim to be conscious of what we have. The boys have little old gentlemans wardrobes (came with the house) which are prefect with a couple of baskets in the bottom and Henry has a single set of draws. The less storage we have, the less we will be tempted to buy things we dont need and will be forced to keep our things within that restricted space and to be mindful of mindless consumerism. :)
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Oh yes... restricted space is good for tempering consumption! I love your cottage by the way - it's just gorgeous and that RANGE! I still drool over it!
DeleteWOW! This is a great blog post!
ReplyDeleteIt is certainly thought provoking. I know myself when I see new clothing in stores for $5 a piece I feel uneasy, for many reasons, I wonder how the heck they can be made that cheaply, and the answer is others pay the price, and one look indicates the quality is just not there. But on the other end of the scale to get the quality they charge exorbitant prices! It is hard to find quality items in op-shops in my area, because "professional" shoppers buy the good brands cheaply, then on-sell them at markets!! It really bugs me, but what can be done about it??
It is such a complex issue, and I admire your efforts. I'm channelling my efforts (slowly) into making my own clothing to help overcome some of these issues. I'm self taught, but have a pair of Pyjama pants on the go at the moment. Doing it this way still has it's issues as most of the readily available fabric comes from India or China, but it's a compromise of sorts.
Again great post!
Professional shoppers.... Hm. Could you could ask your thrift stores what days/times they put out new items and shop immediately after that?
DeleteGood for you re: sewing clothes. Much of my sewing gear is packed for the move, but I plan to do a lot more garment sewing in future.
I like the way you apply permaculture ethics to this problem. I buy nearly all my clothes from thrift stores (apart from underwear). I always look for good quality natural fibres. I find high street stores overwhelming now, too much choice, but nothing I want! I also sew a bit from thrifted fabric. I keep clothes for a long time, they go from being "town" clothes to farm clothes to rags, unless they really don't fit, and then back to the thrift store. I wonder though if using thrift stores is just being part of the cycle of fast fashion (the discard part) and if I should really be supporting locally made good quality clothing instead (if I can find it!).
ReplyDeleteIt's certainly something that we have been practicing for quite some time, but like Liz I'm keen to also purchase local handmade items if needed as well as making my own. I like to make items of clothing for my grandsons. It will be interesting to see how long they are keen to wear grandma made clothes.. But really i'm with you do we really need all this clothing in the first place. trying hard to cut down and be content with a smaller amount of clothing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post. I think you are spot on on the shrine thing. We worship things through our consumer lifestyle. And it's not good for the earth and for ourselves (makes us selfcentered, I think). So thank you for writing this post.
ReplyDeleteI totally recognize the hand me down problem. I get a lot of hand me downs. Which is on the one hand very nice, because it saves me buying a lot of stuff, but on the other hand, a lot of these hand me downs are so PINK!!!! that I don't like them that much (I would never buy it myself) and at the moment they clutter my house. Because every week a new bag arrives... well, I will go and try to find other takers for them. - Hannah