Guest blogger and Present Partner: Sarah Gingrich
We ordinarily don’t think of 650 gallons of water when we unfold a cotton t-shirt at a shop, and hold it up to take in the design and the cut.
We don’t think of a third of a pound of pesticides, nor workers in cramped, unsafe factories, underpaid and tired, running this same cloth through sergers and sewing machines. But we can, and I’d argue that we must, begin to think of these realities and let our thinking lead to different doing.
What's Involved in Production of Clothing
Because demand fuels production, it’s important to address the fiber content of our clothing before purchasing. Clothes are made from synthetic fibers like polyester (and their cousin's like rayon, spandex, nylon, etc)... while their production uses less water than natural fibers, they are made from non-biodegradable oil-based plastic and require strong chemical dyes to be used to change their color.
I think the last thing we think of when we toss our gym clothes into the washer is harming the environment, but microplastics coming off of synthetic clothing is a major contribution to the water pollution affecting marine life. In addition, your gym clothes may outlive you for hundreds of years in the landfill!
What's Then Shall We Wear?
If you're committed to buying new garments... linen, organic cotton, silk, and wool are wonderful alternatives to synthetics. Knowing the high water cost of growing and manufacturing natural fibers should lead us to buy the highest quality, most enduring articles of clothing that we can because we recognize how precious the material truly is. This is the antithesis of fast fashion which would have us buy new every season, but there is a growing movement of buying a capsule wardrobe of quality garments, built to last.
What About A Capsule Wardrobe or Thrift Shopping?
If you are open to buying used, thrifting your clothing is an absolute boost to the environment and your wallet. I walk down the aisles of women’s clothing at local thrift shops, letting my hand glide over the fabrics until I feel linen. Strong, long-lasting, and cooling on the skin, this textile tends to be expensive bought new, but in a thrift store the playing field is level, and a garment that can last me for years is only a few dollars.
I also appreciate that I can see how a garment has weathered washings and wearings; does the sweater have pills, is it misshapen? Does the blouse tend to wrinkle badly due to shabby construction? More information is available to me as a consumer by seeing how the garment has fared until now.
When I wash these natural fiber garments I know that I’m not contributing to microplastic pollution, and when my clothes have reached the end of their usefulness, they are compostable.
If you are facing a closet of synthetic clothing and wondering where to go from here, remember that it is best to use up what you have (after all, it has come to you at a great cost!), try to recycle it when it is no longer usable, and make more textile-conscious decisions when you replace them. We’ll do better, one shirt at a time.
