Living Well: Because Naked is Not an Option

The stats show an industry whose entire business model are engineered around waste-not its prevention, but its creation.

Around 100 billion garments are manufactured annually. Let’s say the sell-through rate (both full and discounted) is a very generous 90%-that means potentially 10 million items of clothing become “deadstock” every year. HALF of fast fashion is disposed of within a year . 75% of apparel purchases are now made at discounted prices. More than $500 billion of value is lost every year due to “clothing underutilization.” The US generates 16 million tons of textile waste each year. Basically, the industry is built on the knowledge that there is not enough demand for the clothing that it produces. And yet its production continues.

Then there are the toxic effects of the creation of all this clothing, both to people (do we remember Rana Plaza Factory Fire?) and planet. Apparel and footwear together are responsible for 8% of global carbon equivalent emissions. According to the UN, the production of one cotton shirt requires 2700 litres of water-the amount a person drinks in 2.5 years. The fact that a great deal of this isn’t even consumed or is discarded within a handful of wears makes it all the worse.

Sure, all the big fashion brands are talking about less toxic ways to produce . The UN’s 2018 Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action-signed by 43 brands including Stella McCartney, Adidas and H&M-has set a target for companies to cut emissions by 30% by 2030, and net zero emissions by 2050. And Gucci took to Instagram to announce that it is now carbon neutral . But apparently, the fashion industry’s movement toward increasing sustainability has actually slowed down, not sped up . Yes, it’s hard, what with long supply chains. But the industry does need to do more.

Synthetic textiles are also a challenge as fibers from microplastics often end up in our water. Microplastics are small pieces of plastic that are less than 1 mm in size. They are not or are only partially filtered by sewage treatment plants, which means a ton of them wind up in rivers and oceans.

But the problem is much more insidious than that: a business model and ecosystem built to stoke desire, and thus, ever-more consumption. Producing too many things more sustainably or ethically doesn’t necessarily move the needle in the way it needs to be moved.

This is a systemic problem, and WE are part of that system. The most straightforward answer is certainly to eschew anything fast fashion, or, of course, to buy nothing at all. But for those who are looking for a slightly less austere path or whose wardrobe is in need of augmenting, here are some practical suggestions.

Personal Habits.

Let’s start with the obvious: Marie Kondo your wardrobe. Only own things that “spark joy.” Another thought: wear fewer colors. (Easy to say for someone whose wardrobe is black, white, and khaki/olive.) Colorful clothes often require other colors (and often new items and accessories) to go with them.

Before you even get to reselling or recyling, restyle. Get to a tailor. See if the reason the item doesn’t spark joy is because it doesn’t fit, or because its proportions are a bit off to your eye. A good tailor or stylist can help. Or learn to sew yourself and get to know a little about the fundamentals of garment construction.

Keep an eye out for companies like , Eileen Fisher, and Taylor Stitch that offer repair services, or offer to take back lightly worn clothes to resell and upsell.

If you must cull:

Share. Give to a friend or family member. Have a swap party with friends and their friends. Maybe even stage it at a fashion boutique.

Donate-but not for recycling, per se. Hand in the rest to a charity that actually USES the clothes you’re discarding, like Dress for Success (women only) or the Alliance of Career Development Nonprofits . Just make sure that the clothes actually look good and aren’t threadbare. Making your discards someone else’s problem isn’t really solving anything.

Resell. Stay local and visit your neighborhood consignment store. (Every locality has something like this, but I’m a big fan of (women only) or Sui Generis (men and women) in the Bay Area, but there’s also CrossRoads Trading or ). Or go online and sell better duds (and shoes and jewelry) at The Real Real and Vestiaire Collective or resale locations (where you do more of the work), like ThredUp, or . Older items can go to proper vintage boutiques. To save yourself time and effort, get to know what these stores (particularly online) are looking for. The Real Real is designer-oriented and picky. CrossRoads is less so, but much more focused on seasonality.

Only if you really can’t do the above should you take your clothes to Salvation Army or even an H&M, which offers recycling at some shops.

Wash less. Each wash of a synthetic garment releases thousands of plastic microfibers into the waterways. Do you really have to wash every wear? Let your clothes air out for a day or two before washing. Check the label. The most common synthetic fibres are polyester, spandex, nylon, and acrylic. To be safe, choose materials such as cotton, wool, linen, silk, or bamboo. But, of course, we get that for performance/workout clothing, these synthetic fibers do things natural fibers just can’t, and since they’re used in sweaty environments, they do need a wash. Still, be thoughtful about it. A Pilates or yoga class probably ends up causing less stink than a Soulcycle class.

Buying

But we all need clothes from time to time, whether it’s out of actual need or out of just that uncurb-able desire. The obvious key questions: do you really need it? Do you really have nothing in your closet like it? Will you wear it a LOT? Will it date well? And last question after all the others have been answered: does it spark joy?

Borrow. If you can. Particularly if you’re buying for a special event.

Buy quality. This is a given, whether you’re buying new or resale, and it’s inherently less wasteful. Buy clothes to keep. But even then, with the emergence of online resale (or recommerce as it’s called), it’s easy to turn over clothes. It may cut your risk of a bad investment, but that isn’t really the point, is it?

Rent. Rent the Runway , , (for high-end evening clothes) and similar stores provide a great option for fashion hounds who want to look up to date.

Buy consignment and resale. The same places where you sold (see above) are usually good places to buy. (But only what you need, of course.)

Buy from a small, indie local designer. This is, of course, a great way to support local creators, but it’s also a way to minimize waste: most small designers can’t afford to engineer waste into their businesses like the big boys do, and smaller runs mean that you won’t look like everyone else.

Consider buying “designer.” What? Yes. The pieces are generally well made in shorter runs. Bonus: these clothes are inherently more resellable, if you think you’ll be going in that direction. But be aware of things that are too “fashion” and trendy. In that way lies trouble. Stick to classics.

Get it tailored when you buy it. This minimizes the chance that something you buy is going to languish in the wardrobe with tags on. Fit is everything when it comes to feeling good.

Don’t shop with friends. The older we get, the clearer our tastes become. So do you really need someone to entice you into buying something you’re not sure of, or to try to convince you to wear something they wish they could wear but won’t? I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been talked into items that go in the resale/donate pile six months later. And since shopping with friends often involves a glass of wine or two… you get the idea.

Don’t shop sales. If you wouldn’t buy it at full price, it means you probably don’t really need it. And don’t send stores the wrong signal and reward their “we can always discount it to move it” attitude.

Avoid subscription boxes for clothes. It may be the business model du jour, but it just doesn’t feel like a sustainable idea for so many reasons. Happy to be proven wrong, but it just feels off.

Support brands that offer real sustainability (including business model sustainability) and fit your style.

Give well, says consultant Annie Gullingsrud of Design for All Kind . Source good things at consignment stores.

More subtly: take a look at your investments. How invested are you in the apparel business? What’s your portfolio saying?

Pay attention and Support organizations like Fashion Positive , the Sustainable Apparel Coalition , Connect Fashion , Cradle to Cradle . Keep an eye on The Fashion Transparency Index . And follow Anne Gullingsrud for her balanced and smart perspectives and provocations about circular fashion.

Originally published at https://www.thejosscollective.com on September 20, 2019.