Lately I have been on the hunt for some sustainable fashion Ted Talks. After combing the archives I found 6 binge worthy sustainable fashion Ted Talks.

1.Eva Kruse: Changing the World Through Fashion

“..ultimately, actually helping the industry earn more money by making you all want something new. A new color, a cut, or a new fit because that’s the nature of the business. And that’s creating jobs. It’s a good thing. It’s creating jobs all around the world from the cotton farmer to the shop assistant. However, lately building the industry and making it make more money is not all I have been doing because there is a flip side to it all. The fashion industry is also one of the worlds most polluting industries.” Eva Kruse

2. Clara Vuletich: How to Engage with Ethical Fashion

“The good news is I believe things are changing for the better. We are currently in a transition to a new type of fashion industry based on ecological and holistic principles – of closing the loop on materials. That prioritizes community, values and respect of all the people in the supply chain.” Clara Vuletich

3. Andras Forgacs: Leather and Meat without Killing Animals

“What’s crazy is what we do today. I’m convinced that in 30 years, when we look back on today and on how we raise and slaughter billions of animals to make our hamburgers and our handbags, we’ll see this as being wasteful and indeed crazy.” Andras Forgas

4. Lucy Siegle: The Wardrobe to Die For

“We’re all a nation of fashion addicts. That’s how we’ve become and that’s been enabled really over the last 20 years by a phenomenon known as fast fashion.” Lucy Siegle

5. Christine Dean: You Are What You Wear

“You have an incredible power to reduce the pollution in the fashion industry.” Christine Dean

6. Maxine Bédat: The High Cost of Cheap Fashion

“In the 1960’s the average American invested in 25 new pieces of clothing every year. A generation later, today and we purchase 3x as much clothing as we did in the sixties.” Maxine Bédat

Hope you enjoyed these sustainable fashion Ted Talks as much as I did. Make sure to leave a comment and let me know which one was your favorite!

The fashion industry is comprised of one thirsty business after another. With summer in full swing I can’t drive through a single town without seeing a water restriction or ban sign. As individuals we are all told to do our part in helping to conserve water but what about corporations? What about the fashion industry? Just how much water does it really take to produce our clothing?

By now you may have seen the statistical number 2,700 litres (approximately 714 gallons) floating around. This is the amount of water used to produce just one T-Shirt!  You read that right, a single shirt! But, being American I don’t exactly have an idea of what a litre is nor does such a large number really mean anything, so let’s break it down.

2,700 Litres for One Shirt is the equivalent to:

1,350 Days of Recommended Drinking Water Per Person (8, 8oz glasses per day)

or

569 Bottles of Wine

or

178 Weeks of Watering a Rose Bush Every Day

or

119 Dishwasher Cycles

or

41.5 Showers

I’m not sure what to be more shocked at, the fact that one shirt uses about three and a half years of personal drinking water or that 569 bottles of wine will never get produced because that water is going to a single shirt.

Now I know this seems a bit too simple and sure you don’t trade one product for another in production, that’s just not how things work, but fresh water is a finite source and sooner or later we will run out (sorry to burst your bubble climate change deniers) so, let’s take a closer look at exactly how much water one industry, fashion, really uses and consider if it is really worth buying one more article of clothing or not.

In 2015 Eileen Fisher told a crowd at a Chelsea Pier Ballroom that “the clothing industry was the second largest polluter in the world…second only to oil.” Whoa there Eileen, aren’t you a clothing designer? And how do you know that? Indeed, Fisher is a prominent designer whose clothing you have no doubt seen but she is also a sustainability advocate and is doing her part to help overhaul the industry. To the second point we don’t really know just how toxic the fashion industry has become because surprise, surprise companies don’t really like to tell us about the downsides of their businesses. Shocking, I know! But, the fact remains, as one of the most prominent industries the rapid consumption of clothing and accessories has contributed to astounding water pollution and mind boggling water consumption.

In order to make traditional clothing, the first thing that needs to happen is to grow the raw materials. This is most often cotton – remember it is the fabric of our lives. Approximately 20 million tons of cotton are produced each year spanning a total of 90 countries. It takes 20,000 litres of water to produce 1kg of cotton – about one t-shirt and a single pair of jeans. If you thought that was a lot of water just wait until the next phases of production. Cotton has to be harvested, spun, and dyed. It is estimated by Cotton Inc. that 85% of water usage in the fashion industry is directly associated with the dyeing process.

Okay, so at this point you are probably thinking about all the alternatives to cotton and you would be right to know that clothing is made from more than one material. Each of those substitutes show promise in helping to minimize the industries water footprint but with cotton accounting for about half our clothes and other textiles it is unavoidable.

Water consumption isn’t the only problem with the fashion industries footprint. Water pollution is what we can only guess Fisher was hinting at when she said it was the second dirtiest industry. Being as prevalent a crop as it is, some clever manufactures have come up with bug resistant and drought resistant cotton crops. But, this means pesticides and lots of them and guess where those pesticides end up – in the soil – and what does the soil come into contact with? Aquafers! It’s one big closed loop system. Pesticides seep into the soil which run into the water ways, eventually down-stream and into oceans. There is no escaping the pollutants even if the crops are grown half way around the world. Those nasty side effects will eventually come right back to you. “Unsustainable cotton farming, with massive inputs of water and pesticides, has already been responsible for the destruction of large-scale ecosystems such as the Aral Sea in central Asia and the deteriorating health and livelihoods of the people living there.”

The dyeing process is no kinder to the environment. Many of the dyes still used in mass production are toxic. I could get all technical here and talk about low dissolve oxygen concentrations and biochemical oxygen demand (you can read more about that in this very technical report) but let’s just say adding toxic dyes to the water system isn’t good for anyone. From endocrine disruption to preventing sunlight from penetrating the surface of the water, and lastly this scary little piece of information “studies have shown that some classes of dye… may be carcinogenic and / or mutagenic, endangering human health, since the wastewater treatment systems and water treatment plants are ineffective in removing the color and the mutagenic properties of some dyes.”

Now sounds like a good time to get a glass of water and mull this one over. Thanks but no thanks. Luckily for us, there are quite a few companies and corporations out there that have recognized the problems associated with water usage in the fashion industry and are making HUUUUGE changes.

So what can you do?

Buy Less:

Obvious I know. But just remember for every t-shirt you buy you are possibly sacrificing 569 bottles of wine, or 41 showers.

Choose Carefully:

Look for companies such as Eileen Fisher, Levi’s Water<Less, United By Blue, Amour Vert, and Zady that are doing their parts to reduce the industries water footprint and pollutants.

Wash Less, Wear More:

Seriously! We live in a disposable culture and that includes our clothing. Stop this habit right now. Livia Firth brought us the #30Wears challenge. Buy higher quality clothing that you can wear over and over again. The first step in a sustainable closet is wearing what you already have and then incorporate new pieces that will stand the test of time. Also, wash your clothes less. You don’t need to wash a shirt every time you wear it unless you are a professional mud wrestler.

Mud wrestling and wine aside it all starts with us, the consumers. Choose wisely and demand companies do their part. I for one enjoy showering in clean water and don’t want to see that go away anytime soon.

“To cheapen the lives of any group of men, cheapens the lives of all men, even our own. This is a law of human psychology, or human nature. And it will not be repealed by our wishes, nor will it be merciful to our blindness.”
― William Pickens

Thanks to Mr. Levi Strauss our autumn closets have all but determined themselves. Since 1871 denim jeans have continued to grow as a wardrobe staple across the globe. American closets appear to be the most saturated with women owning an average of 7 pairs. What started as an essential item for miners and cowboys has since proven its utility through the ages. From 1950’s greaser subculture, to the hippies of the 1960’s, through 1970’s and 1980’s punk rock and heavy metal affiliation, and finally to today where it is worn in almost every setting from the boardroom to the farmers market or a night out. The denim trend shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. This is particularly evident when you consider the constant style reinvention both in color and shape. Boyfriend, skinny, jeggings, cigarette, bootcut, cropped, curvy, flair, and distressed are just a few of the options you will find at any store.

So here comes autumn… a time when pumpkin spice, sweater, boots and denim pictures will flood your social media feeds. (I am entirely guilty of upholding this trend obsession) Let’s face it there is almost nothing more comforting than a perfectly fitting pair of jeans! Aside from a formal occasion there isn’t any event you can’t wear them to. So what is the big deal? Why are you reading a post about jeans….

When I started looking for sustainable alternatives to my traditional denim haunts I came across some research that was absolutely shocking. Transitioning my wardrobe away from high street finds to sustainable is of course well intended but understanding the reasons why is a bit like a rabbit hole. There is so much information to take in, process, and implement. No wonder most consumers don’t make the change. How can they when there is no central place to understand the impact of their choices and find alternatives? Who has that kind of time? Luckily, I do! I never wanted to just provide my readers with alternatives. I want you to understand exactly why you should invest in sustainable fashion. This is the first article out of many that will provide you with the information you need to be a more informed consumer, and just as, if not more stylish than before!

Now that you know the abridged history of denim lets talk about production and break it down from there. Denim (denim is simply a fabric like any other that is then sent out to individual design houses which is then manufactured into what you can buy in stores) is created from cotton. The cotton is either handpicked or picked by machines and then is carded (brushed) to clean, disentangle, straighten, and gather the fibers together. At this point the fibers are called slivers. The slivers are then joined, twisted, and pulled together to create longer and stronger threads. Voila now you have a yarn!

The traditional color of denim is indigo blue which is chemically synthesized. Each ball of yarn is dipped in the dye to achieve the desired color. It is then combined on a mechanical loom with white threads to give the traditional jean color we have all become accustom. From there these denim rolls are sent to manufactures who, using templates, cut, sew, and treat (to create the desired texture), steam, box, and ship to the final destinations. Up until now this doesn’t sound too bad but lets take a closer look at the process.

Pesticides & Insecticides

Approximately 17% of global cotton production is used for the creation of denim. While many of us, including me, associate cotton with sustainability because of its biodegradability, the process of cultivating it couldn’t be further from sustainable. 2.5% of global farmland is used to grow cotton. Yet, 10% of all chemical pesticides and 25% of insecticides used in global farming is for cotton. The use of these chemicals often results in severe illness for the workers with symptoms including headaches, nausea, constriction of the chest and throat, and in severe cases loss of reflexes and death. While most of us know that pesticide and insecticides are undeniably harmful to the workers what you may not have heard about is the collateral damage. A 2002 study conducted by the Pesticide Action Network, Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, and United Farm Workers of America found in California that cotton crops ranked third in contribution to total pesticide illness in workers. Out of 26.7 million acres used for farming in California all of which potentially use pesticides and insecticides, cotton production makes up approximately 33% of available farmland.

Now you could argue some workers are made aware of the health risks and provided appropriate training, or they should be given appropriate, prevention tactics however, there is large-scale collateral damage. In 1996 an incident occurred in which an estimated 250 workers fell victim to pesticide poisoning when they came in contact with chemicals blown in from crop dusting an adjacent cotton field. This is just in the United States. In a Communities in Peril report 2,200 individuals were interviewed in Asia, Africa and Latin America and the results found that “those who applied pesticides in these countries could neither ‘find nor afford’ adequate protective equipment. I wouldn’t call that collateral effect so much as a direct disregard to individual workers health. There has been further evidence found that pesticides used in cotton production completely neglect distance to local communities.

Here in the United States we are subject to some oversight and regulations using pesticides but that hasn’t stopped their misuse that in turn has wreaked havoc on local aquatic life and other livestock. Carbamate and Organophosphate insecticides (these are considered some of the most hazardous used in cotton production) have been known to kill livestock including cattle in Australia, and wash into rivers killing thousands of fish, frogs, and other aquatic life. There have been several well-documented cases in which insecticides and pesticides used for cotton are directly responsible for the death of animals and severe health degradation of workers and bystanders. Most of these reports provide insight into production costs in the United States which leaves one to wonder and deduct that in countries where regulations are more relaxed or all together disregarded the catastrophic fall-out is much higher.

Workers Rights

So we already know that in countries outside the United States workers are not provided or cannot afford protection from the chemicals but what about other workers rights. The sixth leading producer of cotton, Uzbekistan, is known to have one of the worst human rights records in this field. The Cotton Campaign has worked for years now to document the human rights atrocities in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan when it comes to cotton production. In case you thought forced-labor was a thing only for communist countries i.e. North Korea, you would be wrong. “Uzbekistan has one of the largest state-orchestrated systems of forced labor” implemented to produce cotton.   Farmers are forced to grow and produce cotton quotas under threat of penalty, including “the loss of the lease to farm land, criminal charges, and fines.” This seems insane to me considering in the U.S. many farmers are paid not to grow! As if that wasn’t bad enough millions of citizens are mobilized to both grow and harvest the crop. Up until recently this included children as young as 10 to abandon school; schools generally close during harvest season to accommodate the governments demands. Since 2014 it was required that anyone over the age of 17 join the production however, in order to offset the loss of child laborers there has been a massive mobilization of teachers, doctors, and other adults. As you can imagine this has all but shut down the schools and medical facilities during harvest. Some townships have still used child laborers in order to meet the government quotas and avoid penalties for failing to meet production targets.

Of course this isn’t all safely run and inspected. This system of forced labor has claimed several lives (the cotton is picked by hand) as a result of exposure to chemicals in the fields, unsanitary housing conditions, and lack of unsafe drinking water. Uzbek’s who push back demanding recognition of their human rights have been harassed, exiled, and detained under the current Karimov regime. (You can read more about the human rights violations and global campaign to stop it here.)

Ecological Impact

We have already talked about the potential devastation insecticides and pesticides have on local habitat but what about water consumption? In a nutshell approximately 1,500 gallons of water are used to produce 1.5 pounds of cotton. Those 1.5 pounds of cotton are then used to produce a single pair of jeans! To give you some perspective you could shower everyday for a month and still have water left over! As of February 2015 there is an estimated 1.2billion total number of jeans sold worldwide. Do some quick math and this means 1,860,000,000,000 gallons of water is used to produce denim jeans. Let’s just round that off to an even 1.8 trillion gallons and put that into perspective. That is just shy of 2 cubic miles of water or double the amount of water wasted annually as a result of decaying infrastructure in the United States.

Information on just how much water is used in the denim dyeing process is a bit more scant but let’s just say the number of gallons only continues to increase.

Finishing Touches

We all have them in our closets: distressed, faded, ripped, vintage… translated to all mean the same thing. These styles of jeans are arguably the most harmful of all in the denim production world. A collaborative report ‘Breathless for Blue Jeans’ conducted by several international bodies documents the health hazards in six Chinese denim factories located in Guangdong province. This region is responsible for half of the world’s entire production of denim jeans. The desire for pre-worn jeans has increased over the years and the best method (cost effective to companies) is to use a process known as sandblasting. “Sandblasting involves firing abrasive sand into denim under high pressure, whether in a machine booth or simply via an air gun attached to a hose.” Sounds pretty straight forward, right? Well the process of sandblasting is responsible for putting workers at risk of silicosis, a deadly lung disease caused by the inhalation of silica dust. The Turkish government first brought the catastrophic result of sandblasting techniques to the public when they banned the process. A study published by Chest found that workers who were afflicted by silicosis as a direct result of sandblasting had a 69% survival rate in five years. Of the 32 males included in the study 6 of them died and 16 had disabling lung damage. Without proper ventilation, safety equipment, and training the risk of silicosis increases. Call me crazy but preventing someone from breathing so I can wear a pair of distressed jeans is just not worth it. While many governments have outlawed sandblasting and many denim companies have agreed to ban the practice the ‘Breathless for Blue Jeans’ report says sandblasting is just as prevalent behind closed doors.

Don’t Lose Hope, You Can Still Wear Denim

Thanks to international pressure from governments and independent bodies there have been several companies that are starting to overhaul their denim process. It is certainly fitting that the company with the namesake of denim jean patent holder Mr. Levi Strauss is making the change. Levi’s Water<Less jeans uses 96% percent less water to create a single pair and offers several styles under the collection. To date they have saved 172 million liters (45m gallons). Other companies include Monkee Genes (born out of frustration of lack of conscious denim they are the first and only company to be accredited by the Soil Association and the Global Textile Standards), Nudie Jeans, Prarie Underground, Kuyichi (the aim for a closed-loop production system and are one of the first creators of eco friendly jeans), The Battalion, and Reco Jeans (denim company that uses leftover materials from other manufacturers to ensure nothing goes to waste).

I would love to hear your feedback on this article and know whether or not this has helped shape how you will shop for your jeans! With every purchase of sustainable denim you not only make a difference to yourself but help show companies you want a more environmentally and humanitarian friendly closet!

“The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.”
― John F. Kennedy

By now, most of you have probably seen the John Oliver bit on “Fast Fashion”. If not, keep scrolling, I included at the end 🙂. In true John Oliver style he brings to light in a satirical nature some of the endemic problems and down right abusive happenings in the fashion industry. Over the past few decades, reports, news highlights, and academic papers have highlighted the down side of fast fashion. So why does it keep fading from our memories? Is it that we have too much else on our minds? Could it be that we feel removed or out of touch with such atrocities? Is it too big of an issue to tackle as an individual? Or perhaps, it just hasn’t become main stream enough to do anything about as the collective. Before I start jumping to the reasons why I think we keep ignoring these news stories let’s first explore what exactly I’m talking about!

What is Fast Fashion?

Fast fashion or value fashion really started to gain momentum in the 1990’s. Larger or specialized fashion houses which we have come to call “High Fashion” was on average releasing approximately two collections of clothing each year – Fall/Winter & Spring/Summer. With increased globalization in the 1980’s and 90’s medium to smaller clothing retailers could now lower their overhead and labor costs to a fraction of what was being produced in Europe or the United States. Outsourcing! With lower production prices these value retailers could now create and import clothing in which consumers could buy more of and more frequently as a result of the cost savings. This shift was dramatically seen in a comparison between the amount of clothing women owned in the 1980’s compared to early 2000: four times as much!

This brought about micro seasons, where companies started to out-do one another by presenting several new styles per season to the consumer. Marketing campaigns and low prices were meant to overwhelm the purchaser into buying more. And, guess what? It worked!  This was all done in the spirit of raising profits for the companies. I for one, can openly admit I have been a victim of the low prices and marketing campaigns that transcend to social media. I will think twice before wearing a dress I have already been photographed in. Well done fashion retailers – objective achieved!

It is no wonder so many have fallen victim to the fast fashion boom. Many retailers including H&M, Zara, Old Navy, and Forever 21 to name a few receive new items every week leading any passer-buyer to wonder if what they bought two weeks ago is already out of style. It is – at least according to the manufacturers. Knowing that the majority of consumers will ultimately give in to this “I’m already out of style mentality” and buy more week after week quality begins to fall by the wayside. Why bother investing company money in the strongest denim fabric available when you know the skinny jeans you use them for will only be replaced by a boyfriend style the next week? From a profit margin standpoint you wouldn’t.

Why is Fast Fashion Dangerous?

So this is fast fashion – high turnover, lower cost, and as a result lower quality clothing. All created in an effort to raise company profits. So where is the down side? Let’s start with what’s wrong for the consumer.

You may think that lower prices means more cost savings. However, lower cost means you buy more as a result of lower perceived savings and ultimately end up with inferior quality. The faster clothing is produced, generally, the faster it falls apart. This means those shorts you bought last year are most likely only making it through one season and back to the store you go the following to buy another. In the long run, lower quality materials don’t stand the test of time and really do damage on your wallet.

What about the workers? Outsourcing clothing manufacturing seems like a good idea when we are talking about lowered prices however, it has an enormous negative human rights impact. Labor standards that we too often take for granted here in the United States are not the same throughout the world. There have been countless stories of building collapses, low wages (we are talking maybe a dollar a day), and unbearable hours. Not to mention children are often caught working in these factories. Unsanitary conditions and the use of hazardous materials all present separate challenges. It’s enough to make anyone cringe.

The environment. One of the many downsides of fast fashion happens as a result of the volume being produced. World Wildlife Fund reported it can take up to 2,700 liters of water to produce the cotton needed for just one shirt. That’s not even the water needed for dying, rinsing, and repeating this process. While a majority is wrapped up in agriculture the real troubling impact on the environment is the use of chemicals that are then released back into rivers and streams that remain unregulated in certain countries. This is the same water that individuals use for washing, cooking, and is needed for other day to day uses. Without going too much in depth – it’s disgusting and hazardous to all. Where do you think that water eventually ends up? Back in the ocean! Which then contaminates our food sources and ultimately will reach back here at home!

So Who Is To Blame?

Some corporations will have you believe it is the consumers fault they are not producing more ethical/eco friendly fashion – none of them will openly admit to human rights violations. “If the consumer demands it, we will make it” seems to be the motto. And, while I think this is partially true companies are responsible for their practices. They can choose to release hazardous waste into water sources, they can choose who to employ and under what conditions, they can choose what fabrics are biodegradable or can be recycled vs. those that don’t. (Ladies, I’m sorry to say your spanx is not one of these fabrics).

I also think the consumer can demand change. By choosing to purchase smarter and less, the way fashion is consumed can be turned completely around. It seems that the issues have been ignored because we don’t know where the alternatives are and/or they are not as accessible. You are not wrong!

So What Do You Do Now?

There are tons of resources out there if you know where to look for both information on the fashion industry and also alternatives. But who has the time? When you are in need of something to wear I’m guessing you don’t want to spend a couple of hours researching. I have you covered. WTT will be launching a new shopping page with a list of stores, manufactures, and designers that are making strides to change the face of fashion. I will be providing you with alternatives that are both cost effective and in style with current trends. With the movement away from in store shopping to more online purchases this initiative will put both access and control at your fingertips!

Stay tuned for the launch!