Why Sustainable?
Clothing production has doubled in the last 15 years and we are now producing over a 100 billion garments a year. Over the last three decades, we have seen a production steadily moving to countries that offered the lowest wages, the least regulations and fewest protections for workers and the environment, also often associated with workers working illegal overtime and women being harassed in the workplace.
Read about the Textiles we use
“You cannot exploit women in one country to empower them in another”
Synthetic textiles account for 34.8% of Global microplastic pollution.
Washing your clothes releases half a million tonnes of plastic microfibers into the ocean every year, equivalent to more than 50 billion plastic bottles. - Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Polyester is the most popular fabric used for fashion and materials similar to polyester such as nylon, acrylic, and polyamide contain plastic.
80% of garment workers are women.
In Guangdong in China young women face 150 hours of overtime each month. 60% have no contract, 90% no access to social insurance.
60% of garment workers in india and Bangladesh have experience harassment, verbal or physical abuse
In Bangladesh workers earn $57 USD per month - just ¼ of a living wage.
An estimated 170 million children are engaged in child labour, many working within the fashion supply chain.
What can we do?
Wear your clothes for longer and clothe swap. Repair or enhance your favorite clothes!
Doubling the useful life of clothing from one year to two years reduces emissions over the year by 24%, as does buying second hand clothes.
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Use more natural fibers over synthetic!
When it comes to the sustainability of clothing, natural fiber clothing is generally more sustainable than synthetic fibers which require high energy use and crude oil (source).
Additionally, because natural fibers are plant materials, they decompose quickly. Because synthetic fibers are essentially plastic, they are not quickly biodegradable.
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Wash your clothes only when needed and in lower temperatures (30 degrees) with slower spin cycles.
Use a Cora ball to catch microfibers shedding from your clothes in the washer.
Information taken from: https://www.fashionrevolution.org and http://www.naturalfibres2009.org/en/iynf/fashionable.html
Good Data analysis article on fashion Global Pollution: https://ecocult.com/now-know-fashion-5th-polluting-industry-equal-livestock/