our Toxic Fashion: fashion

Another reason to love Stella McCartney

As a vegetarian, I am a big fan of fashion designer Stella McCartney and her philosophy. Stella McCartney, who turned her name into a British luxury brand, is well known for refusing to use any leather, fur, skins or feathers in her clothes. For Stella making ethically correct fashion is equally important as making aesthetically appealing fashion, which in my opinion is exactly the way it should be.

So recently Stella McCartney gave us another reason to love her, as she launched her first global environmental profit and loss account (E P&L). This account shows monetary worth on the ecological costs and profits generated by the direct activities of the entire supply chain over 2015. To do so the brand conducted environmental checks over the past year, analyzing the impact of her activities on natural capital.

This is something that is very innovative. Environmentalist Annie Leonard mentioned this before in her popular video Story of Stuff. She explained that many companies externalize costs. Meaning that the dress I buy for €4,95, does not cover the costs of the cotton that is produced in China, the labor costs of the girl who made the dress somewhere in Bangladesh, the storage costs of the dress, the shipping costs of the dress and eventually the salary of the staff guy who helped picking out the dress. Meaning, I don't pay for the dress. However, others pay. In China people pay by loss of resources, children in Bangladesh pay with their future as they drop out of school to work, and all around the world people pay by loss of clean air (increasing chances for asthma and cancer), all along the system people suffer from me buying the dress.

Calculating the ecological footprint

The report looked at all aspects of the supply chain, from the production of the materials till the own activities and sales of the product. They translated this into six important categories of impact on the environment, namely:

1. The combustion of greenhouse gasses

2. Air pollution

3. Water pollution

4. Water consumption

5. Waste disposal

6. Changes in ecosystem services associated with a change in land usage

Changing the buying process

The report shows that the brand had an environmental ‘loss’ of 5,5 million euros over the past three years, which could be translated in an 7% increase in impact on the environment because of used materials. According to Stella McCartney this is caused by the growth of the brand: Even though the general impact on the environment has increased, by changing the buying process the brand managed to decrease the average ecological footprint the past three years with 35% per kilogram of used material. The report showed that the supply chain was responsible for 90% of the environmental impact of the company. Mainly while producing resources, the environmental impact of Stella McCartney was huge, up to 57 procent. A good example of this is that they changed from using virgin cashmere to using regenerated cashmere, in the promotion video below it is explained why this change was necessary.

Through her dedication towards reducing the environmental impact, they gained great results. Personally, I think this should be a great inspiration for other (high-fashion) brands.

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References:
Stella McCartney. (2016, July 29). Regenerated Cashmere at Stella McCartney
[Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oVK2pgR-G0

Storyofstuffproject. (2009, April 22). Story of Stuff (2007, OFFICIAL Version) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GorqroigqM

Wackernagel, M., Onisto, L., Bello, P., Linares, A. C., Falfán, I. S. L., Garcıa, J. M., ... & Guerrero, M. G. S. (1999). National natural capital accounting with the ecological footprint concept. Ecological economics, 29(3), 375-390.

Wightman-Stone, D. (2016). Stella McCartney releases environmental profit and loss accounts. Fashionunited.uk. Retrieved from https://fashionunited.uk/news/business/stella-mccartney-releases-environmental-profit-and-loss-accounts/2016100322003

op 07:00

Sustainable Sunday Quote #9

What is a goal-oriented blog without a little inspiration and motivation from time to time? Let me introduce you to the weekly Sunday rubric of Our Toxic Fashion: the Sustainable Sunday Quote. In the words of the legendary John Lennon, some say that I am a dreamer, but I am not the only one. Many clever minds before me have spoken, written or sung beautiful words that deserve to be shared. From fashionistas like Coco Channel to environmentalists like Anna Lappé, on Sundays, Our Toxic Fashion will give them a stage! Ready for the ninth one?

The Sustainable Sunday Quote

“Fashion is so much bigger than the latest trends - it should be something that we think about as a society.”

Sara Baldwin Schatz is the founder of Fountain Square alt-boutique Lux&Ivy, a second-hand shop. In an interview with Julia Spangler she said: "My interest in secondhand goes way beyond feeling and aesthetic. I truly believe that it is the most responsible way to shop. Why waste precious resources creating new clothing that is not made to last? Especially when so much beautiful, well-made clothing is already in existence." Second-hand clothing is then also a great solution to reduce environmental pollution (caused by the fashion industry).

Unfortunately, many consumers don't feel comfortable buying second-hand clothing. A study done by Kleine, Kleine and Kernan showed that we have some we perceive our possessions as part of ourselves. Clothes, in that case, are an intimate part of our existence. This is very interesting, as it highlights our level of involvement with the objects and hence influences our acceptance or rejection towards the objects. A common connotation towards second-hand, or used clothing might be "Buying something that someone else no longer wants to wear?", creating the feeling of being less valuable than this person as the item was not good enough for him/her, but is for you. Another connotation towards used clothing might be that used clothing is "dirty". Goffman describes this as "territorial encroachment"; we fear that previously owned clothes might have body markings of the previous owner which make the item unwanted.

Therefore, it is important to explore the symbolic and psychological aspects of how we perceive second-hand clothing. Rucker et al. even suggest that research into the connotations associated with used clothing could provide insights about values attached to possessions, and hence offer insights into the world of consumption. As this is a huge part of environmental pollution (caused by fashion), this topic merits further research.

Write it down

So from now on, shout it from the rooftops, write it on the skylines, or perhaps just make a note in your agenda: Every Sunday from now on there will be a new SSQ!

Stay fashionable, stay sustainable.

Until next time!

Ps. Bonus points for the ones who got the lyric references hidden within the texts.

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Sources:
Goffman, E. (1971). Relations in Public. New York: Basic Books.

Kleine, R. E., Kleine, S. S., and Kernan, J.B. (1993). Mundane Consumption and the Self: A Social-Identity Perspective. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 2 (3), 209-235.

Rucker, M., McGee, B., Alves, M., Hopkins, T., Sypolt and Watada, M. (1995). Factors Influencing Consumer Inititation of Secondhand Markets. European Advances in Consumer Research, (2), 425-429.

Solomon, M. R., (2012). Consumer behavior, buying, having and being (10th Ed.). ISBN: 9780273767312

Spangler, J. (2015). What’s It Like to Run a Secondhand Shop? Retrieved from: http://www.fairforallguide.com/2015/10/02/whats-it-like-to-run-a-secondhand- shop/

op 07:00

A Bunch of Pretty Things I Did Not Buy

Previous blog posts have touched upon the subject of consumerism, a topic on which the opinions are very diverse. Various economist praise consumerism as the driver of progress, yet various people are not too happy about consumerism. Not only is consumerism questionable for the price war it creates, and hence the poor labour conditions it reinforces. Various environmentalists, such as myself, have also criticised consumerism for being the main reason for depleting the earth's resources.

Fashion is a main driver of consumerism. With the continuous renewal of trends, the fashionable society spreads the message that whatever you bought last month, can no longer be worn this month. This reinforces the idea that clothes are 'one-seasonal only' products and gives people an excuse to buy products they already have and hence, don't need. Resulting in a society in which people keep buying the same dress, top and pants, but in a slightly different colour, model or with a different print.

Illustrator Sarah Lazarovic created a book out of this issue. She was fed up with her buying habits and decided to go cold-turkey on consumerism, meaning; no shopping for a year. During this period, instead of purchasing items, she drew them. Not only did she draw the things she did not buy, she also documented her withdrawals and all the lessons she learned. This resulted in the book: A bunch of pretty things I did not buy.

In an interview with Yes! Magazine she says that the main personal gain from not buying stuff is time. Next to that she also freed herself from longing: It simply became unnecessary - as she could just use the stuff she already has. Next to this personal gain Sarah highlights that there is a bigger gain in not buying stuff. "For a long time we viewed shopping too much as merely a personal thing—bad for one’s own pocketbook and mental health, but fairly contained. In recent years, we’ve learned that the way we shop has deep social justice implications—from sweatshop fast fashion to environmental degradation and climate change." Hence, it is our responsibility to act up, not just for our personal gain - an increase in freedom and time -, but also for the world around us. There is no denying that this is a tough battle, but I am convinced it is worth it.

If you are wondering what Sarah is up to now, next to maintaining her hilarious Tumblr account, she is doing something that she calls “covet counselling” in which she helps others to stop buying. In her sessions, she asks her clients to draw the item they want to buy and talk about why the individual wants it item (emotional value) and whether the item makes a good purchase (rational value). Simply by creating a tangible image of the item, the longing to own the item often floats away. To explain this Sarah refers to Daniel Kahneman. In his book, Thinking fast and Slow, he explains that we have two ways of processing things, a fast way (emotional decisions) and a slow way (more rational decision). For shopping we mostly rely on the fast way, resulting in irrational behaviour.

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References:
Dunn, T. (2016). A Fun Way to Stop Buying Things You Don’t Really Need. YES! Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.yesmagazine.org/happiness/a-fun-way-to-stop-buying-things-you-dont-really-need-20160908

Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

op 07:00

Sustainable Sunday Quote #8

The Sustainable Sunday Quote

“Fashion fades, only style remains the same.”

This quote is widely overused by fashionistas all over Instagram (#fashionlover), and has thereby lost a bit of its class. However, there is definitely some truth to it. As a true fashionista knows, the trends of today, will be history by next month. And this, this is not only a problem for your wallet, but also for the environment. Because every new item you buy, will need resources, shipping to a factory, being put together in this factory and shipping to the store where it will wait for you to buy it. Not to mention what will happen if this is a trendy piece, which you might regard as useless in a month or two, and hence it will end up in a landfill or even worse an incinerator (and then in a landfill).

Write it down

So from now on, shout it from the rooftops, write it on the skylines, or perhaps just make a note in your agenda: Every Sunday from now on there will be a new SSQ!

Stay fashionable, stay sustainable.

Until next time!

Ps. Bonus points for the ones who got the lyric references hidden within the texts.

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Sources:

Channel, C. (n.d.) Retrieved from: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7271638-fashion-fades-only-style-remains-the-same

Storyofstuffproject. (2009, April 22). Story of Stuff (2007, OFFICIAL Version) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GorqroigqM

op 07:00

This is BULLSHIT!

You might be wondering: has she completely lost her mind? Well, perhaps. But that is a topic for another day. This article will actually be about bullshit. More specifically, bullshit as a resource for making fabrics. Let me introduce you to Mestic. Mestic is an organisation that wants to do something about the manure problem. How they do this? By transforming animal manure waste into materials such as bio-textiles, bio-plastics and bio-paper.

Why is there a problem?
Across the globe, various countries are struggling with their manure surplus. Manure, in small doses, can benefit the soil. Due to its nitrogen and phosphorus it works as a fertiliser and hence, helps plants grow. However, as with everything, the amount is crucial. When the doses of manure get too big, manure can have negative repercussions on the air, on the solid and on the surface water. Next to the bad smells it produces, it can also lead to salmonella, algae blooms and E. Coli.

Preventing a manure surplus is to prevent negative outcomes sounds like the most logical thing to do, yet this is though to put into practice. The main source of manure are farm animals such as cows, which can produce around 150 pounds of manure daily. We use cows to provide us with milk and meat, in other words: cows produce food. This is where the problem comes in: people tend not to like it when somebody tries to change their eating habits.

The Craigslist of crap
One thing that is currently been done to solve the problem is the 'manure share'. In these programs, farmers share their manure with farmers and landscapers. This is a great, as it doesn't cost much but is perfect for farmers who have just a little too much manure. Giving farmers a place to bring the excess manure and helping gardeners by providing a natural and inexpensive soil fertiliser. However, this is not enough of a solution, as the surplus in manure, and hence the related environmental risk and health hazards, still exists. This is why various small organisations are trying to come up with innovative ways to limit the problem. One of these organisations is Mestic.

Mestic
Mestic creates bio-materials, such as bio-textiles, bio-plastics and bio-paper, out of manure. With their method, they convert cellulose found in manure into these biomaterials, which are ready to be processed into any kind of products. They give a short introduction about the concept in the video above.

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References:

Bobby Born. (2016, June 23). Mestic [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W--MlGshimY
Danovich, T. (2014). What to do with all of the poo? Retrieved from: http://modernfarmer.com/2014/08/manure-usa/
Essaïdi, Jalila. (n.d.). Mestic. Kleding en bioplastic gemaakt van koeienmest [Translation: Mestic. Clothes and bioplastic made of manure]. Retrieved from: https://www.voordewereldvanmorgen.nl/duurzame-projecten/mestic-kleding-en-bioplastic-gemaakt-van-koeienmest

op 04:02

Thrifted Transformations

Reduce, reuse and recycle. These are common, but great ways, to eliminate waste and help maintain the environment and they also apply to the fashion industry. By reducing the amount of clothes you buy, reusing the clothes you already have and recycling the clothes you would have otherwise not used or even worse, thrown away, you are already well on your way to becoming an ecological shopper. Now reducing and reusing sound like rather straightforward tips, but for recycling you might need some inspiration. Luckily, there is plenty of inspiration out there.

Thrifted Transformations

Let me introduce you to April, or better known as Coolirpa, the name of her Youtube account. April is a YouTuber who loves to thrift and transforms her thrifted findings into the latest fashion. On her Youtube account, she shares these videos with her 900.000 followers, showing them all the possibilities their old clothes offer in a DIY - Do It Yourself manner. Whether it is an old blouse from your father or an old skirt from your grandma, April knows what to do.