The cost of fashion

I just finished reading Overdressed: the shockingly high cost of cheap fashion by Elizabeth L. Cline. It was published in 2012, so ten years out of date, but I'm not sure that the state of textile industry waste is any better than it was ten years ago, which, I admit, is fantastically depressing. And even though it is older, I do recommend reading it especially if you have never thought about where your clothes come from or how textiles are made. It is worth thinking about.

Being conscious of where fabric and clothing comes from is a topic that makes a fairly frequent appearance here. This is because I am very interested in delving into how these things are made. If you learn to sew your own clothes, you have a much greater appreciation of fit and fabric. If you learn to spin, knit, and weave, that appreciation is even greater. You begin to understand the labor involved (or what labor was involved pre-industrial revolution.) Clothes are not something that are just there, instead one sees the cost in terms of resources and labor involved. I also recommend reading The Coat Route, which is about as far from Overdressed as you can get, as it chronicles the making of a $50,000 coat. (No, I didn't accidentally hit one too many zero's.) Not only is the coat made of highly rare and expensive materials, but the artists who create each part are paid appropriately for that expertise. I find the pair of books to be a jarring pair when put together.

The short version is we are drowning in unused and barely used clothes and the textiles needed to create those clothes (and they're not even good textiles... many fall apart after a few washings) are creating an environmental nightmare of disastrous proportions. And while the textile factories are employing huge amounts of people, those people are not being paid a living wage, (they are being paid a minimum wage, but that, as we all know, is hardly the same thing) all so that companies can make a higher profit and so that people can buy cheap clothes. 

Maybe you already know this, but I am surprised when people don't. While spinning and weaving have been mechanized with machinery to do both jobs quickly and in great volume, sewing is still done by a person sewing a garment by hand on a sewing machine. There are no machines which can do this. All clothing is hand sewn on a sewing machine. Because of the incredibly high volume that garment workers must complete, these clothes are not well sewn. Seams are not finished except in a cursory way and there is very little detail because time doesn't allow for it. But most people don't realize this because they don't know what to look for or even that there is a difference in how clothing can be constructed.

While not everyone wants to learn how to sew their own clothing, everyone can become more cognizant of what is involved in their construction. Everyone can think more critically about whether they really need another t-shirt and what is the actual cost of that t-shirt. Everyone can learn to do small repairs and sew on a button. Everyone can become aware of different types of fabric and buy those that are more sustainable. For instance if you are trying to reduce your use of single-use plastics, but have a closet full of clothes made of 100% polyester, then there is still an awful lot of plastic in your life. Or, were you aware that rayons require vast amounts of chemicals to reduce the cellulose into something that can be made into fabirc? Yes, that includes rayons made from bamboo. The bamboo may be sustainable, but the process isn't. (If you want a more sustainable option, Tencel is a better choice.) Everyone can look at the fiber content tag before purchasing. (I will buy polyester and rayon clothing, but only second hand. Heck, who am I kidding? 95% of my clothes are second hand.) 

Nothing is perfect, but being as careful as possible in our clothing purchases can't hurt. Buying less can't hurt. Buying second hand can't hurt. Investing in long-term wardrobe items and that cost a bit more but will last because they are well made can't hurt. But awareness comes first, both of knowing about the clothing we buy and wear and the hidden costs associated with those clothing. 

But really? I think everyone should have the experience of sewing an item of clothing for themselves at least once. At the very least it will give some perspective on what goes into the making of a garment, and maybe it will become something that is fallen in love with. 

To end this, sources fabric for sewists I think is just as important as the finished garment. Cheap fabric is also part of the problem. I'm always looking in the fabric bins in thrift stores to see if I see anything of interest. Last week K. needed to get some new clothes, so we visited one of my favorite thrift stores. Look what I found!

This piece of fabric was two yards and cost me 25 cents. It had a feel of a decent fabric, so I grabbed it. Once home, I did a burn test and... I'm pretty sure it is silk. Silk and wool don't like to ignite and every time I took the fabric bit out of the flame, the flame extinguished. I spend my days working with wool, I knew it wasn't that. So I was pretty excited about my purchase. I don't know quite what I'll do with it yet, but I'm kind of thinking it would make a fantastic lining if I ever weave enough yardage to turn into a coat or jacket. How cool would that be? It would definitely be the opposite of fast fashion given how slow I still am at threading my loom.