True enlightenment can only come when you are fully aware and conscious of your responsibility to yourself and to Earth. More and more options are now available for choosing sustainable clothing that is environmentally responsible. Today’s designs incorporate bright bold colors with professional and trendy styles that blend in with the other garments strutting down the catwalk.
Clothing starts with either renewable or nonrenewable feedstock, which is treated and woven, dyed, and sewn to produce a piece of clothing. The clothing may have started out as a fossil fuel, or a cotton plant, with many workers and manufacturing and transportation processes along the way.
Most synthetic threads like polyester are made from petroleum, a nonrenewable resource that even during the refining process produces contaminants. Synthetic fabrics and clothing are durable and relatively nondestructible, which means they don’t easily degrade. Some companies accept used synthetic clothing for reuse as feedstock in their new synthetic blend fabrics.
When choosing clothing, check the labels and consider limiting clothes that require dry cleaning. The word clean is relative when you consider the chemicals left in your clothing that reach far beyond the closet. The traditional dry-cleaning process uses some of the harshest solvents with a little water to remove soil from dirty clothes. The solvent most often used by dry cleaners is perchloroethylene, known in the industry as perc. When spilled on the ground, perc leaches into groundwater. Because it is denser than water, it sinks in the aquifer, making remediation costly and complicated. Perc is also released into the air during the cleaning process and is a hazardous air pollutant at certain levels. There are many green alternatives to dry cleaning today, including using carbon dioxide—the same gas that makes soda fizzy—under high pressure to clean clothes. Because the cleaning system relies on biodegradable silicone-based solvents, harmful chemicals don’t linger on your clothes or in the environment.
When looking for clothing that reduces wear and tear on the earth, consider natural and organic cotton, hemp, wool, and even bamboo. Many people wonder why wearing organic clothing should be a concern since no one is going to ingest it. However, what people wear does impact the environment.
Cotton has been used to make clothing for thousands of years. As with many other crops grown using conventional methods, pesticides are used to kill insects before they can cause damage. Large-scale agribusinesses now run the operations that depend on pesticides and fertilizers and include separating out the cotton fiber from the seed. The cotton fiber is used for clothing while the seeds take another route. Cottonseed oil is used in vegetable oil, salad dressings, and many processed foods like potato chips and snack crackers. Hulls are also used in cattle feed as high-protein fiber. The use of pesticides is fraught with environmental impact. Storm water runoff from rain flowing across cotton fields brings with it the residue and contamination left over from the chemicals.
It’s estimated that cotton uses 53 million pounds of chemicals as pesticides, herbicides, and defoliants every year. Although cotton uses less than 3 percent of cultivated land, it uses about 11 percent of pesticides worldwide. More than 90 percent of the cotton grown today relies on chemicals, while 20 percent is grown from genetically modified seeds. Organic cotton represents only about 1 percent of the cotton grown worldwide. To avoid the problems that come with pesticides, researchers have genetically modified cotton plants to be pest-resistant. The most common transgenic cotton plant carries the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) gene. This gene kills caterpillars that feed on the cotton plant, stifling any damage. Transgenic cotton has been used all over the world by leading exporters such as China and India to increase prosperity by increasing production. However, there are skeptics who do not believe the increased production will last and that nature will find a way around the resistant cotton, eventually making stronger pesticides necessary.
It is more expensive to grow cotton organically, but farmers are paid sufficiently to make up the difference. Organic cotton sells well, with extra money going back to the farmer. Large companies support the growing trend of organic cotton by promoting and selling lines of products made with organic cotton.
Organic cotton requires farmers to forgo using genetically modified seeds, chemical pesticides, and fertilizers. By going organic, the farmers no longer have to pay for expensive pesticides and receive a higher dollar value for their crop, sometimes bringing in twice as much. Organic cotton is a win-win situation for both the environment and the farmer.
Organic cotton also accounts for less than a tenth of a percent of all cotton harvested throughout the world, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). However, demand for organic cotton is growing, and retailers are responding by incorporating more organic cotton into their clothing lines. In 2014/15, the organic cotton market was worth approximately $15.7 billion, according to Textile Exchange.
Organic cotton growers often use ladybugs and other natural enemies to combat pests. Pests are also handpicked from the plants. While this process takes much more time than applying chemicals, the farmers make up for it with the high prices they receive for their crops. Another important factor is that by eliminating pesticides from crops, workers are no longer exposed to dangerous chemicals. Studies have shown that the houses of farmworkers routinely contain pesticides brought home from the field, exposing the family members who live there.
Hemp, the nondrug form of cannabis, suffers from its association with marijuana. However, it is environmentally friendly. It does not require pesticides and, because the plants grow so densely, herbicides are not required either.
Over the centuries, hemp was commonly used to make sails on ships, leading experts to believe that the word canvas actually originated from the word cannabis, or kannabis, as it was spelled then. From masts to sails, hemp was used to make clothing, shoes, and even paper for maps. For decades it was a favorite of industry and farmers were encouraged to grow the crop because it had so many uses. Recreational use of hemp didn’t become popular until the early twentieth century. The US government didn’t even initially back the illegality of hemp and, in 1942, distributed 400,000 pounds of seed for farmers, including 4-H groups, to grow hemp in support of the war effort.
For more information on the history of hemp, check out The Emperor Wears No Clothes by Jack Herer. Published in 2000, this book gives readers a rundown on the politics of why hemp was outlawed and the powers that keep it out of reach. Experts agree Herer took hemp out of the closet and put it back on the table as a viable textile.
Even with legislation against its use, hemp never went away. Scientists who continued to study it found it to be lower in saturated fats than other vegetable oils. Still, growing the plant in much of the United States, even for industrial purposes, is unlawful. Hemp must be imported, usually from China, Romania, Hungary, and Poland, which is why it carries a higher price tag. It also doesn’t benefit from the subsidies that other domestic textiles receive.
Wool is a renewable and sustainable fabric, but problems abound with conventionally grown wool. As with cows, when sheep are raised in small, overgrazed pastures, they become vulnerable to parasites. To combat the pests, the sheep are dipped, literally, in pesticides. These dipping vats are walk-through troughs placed in pastures. The pesticides are toxic to fish and amphibians and are suspected endocrine disruptors.
When chemicals escape the vats, they contaminate groundwater and surface water and are capable of bioaccumulating in wildlife. Workers responsible for dipping sheep have become sick, and chemicals have been linked to nerve damage.
Alpacas are camel-like animals that are smaller than llamas. These gentle animals graze in herds in the Andes. The Suri alpaca grows long, silky dreadlocks, a favorite of spinners. Alpaca wool contains no lanolin and is truly hypoallergenic. Alpacas come in more than twenty different colors but are bred white for ease in dyeing.
Wool’s chemical dependency continues with manufacturing. Wool is often washed and treated with formaldehydes and dioxins. Newer technologies even incorporate chlorine oxidation and silver backwashing to prevent shrinking.
Organically raised sheep live in pastures without pesticides and are not dipped. Healthy sheep are able to fend off parasites, making dipping unnecessary. Organic wool yarn is not chemically treated, but washed using biodegradable soap. While some people may be allergic to lanolin, oil that naturally occurs in wool, wool in itself is nonallergenic. It’s also naturally fire retardant, making it safer than treated clothing. Natural wool clothing is breathable but is a good insulator. It’s durable and wrinkle resistant and can be dyed and spun into a variety of fabrics.
Bamboo is a quick-growing grass. Two of its more redeeming qualities are that it removes dangerous carbon dioxide from the air as part of photosynthesis and that it can be harvested relatively quickly, meaning smaller amounts of land are needed to grow it. Bamboo doesn’t require fertilizers or pesticides and is hypoallergenic. To date, there hasn’t been any genetically modified bamboo used in the apparel process. The fiber produced from bamboo is moisture-wicking and antimicrobial. Clothing made from bamboo is colorfast and can be washed as if it were cotton clothing.
Silk is a protein fiber spun by moth larvae. It can be considered a renewable resource and is biodegradable; however, traditional harvesting and processing methods don’t comply with everyone’s idea of planet friendly. The majority of silk seen in the United States comes from China, Korea, Japan, and India. The silk production process uses Bombyx mori caterpillar or larvae, which attach themselves to the leaves of mulberry trees and begin spinning.
The cocoon is finished in about two days and contains one continuous silk strand that can measure thousands of feet long. If left alone, the larvae would continue through the pupa stage and then emerge from the cocoon as a moth, but it would break the silk strand in the process. To maintain the continuous thread, cocoons are usually steamed, boiled, or baked to kill the larvae inside. The cocoons are then opened and the silk unfurled. The thread is washed or degummed using alkaline washes. It takes an estimated 25,000 cocoons to produce 1 pound of silk thread. This harvesting process is highly labor intensive and commonly relies on low-wage workers.
There are a few companies that offer silk while working to improve one or more aspects of the harvesting process. Both Peace Silk and Ahimsa Peace Silk allow the larvae to continue to grow inside the cocoons, requiring the threads broken by the moth’s emergence to be spun back together.
Fibers from both natural and manufactured materials are made into fabric at mills. Cooperatives work with brands, retailers, and farmers to match organic fibers with mills and brands. To be certified organic, a mill must be cleaned of residues. If a farmer’s crop is small, a mill won’t stop work to clean the equipment, and independent farmers have difficulty finding a mill. By working with cooperatives, farmers are able to combine their volume, making it more profitable for the mills to process their cotton. The farmers then have a better chance of selling their crops. Also, more and more brands are incorporating organic fiber lines and working with organic farmers to purchase their feedstock.
Clothing manufacturers can help the environment by implementing sustainable designs and operations. By working toward using renewable energy and increasing energy efficiency, achieving improved health and safety for employees and the public, and addressing waste disposal and reclamation within the manufacturing process, companies can positively impact their neighborhoods and surrounding communities.
In northern California, women business owners are forgoing the traditional costly consignment store overhead and instead holding weekend sales in neighborhoods and popular local gathering sites, such as fairgrounds, all featuring the new and slightly used styles of the season at a fraction of the cost. Shoppers save on cost while also extending the resources used during the initial manufacturing process.
Rather than recycling an entire garment, many items can be recycled for parts. An old pair of jeans can be sacrificed for parts to save another pair, a patch here, a pocket there. Denim and other fabrics can also be kept for handmade projects like purses, pillows, and blankets. Old T-shirts from concerts or sport teams can be patched together to make a memorable quilt. Before tossing that shrunken T-shirt or those threadbare jeans, consider whether they could be reincarnated in a different form.
A number of designers are incorporating used clothing into their designs. Material is used as-is and isn’t reprocessed. It may be cut and stitched and incorporated into a design with other recycled fabrics. This industry is still in its infancy, with limited retail lines.
Manufacturers are also incorporating recycling activities, using clothing that is no longer in use, postconsumer waste, and material waste from processing (also known as postindustrial waste). Postconsumer waste is material that would more than likely end up in a landfill or at the incinerator. Removing it from the waste stream saves landfill space, air quality, and other degradation caused by common disposal practices. Recycling postindustrial waste is beneficial to the economy and the environment.
Using recycled material saves energy because incorporating recycled material into feedstock reduces the energy needed for manufacturing. The energy needed to obtain and transport raw materials is reduced as well. In addition, fewer natural resources are needed when recycled material is incorporated.
Some companies use recycled plastic bottles and 100 percent cotton to create a 50/50 cotton/poly blend. The fabric is used to make T-shirts, caps, and visors. Clothing and hats can be purchased plain or screened with predesigned eco-friendly messages.
Clothes brought into a mill for recycling are sorted into material types with different end uses. Pants and skirts can be shredded and used for fillers in car insulation and furniture padding. Wool clothing can be reclaimed to make yarn or fabric. Cotton and silk can be recycled to make cloth rags and even paper. Denim can be recycled into insulation for buildings to improve energy efficiency.
When considering what materials and chemicals go into your wardrobe, don’t forget to look down. Shoe manufacturing is heavily dependent on dyes, glues, chemically tanned leather, and rubber. The industry as a whole has been slow to incorporate more sustainable practices and improve environmental welfare.
Hemp is a sustainable fabric used to make a variety of shoes from sandals and clogs to dress shoes and sneakers. It’s durable and it breathes, giving feet fresh air. Sustainable rubber is now also being used, but it may not, in the end, contribute to a sustainable environment. Processing rubber is extensive and includes compounding and mixing, milling and calendaring (a finishing process used on textiles), extruding, coating, cooling and cutting, building, vulcanizing, and grinding. Each step in the process generates emissions, wastewater, and solid waste material. Heavy metals are a primary chemical component and waste product of making rubber. Sustainable practices take into account healthy harvesting of the trees and proper handling of wastes. As efficient processing methods expand, using recycled or reprocessed rubber to make flip-flops and soles for sneakers is also becoming more common.
Leather is largely garnered from factory farming of cows and pigs. The process used to transform the animals’ skin into the leather seen in the stores depends largely on a mix of harmful chemicals. After cows are slaughtered, salt is used to cure and preserve the skin. This is usually done at the meat-processing facility, and then the cured skin is shipped out for tanning. Any remaining flesh and hair are removed using a lime solution. The liming chemicals are then removed by neutralizing them with an acidic rinse. The process used to tan the leather depends on the leather’s end use. Softer leather for purses and shoes uses a mineral or chrome tanning wash. Stiffer leather for luggage or furniture uses a vegetable tanning process. Shoppers looking to purchase leather products can consider fair trade organizations that rely on free-range cattle and good working conditions for those processing the hides. The life of shoes can be extended by having them repaired rather than replaced. Not only does this support a local business; it also saves natural resources.
Purses, wallets, belts, and jewelry—as with other leather items—take advantage of leather’s longevity. Many purses incorporate organic and recycled materials. Take into consideration the fact that big-name manufacturers generally control much of the market without encouraging sustainable practices.
Diamonds may be the ultimate gift to receive in some corners, but unless your rock comes from a certified source, the tragic cost of human labor and rape of the earth is a crime—and you’ll carry that negative impact with you…literally. In order to mine diamonds, the land surface is scraped clean and a pit is dug to access the diamond deposits. Waste is generated as trees and cover materials are hoisted aside, dirt and rocks are excavated, and mine tailings are generated. Depending on the environmental laws in the area, the mine may be reclaimed after the diamonds are gone, but it is impossible to restore it to natural conditions.
Consider purchasing eco-friendly jewelry. Many organizations carry jewelry made of silver and other bright gemstones made by small organizations in an effort to promote sustainability. Others promote the use of recycled gold.