Sustainable September 2017 - Day Twenty Seven

SEPTEMBER 27 (WEDNESDAY)

FASHION & BEAUTY - FAST VS SLOW FASHION

Welcome Back Everyone.
There are only a few more days of Sustainable September so I am making sure this counts. Yesterdays blog post (for today) was all about making some reusable swaps like saying no to disposable razors in favour of reusable Safety Razors. There are so many awesome ideas for yesterday and I am sure there will be people telling me that there are more that could be done too. I welcome those challenges.

Today's blog post idea (for tomorrow) is a big one... so I hope I do it justice. It is all about Slow vs Fast Fashion.

Sustainable September Day Twenty Seven: Give Fast Fashion the flick.

Lets start by explaining what Fast Fashion is... before we talk about what we can do about it.

What is Fast Fashion?

 

Fast Fashion is simply the high speed turnover of clothing so that when you buy a "Trendy" item it will be out of fashion by the time you wear it. In the past, in my grandmothers era, there were two seasons of clothing to buy for: the warm season and the cold season. Then there were four seasons of clothing: Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. Now Fast Fashion is generating 52 Seasons of clothing every year...One for every week of the year (some brands are going even faster than that).

When I worked for an Australian fashion brand, ten years ago, we would receive new shipments of clothing every week. Each week there was something new to entice people in. What I witnessed then was that any of the old stock that had been reduced to clear (but hadn't sold) had the tags removed (identifying labels for the brand) and then it was either thrown in the bin or donated to charity. There was a lot of waste. A LOT! But I didn't think much of it at the time. I wasn't aware then of how fast fashion worked. I wasn't aware about how bad it was for the environment to make these items. I didn't realise how bad it was for the planet as a whole when it came to disposing of these items, nor for the workers who make these items AND also how bad it is for our wallets (that is a conversation for another time).

If you shop Fast Fashion now and still have nothing to wear then check out this video on Fast Fashion

Here are some quick Fast Fashion Facts...

The War on Waste Australian TV show did an amazing job of showing off the impact of fast fashion. If you aren't in Australia you won't be able to watch the episodes. But there are a lot of other amazing documentaries and programs that show you what the Fast Fashion Industry is all about.

So how about you check out this Video from TED talk.

The key points of this TED Talk is that 10% of the worlds carbon footprint is coming from the Fashion industry. The fashion industry is the Second Highest polluting industry behind only the oil industry. 4 Billion Pounds of textiles end up in land fill every year. Polyester is made from micro-plastics which means that every piece of polyester that has ever been made still exists, even if it has been thrown into landfill.

There are so many other challenging facts about Fast Fashion. If you want to learn more about Fast Fashion and the implication it has for our planet and all those who live here... check out the documentary called "The True Cost". It is available on Netflix, iTunes, Amazon and to download on your computer. It is really worth a watch.


After you watch the implications of the Fast Fashion industry you have to ask yourself... What can we do about it? And it is a very good question.

Be Kind, Choose Slow Fashion, Choose Fair Trade (Ethical brands), Buy Second hand or Vintage, and Upcycle. I won't cover all of this here because it is a massive task, however, I will look at a few of these points.

Firstly, for a kindness advocate I had to look at the importance of Kindness in my consumption of fashion. I don't just mean Eco-kindness either, oh no, this is kindness to fellow human beings all over the planet. There are many people who work to make our clothing. In many countries these people are living in poverty and do not earn a decent wage for what they make. This is something that I have started paying more and more attention to over the years. I want to make sure that the people who make my clothing are in safe living and working conditions are not subject to slave labour and have enough food to eat and water to drink.

Sometimes this means that I have to pay a few more dollars for the clothing I buy. Those extra dollars buy me peace of mind.

I have a few different Apps to help me make conscious choices about where I want to spend my money. The one I have used the most is an app Called "Shop Ethical" (Available on Apple and Android). Another I use is called "Good on you"(Also available on Apple and Android). I have these apps available on my iPhone at the touch of a button. For more Ethical Apps check out this link to an article on Ethica.

To continue making a different and steer away from Fast Fashion there is now a movement toward slow fashion.

Slow Fashion - What does it even mean?

 

Slow Fashion means being deliberate with your money. Every dollar you spend is basically a vote toward the future you want to create. Spending money on fast fashion, means you are voting for the continuing ethics and attitudes behind it. Spending money on ethical, fair trade, vegan (cruelty-free), environmentally friendly brands, you are voting for those types of businesses and products you want to continue. Changing your focus from consuming, to making the world a better place with your purchases, is a type of conscious kindness that we need more of. It ultimately affect us all.

I used to find shopping fun. I used to go to cheap stores and buy a bunch of sale items. I would spend about $20 to $50 every week on fast fashion. But now I am more conscious of what I buy, where and from who. I make sure that the money I spend, when I do actually spend money on clothing, is going to support the type of industry that I want to have.

One of my most recent Purchases was two pairs of jeans from JeansWest over 3 months ago. One is skinny blue jeans and the other is straight leg black jeans. They cost me $99 for the two pairs. This is more than I would have bough for jeans in the past but already they have well and truly earned their keep. As they are so well made they will last a lot longer too.

When I went to purchase my jeans I checked on my Shop Ethical App and discovered JeansWest were good when it came to their ethical wages & conditions for workers. They have started working on reducing environmental impacts too.

I also saw that they have a return and repair shop when I bought them (in Sydney), so I can get them repaired if, say, a button goes on my jeans. I have worn them almost everyday for the last 3 months and they are amazing. I know that they have a long way to go, but I chose them deliberately for their clothes and because I really needed to get some jeans.

Note: I had purchased some JeansWest jeans second hand (from Ebay) a while ago but they didn't fit. So I opted for convenience. At the shop I could try the jeans on so I knew they would fit me AND last a while. Next time, I might go in and try on jeans in a range of styles to see what i like and what suits me best. Then I can look for the right size and style second hand on eBay. It just takes a bit more time to figure it out, so I admit I went for the easy option with this purchase.

Choosing Fair Trade is linked to all of these. I have talked about Fair Trade on this blog before so I won't go too far into it. Here is an Inforgraphic to explain it to those who might have missed my previous blogs.

What I will say is making choices that are going to help not only your hip pocket but help those who are making and growing the ingredients/products you buy, is a start.

The Sustainable September idea for tomorrow is to say NO to fast fashion. This can be hard at first. So here are 10 Fashion Tips to help you give fast fashion the flick.

So check out this video below for more inspiration:

Did you know: There are companies around the world who are taking up Sustainability and Zero Waste practices in the world. There is even a design award that promotes and encourages Zero Waste and Environmentally Sustainable Practices. You can check out more info from this link...Video: Eco Chic Designing Award - Cutting Waste out of Fashion.

ACTIVITY: Do not buy any new clothes for a week. Instead take the time to research what you really need. Check out tomorrows blog for ideas about how to figure out what you REALLY need, when it comes to clothing.

I hope this post doesn't overwhelm too much. I did my best to keep it short and sweet. However there is just so much information about fast fashion and its impact on our environment.

Sending love to you all,
Daena x

Sustainable September Day Twelve Kindness

 Hello my lovelies, 

So how did you go today? Did you download the Shop Ethical app? Or buy the book? What did you learn about some of the companies and products you usually buy? Anything alarming? anything exciting? Let me know! :) 

So tomorrow's Sustainable September Kindness idea is something pretty simple...

Friday - 12 September – Take a reusable water bottle to work/uni/school rather than buying a one-time-use plastic bottle. You can buy so many different reusable bottles at the moment. www.ecotankas.com.au are a good option. 

I have a couple of the different reusable water bottles. I find them awesome. I have three which I vary between. 2 of mine a wide mouthed because I like to be able to clean them by hand. I also use those ones more like cups, than just water bottles. Because I can clean them so thoroughly, I can put other types of drinks in them if I want. :) I also have one that is about 1litre, and the two smaller ones are between 500ml & 600ml (about a pint). One of mine is aluminium, the other two are made from recycled plastics. I would prefer to have none made of plastic at all, but I'm yet to find a sturdy glass one, as I like to see inside my water bottles.

The US has some scary statistics about one time use plastic water bottles:

"Out of the 50 billion bottles of water being bought each year, 80% end up in a landfill, even though recycling programs exist. 17 million barrels of oil are used in producing bottled water each year. Bottled water costs 1,000 times more than tap water. Drinking 2 Litres of tap water a day only costs 50 cents per year. Plastic leaches toxins into the water, which have been linked to health problems such as reproductive issues and cancer.
New York City tap water surpasses all federal and state health standards." Read More Here

If you dont like the taste of tap water, you can buy some water bottles with replaceable water filters. :) Even if you replace the filter, every three months of use, you are reducing the amount of waste going into landfill, by minimising the one-time-use plastic bottles.

Ocean Crusaders has a few statistics for Australia: "

• Australians spend more than half a billion dollars a year on bottled water. Australia produced 582.9 million litres of bottled water in 2009-10
• Producing and delivering a litre of bottled water can emit hundreds of times more greenhouse gases than a litre of tap water.
• In many cases, a litre of bottled water is more expensive than a litre of petrol.
• Australia recycles only 36% of PET plastic drink bottles. Assuming the 582.9 million litres of bottled water produced in 2009-10 is in litre bottles, according to these figures, 373 million of those bottles will end up as waste." Read More Here

Keep Australia Beautiful has stated that "Plastics are the most common rubbish item found on Clean Up Australia Day, representing over 30% of all rubbish collected over the past 10 years. This includes drink containers, confectionary packets and water bottles, all of which pose a huge threat to wildlife and our environment. Recycling plastic saves energy, valuable resources and helps to protect our environment." Read more here. 

On another interesting note: just because I like to give you something to think about. 

In Africa, and now other parts of the world, there is a movement of people that are thinking of new ways to remove bottles from landfill by turning them into housing. There are some awesome photos in this link. Read more here 

Or check out this video from the Samarpan Foundation. I love their motto: Peace, Love, Happiness, Kindness.

 

Keep up the excellent work my friends! :)

Hope this finds you all well! 

Luv Daena x

Sustainable September Day Eleven Kindness

Hello again, 

Ten Days of Sustainable September and awesome Eco/Environmental Kindnesses! I've been blogging a lot lately! I am even impressed with myself! :) I continue to be impressed with how well this whole idea has been going! I really hope you are enjoying Sustainable September and are trying, at least,  some of these awesome ideas! :)

Today's Sustainable September kindness idea was to go to lunch or dinner at a restaurant that used Eco and sustainable practices! Did you find somewhere that has organic food and drink? Or has taken up recycling/composting their food scraps? Or did you find somewhere that has their power run by renewable resources? Is there a yummy restaurant in the town or city where you live that follows one or all of these practices? 

The Green House Perth is one of those places! 

This tiny business card is the size of an iPod nano! (Couldnt think of anther description for something that shape or size!)

I ended up taking a big bag of this stuff home with me... FREE COMPOST!!! all of it made from the scraps from the site! :)

The whole, double story, wall outside of the Green House Perth is covered in Pot plants! :)

You get a 50c discount on your coffee if you bring your own reusable cup! Another reason to love the Green House Perth! :)

This was my delicious "Breakfast" served at 11.30am! :) YUMMY!!!

It's all so delicious! One of my most favourite things to have their is their Soy Chai Tea & a doughnut (Sadly doughnuts are off the menu at the moment! Hopefully they will be back soon! ;).

Anyways tomorrow's Sustainable September idea is...

Thursday – 11 September – Do some research into which brands (Supermarket and Clothing) are better than others for their environmental factors, not just making your decision based on price. I have an app on my phone that I can consult when I am at the shopping centre. The App is called “Shop Ethical” and can be found for about $8 at the Apple App-store (I have an iPhone so I’m not sure about Android phones).

This is what the screen shot looks like when you open up the App! :)

It is also available in hard copy for about the same price, and a new book comes our every November?! I think, So make sure you get the newest book! http://www.ethical.org.au/

Let me know what you think! :) 

Much love and kindness to you all. 

Luv Daena