The book was filled with profound insights on ethical fashion. The whole thing was very short and concise, so each point, itself, could have easily been turned into an entire book.
Their point about polyester stuck with me.
To be truly fair trade, an item must have a low environmental impact through the entire supply chain. Fibers must be organic and harvested by hand, which eliminates carbon emissions from heavy machinery and employs more people.
Polyester is not organic. It's touted as being "eco-friendly" because it's made from recycled plastic, but the process of breaking down plastic into fiber, then weaving it into fabric is done in a factory. It's the choice material for fast fashion because machines are quicker than people, but cheap clothing doesn't have a long shelf life. If a consumer rips a hole in a $10 blouse, they're not likely to spend another $10 on a tailor, so they throw it out, where it's artificial fibers spend the next thousand years in a landfill.
Organic cotton, on the other hand, is expensive because its production requires the human touch from seeding cotton plants to looming cotton fiber into bolts of material. It also breaks down quicker when it's thrown into a landfill.
So I must ask why -- WHY-- did one of my favorite websites, Spoonflower, unveil a new, 100% polyester product called "Eco-Canvas"? Because, it's made from 45% recycled material. It's a common marketing ploy that flouts the "Green Movement" of our post-Inconvenient Truth society. I don't think the bosses at Spoonflower are conniving. I think they're part of the ignorant majority who automatically associate the word "recycle" with "environmentally sound."
The words "eco" and "organic" don't have much clout in the United States. The same goes for Fair Trade. Fair Trade USA sells their seal of approval to corporate marketers because there's no governing body to oversee the supply chain.
If you own a Fair Trade business (or want to own one), you should look for certification from Fair Trade International (FLO), a nonprofit organization based in Bonn, Germany. They set fair trade labeling standards and to earn the FAIRTRADE Mark, you allow an in-person inspection, then monitored by FLO for as long as you keep the Mark.
Likewise, if you're a consumer and can't afford organic cotton, look to charity shops for cheap vintage clothing. Donating, purchasing, and upcycling polyester keeps it from landfills for another generation, and there's no shortage of disco-era polyester.
Another option is to stop buying so much clothing. On average, if you spend $50 every two weeks on a new item, you're spending $1200 per year on 24 items. That's a considerable amount if we take into account most people regularly wear 20% of their wardrobe 80% of the time. That means 16% of your clothing gets regular usage (this is called fashion's 80/20 rule), or four pieces for every 25 you own. "Fast fashion" relies on this rule. It relies on our need to be trendy and fill our closets with styles that won't be en vogue in six months.
Instead, we can invest in timeless wardrobe staples that will still be in fashion next year. If we budget $1200/year on clothing, instead of buying 2 items a month, spend $300 every three months on one item.
Spend more, buy less.
As for Spoonflower, I have a better product name: "Synthetic Upholstery Canvas."
