Posted on 01/19/2008 5:15:09 AM PST by Bluestateredman
Bamboo undergarments: How climate change is beginning to alter our apparel.
TagsClimate Change, Environment, Fashion, Green It’s hard to imagine a shiny Mary Jane slipper or a faded cotton hoodie having grave impact on the planet. But experts insist that what we wear — from the way it’s made to the way it’s cleaned — can be a factor in global warming.
“People think of fashion as the stuff you buy and wear,” said Jo Paoletti, a University of Maryland professor who studies clothing trends. “But it’s an entire process from the raw material to the making of fibers into yarns and then into fabrics, to manufacturing them into clothing and transporting it to where it’s sold. There are energy costs all along the way.”
For example, 96 percent of clothing worn in the U.S. is produced elsewhere — mostly in Asia, in fact, where the population crisis is of more immediate concern than Westerners’ greenhouse-gas woes.
And energy expenses don’t stop once the garment reaches consumers. A study by the Institute for Manufacturing at Cambridge University found that 60 percent of the greenhouse gases generated over the life of a simple T-shirt comes from the typical 25 washings and machine dryings. A typical washing machine emits 160 pounds of carbon dioxide each year. A clothes dryer puffs out 700 pounds. And that’s not even taking into account the environmental toxins used in traditional dry cleaning.
But while scientists monitor how our clothing affects the climate, trend-watchers are more interested in the reverse: how climate change is beginning to alter our apparel.
Grumblings began last fall, when Manhattan retailers — walloped by an unseasonably warm autumn — reported distressingly poor sales of winter coats.
“There is no strong difference between summer and winter anymore,” Milan Fashion Week founder Beppe Modenese told The New York Times in September. “The whole fashion system will have to change.”
In fact, it is changing — in surprising ways. Bargain chains like Target and Kohl’s have hired climate experts to help them decide what to buy and when. Chicago-based company Live It Green offers Carbon Neutral Clothing certification to manufacturers who commit to buying carbon offsets for every garment sold. And on Amazon.com, you can already buy climate-conscious skivvies: underwear made of sustainably harvested bamboo and new super-textile Ingeo, a man-made fiber spun from 100 percent renewable resources.
Couture designers, in particular, are making use of earth-friendly fibers. The “luxury eco” label by Los Angeles-based Linda Loudermilk boasts dresses made of wood pulp and recycled soda bottles and blouses made of sasawashi, which, in addition to being fun to say, is an anti-allergen blend of Japanese paper, herbs, vitamins and amino acids.
Loudermilk encourages her customers — including celebs Debra Messing and Jennifer Beals — to “wear your conviction in style!” But in the fickle and frivolous fashion industry, it can be hard to distinguish the genuine eco-crusaders from brands just trying to make a buck off the “green-is-the-new-black” trend. And a glance at garment labels isn’t much help.
“A label can tell you a shirt is polyester, but many consumers don’t know polyester is made from oil,” Paoletti said. “A label can tell you the shirt is 100 percent USDA organic cotton, but that claim doesn’t tell the whole story: What about the dyes and finishes used in the shirt?”
Labeling will change, she predicts, as consumers demand to know more about the history of their jeans and jackets. She also envisions a rise in the popularity of fabrics like cashmere and seersucker that keep us warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
“In the future,” she said, “‘smart clothing’ that monitors and adjusts to body temperature may help us reduce our need for air conditioning and heating.”
High-tech garb is already available in the form of “body-scanning technology” that guarantees a custom fit for suits and gowns.
“You put on a body suit and walk into some sort of cubicle that does laser imaging of your body,” said John Jacob, a professor of fashion design at West Virginia University. “That info feeds into a computer that generates a set of patterns based on your unique body dimensions. The benefit to the biosphere is that nothing is produced that isn’t already purchased.”
As landfills amass millions of tons of clothing annually, and as thrift stores are swamped with the castoffs of our hyperconsumption, experts say the best way to reduce our planetary impact isn’t by changing outfits. It’s by overhauling our attitudes.
“Shakespeare wrote ‘fashion wears out more apparel than the man,’ and that phrase is even truer today!” Paoletti said. “The pace of fashion change is much, much more rapid now than it was even 100 years ago.”
But a growing “slow fashion” movement, taking its cue from the “slow food” philosophy, is encouraging folks to buy higher-quality clothing that lasts longer, saving resources at every point in a garment’s life cycle.
“What if you only had half the wardrobe but everything in it was something you really, really loved?” Paoletti posited. “No regrets, nothing superfluous.”
There’s one thing she says we should dispose of, though: the hope of a perfect solution.
“You’re never going to reduce your carbon footprint to zero, really. I mean, you’re here,” she said. “And being naked really isn’t an option.”
Starshine
Great quote:
“There is no strong difference between summer and winter anymore,” Milan Fashion Week founder Beppe Modenese told The New York Times in September. “The whole fashion system will have to change.”
Uh, yeah. I invite here to come here to Massachusetts. It is about ten degrees this morning with snowcover. She can wear shorts, sandals, and a tank-top.
Do these people listen to themselves?
I demand that mini skirts and hot pants make a come back, in the cause of saving the planet of course.
Is there a chance we can somehow get all of these freaks to live down in Antarctica???
I mean there is plenty of room down there right???
A little chilly, but really...
I think they’d be really happy...And that’s what is really important...
/sarc
Yep. Plus she can spend a summer here in Texas. She will learn that Freon is her friend.
It's -20 here in Northern Illinois with the wind chill. The game tomorrow night will be played at at temp. around 0 degrees. Moscow is experiencing the coldest temperatures in 50 years. The ocean's temperatures remain colder than in recent past. For the last two years we've returned (here) to more normal snowfall patterns where they begin early in the winter and continue more frequently.
BWAHAAAAAAHAAAAAA!
The clown that analyzed the life-cycle of the T-shirt was a hoot, too. Life span washings by this expert’s count was 25 cycles. I’ll bet I have underwear older than this environmental expert - and mine is worn once and washed 52 times a year.
Environmentalists are the new used car salesmen.
I'm no slave to fashion!!!
ping
You’re never going to reduce your carbon footprint to zero, really. I mean, you’re here,” she said. “And being naked really isn’t an option.”
googled her, thank the GODS she does not go naked
Betcha they're selling like hotcakes now.
Uh....Starshine?
Mrs. BeAllYouCanBe noticed that my jeans were getting ragged and we went to Kohls to get some new ones. Every pair on the rack was more ragged that my 5-6 year-old ones that I was wearing. On every pair knees were rotted out, back pockets had holes — and these were new jeans. Then we looked at shirts - they were all worn out too.
I think they need to look at the carbon footprint of “stone-washing” new clothes to look old. Oh By-the-way I am claiming 8,500 carbon-credits because I didn’t by the new stone-washed jeans. Send the credits to my Freep E-mail.
It's about -15 degrees this morning just outside my window. I'd like to head to the tropics in search of some global warming. Whenever any earth worshipper asks me how I feel about global warming I always say I grew up in Minnesota, so I favor it.
As to global warming affecting my future wear, my parka is starting to wear a bit. I may have to get a new one soon. One thing that DOES impress me these days is the warmth you can retain from the light synthetic fibers of this era. I recall my youth in days of yore when winter wear was a bit more weighty.
Another thing that impresses me in the negative is the faith of the earth worshippers. The older I get the more solace I derive from the Good News of the John persuasion. I don't ever argue with people about this any more, but have been told on many occasions that my beliefs are without foundation, that I hold my beliefs without a shred of proof.
The earth worshippers, on the other hand, hold their beliefs despite evidence to the contrary. It's also interesting that the earth worshippers practice such habits as simony. These are things that ultimately shook Christianity to its foundation before they took a run at righting things. When will we see the earth worshippers reformation?
Excellent catch. I didn't notice that. I had briefs that were 10 years old in some cases that I recently threw out mostly because they were just tired, not because they were worn out or worn through (any further description falls into the category of TMI, I know).
Further proof that reporters can't do simple math, or much of anything that involves dealing with real facts and figures. That's why they fall prey to the enviro-nuts and Marxist economists who make up much of the Democrat Party and the eco-movement.
What I always tell people is that the future of the earth is already written. It’s in the Bible. God created this earth, and He’ll sustain it as long as he wants. Ain’t nothing we can do about it either way.
~~Anthropogenic Global Warming ™ ping~~
Retail is nuts.
If you don't sell them in November you're going to sell them in January..........
Dear BAYCB,
I don’t know what type of jeans you’re looking for, but looking for them in most stores is going to prove to be frustrating for you.
If you’re looking for nice, crisp, clean jeans that don’t say, “Hey! I think I’m a gangbanger who wants everyone to see my undies,” you might try visiting www.sheplers.com.
I’m all the way up here on Long Island, and it is the only place I buy jeans for my kids.
Regards,
PS: Hubby just reminded me that www.cabelas.com has nice jeans, too.
“the warmth you can retain from the light synthetic fibers of this era.”
One thing that I am amazed at is the life I have gotten from one set of WW II army surplus wool long underwear - 20 years-old. Wool has some amazing properties - like keeping you warm even though it is wet. So if I go out and get the “long-johns” wet from sweat I stay warm. If I have high-tech undies on getting wet means I’ll freeze.
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