Change The Fashion Industry, Change The World.

Let’s start off with some hard facts, shall we? An average pair of jeans costs under $50, but what about the hidden costs?

1. About 1,800 gallons of water are needed to produce a single pair of jeans.
2. About 6 1/2 pounds of chemicals are needed to produce that same pair of jeans.
3. About 1.5 kilowatts of energy are needed to produce those jeans.
4. And, about 130 acres of land is needed to grow the 1 1/2 pounds of cotton used in production.

And, your jeans are just the tip of the iceberg.

1. The average American purchases 64 items of clothing each year, and 7.5 pairs of shoes.
2. The average American throws away 81.5 pounds of textiles each year.
3. The average American only wears 20% of their clothing 80% of the time.
4. Synthetic fibers, which are forms of plastic, accounts for 60% of material that makes up our clothing worldwide.
5. The EPA estimated that the generation of textiles in 2018 was 17 million tons. That same year, landfills accepted 11.3 million tons of textiles. Clothing that ends up in landfills can take up to 200 years to degrade.

The environmental cost of the fashion industry is monumental. But, the social impact is far greater.

1. About 80% of apparel workers making clothing for US retail are working under conditions that violate local and international labor laws.
2. Finishing touches, such as beadwork and embroidery, are often done by hand which leads to chronic back pain and loss of eyesight.
3. Research by the University of California, Berkley found that home-based workers in India make as little as 15 cents per hour. That same study by UC Berkley found that one in five home-based garment workers are 17 and under.
4. According to NPR, the US exports over one billion pounds of clothing that has been donated to charities like Goodwill, and much of that ends up in used clothing markets in sub-Saharan Africa. Second-hand clothes are often cheaper and more abundant than locally produced clothing, practically wiping out their textile industry.

Every one of these points deserves a blog post of its own. We will work on that.

Fashion itself is not to blame. Fashion, in its purest form, is a method of communication. It is wearable art that we can use to express ourselves, our ideas, and our values. The problem is not fashion. The problem is Fast Fashion and mass production. So, what is the solution?

Slow Fashion.

Yes, here we are, quality over quantity. The antithesis of fast fashion, slow fashion is part of the “slow movement” which advocates for manufacturing that is respectful to people, animals, and our environment. And there are so many designers and companies out there doing it right! We’ll dive into that, and so much more, in upcoming blog posts. For now, here is a shout out to 5 of our favs.