Eco-Tip: Choosing Green Clothing
by Warren McLaren, Sydney 
on 06. 7.06
A while ago we had a comment suggesting £90 ($170 USD) was a significant hit to the wallet/purse for a pair of jeans. Even if they were fair-traded, and crafted from organic cotton. The perceived financial cost of going green has been a reoccurring concern we’ve copped since TreeHugger began. Our response has always been: we cover the modern+green lifestyle, regardless of socio-economic background. We’ve done stories on dumpster diving through to high-end designer furniture; from certified organic restaurants through take-away pizza onto free food gleaning. From mega-thousand dollar bicycles to those donated to African communities. So if we have been remiss in the clothing department our apologies. Let’s redress that now, with a discussion on how to choose green apparel (without taking out a mortgage).
1.
The greenest garments are those you already own. No more resources are required to get them to you. No more materials extraction, manufacturing, shipping, retailing, etc. Oh, and no cost to you.
2.
Actually, strictly speaking, that’s not true about the cost. To you, or to the environment. For research has shown that the greatest eco-burden from clothes is not in their construction and distribution, but in their use, specifically the laundering thereof. Washing clothing can involve large quantities of water, energy and chemicals of a garments life. Greener threads are those that can be cold washed and line dried. Avoid anything that needs to be dry-cleaned.
3.
Assuming your gladrags allow such landering, the next best earth, and wallet friendly aspects of clothing relates to their longevity. At first glance this might appear to suggest you should only buy clothes with reinforced elbows and double knees, and while this is true in many instances, longevity also relates to fashion. Selecting apparel that you’ll still be wearing in 20 years, even if made from traditional cotton is preferable, to an organic bamboo top in which you'll look like a dag just 5 months hence. Choose classic styles and colours that will not age. I have a jacket over 22 years old, that looks as good as the day I was given it.
4.
Longevity similarly applies to the types of materials and components used in a garment. Buttons, for example, look dainty compared to snap-fasteners. but are imminently repairable. Anyone with minimal dexterity can sew on a new button, but replacing snaps is way more involved. Sewing up tears, rips or holes will give treasured wardrobe fillers an even longer life. The repaired Levis shown above are 23 years old. And have many more years still to go, assuming I keep my waistline in check!
5.
Let’s say you really do need to buy new clothes, for whatever reason. What is the best buy? Not new at all, as it turns out. Haunt opportunity shops, Oxfam or thrift stores to find gorgeous preloved clothing. You won’t be alone. Very little new energy is expended in processing these garments. Reusing someone’s hand-me-downs is not like having to lump your brother or sister’s discards. You can choose from an amazing array of styles. There are even boutique stores selling preloved prestige ‘labels’ in evening and formal wear.
Thus far we have looked at the greenest of threads and as good fortune would have it they are also the cheapest too. From here on we do need to delve into the purse a smidge deeper.
6.
Reuse can also refer to materials, not just complete garments. A growing number of ragtrade designers are collecting old apparel and salvaging the fabrics for redeployment in totally new styles.
7.
Garments that benefit from ‘organic’ agriculture are probably your next port of call. Generally this means the land has not been subjected to synthetic chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides, fertilisers and the like for at least 3 years. Genetically Modified seed is not permit under organic certification. Natural inputs are instead the norm. (As opposed to traditional ag: “Fully 10 percent of all agricultural chemicals in the United States are used to produce cotton, grown on just one percent of all major agricultural land.”) And most cases the manufacturing process has to be as diligent as that of the fields. Cotton, wool, linen (flax) and hemp can be grown organically.
8.
Textile fibres such as those mentioned in the last point are easily compostable, so will return to the soil from whence they came. And this is where the decision making gets a tad hazy. ‘Coz renewable, biodegradable materials would appear to have it all over live-forever petrochemical derivatives. But remember a few points ago, where durability was important. In the right application synthetics can add longevity and may be used in blends with natural fibres to extend their useful life.
9.
There is an in-between category between natural and synthetics. Known as naturally derived man-made fibres. Wood pulp, bamboo, soy, and corn are used as feedstock for manufacturing processes that are almost identical to those used to fabricate, say polyester or nylon. These are energy intensive industries, but they have an upside in that the resulting garments can still be composted, when their prime has passed. Soy and corn for two of the world’s crop most likely to be genetically modified. Commercial bamboo, wood pulp, and increasingly soy tend to be sourced from locations where forest-like animal habitat is removed for the planting of monoculture plantations.
10.
Recycling is when ingredients, which have already been in the marketplace, are collected and chopped up, as feedstock for fresh raw materials. In most cases this infers manmade, like the now familiar plastic PET drink bottle that might become a apparel fibre for the likes of socks and sweaters. But cotton has also been recycled into new fabrics. Recycled fabric apparel from synthetics cannot be returned to the earth but they can be recycled again as an ‘industrial nutrient’ to feed the production of more recycled garments. Or alternatively (and less productively) used as waste to energy fuel. It is this durability (500 years plus!) that works it’s favour. However the recycling systems currently in place really only support polyester, and even this is to a very limited and specialised degree.
11.
Clothing made from virgin fibre is by its very origins high in embodied energy, be it a renewable or a fossil fuel. Extraction and production is resource hungry. While on the surface garments made of such materials may seem the cheapest. This is blind economics. We pay a high price for these goods. Not directly but we do pay. Mostly in our taxes and insurance. Government subsidies and community health costs come from the level of taxation we support. Health insurance reflects the claims made for ill health, for example, from agricultural workers exposed to the toxic overload from excessive use of ag chemicals. There is no free lunch, we pay somewhere.
12.
And we haven’t even touched on the issues of the workers who crafted your garments. If we are indifferent to seven year old children working in factories instead of attending school, or indentured twenty year olds slaving way (literally) in militarised manufacturing facilities, then it is possible for us to enjoy cheap clothing. But if we want to support the right of all peoples to enjoy freedom of movement, and a living wage, then we may need to raise our price thresholds. But you can still be green (and economically) savvy in your apparel selection up to point 6. without needing to be too involved in issues of fair traded product.
But this is a way long post, so let’s leave it there (for anyone brave enough to have lasted the distance), and trust TH readers will be reflecting on these points, and adding their own wisdom to the discussion.
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"Avoid anything that needs to be dry-cleaned."
Well, you can do what I do and ignore the label. I have a few military surplus wool shirts that say "dry clean only". Excuse me, but I was unaware that there were dry cleaners on the foxhole.
I either hand wash or wash as delicates my "dry clean only" stuff. I then place it in the dyer - air only (no heat) - for a bit to help with any wrinkles, then line dry.
This is for everything but suits, for which I rarely wear.
An excellent article. Thank you.
Let's not forget that just because it has passed the usefulness as clothing that it is not the end of the item's life. From quilts to bags to pillows to rags, clothes can be used for so many things after they can no longer be worn.
How about adopting the 100 mile rule?
Only purchase clothing that has been made within a 100 mile radius of your city, town, village, farm. Not only will this aid the conservation of fuels and fair trade but the fashion world will become much more interesting again.
The brand will die, the folk will succeed. Good hunting and gathering.
Belle
"Washing clothing can involve large quantities of water, energy and chemicals of a garments life."
"Assuming your gladrags allow such landering, the next best earth, and wallet friendly aspects of clothing relates to their longevity."
"Soy and corn for two of the world’s crop most likely to be genetically modified."
"Recycling is when ingredients, which have already been in the marketplace, are collected and chopped up, as feedstock for fresh raw materials."
"It is this durability (500 years plus!) that works it’s favour."
"If we are indifferent to seven year old children working in factories instead of attending school, or indentured twenty year olds slaving way (literally)"
i love you, treehugger, i really, really do, but i also love correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. if you are ever in the market for a site copyeditor, i'll be thrilled to offer my services.
I had no idea that discount clothes could be more destructive environmentally. Thank you for this article.
I've been on a diet and have lost almost 30 lbs. I've been waiting to buy clothes because I want to go the most organic way possible. I still have 60 more lbs. to lose. On the diet website I use they have a trade in program, but people are all over the world so I think I will try GoodWill, etc. Thanks for letting me know about bamboo clothing. I was going to go that way, but you opened my eyes.
Excellent article which make good sense..lets hope lots of people take it on board and take action.
We've been selling green fashion items for a couple of years now (green-uk.co.uk) and we often receive this complaint..."price too high". It is a valid argument especially at times like these, however, to produce clothing under fair trade conditions with organic materials does cost 30 - 50% more than the standard high street stuff. Of course the more people who buy "green" will help & eventually lead to a drop in costs and therefore price! We do ensure that the clothes really are ethical, organic & giving something back.
I don't subscribe to the "within 100 miles" philosophy as this does not help those workers or communities in most need of our trade.
Imagine a clothing product that is made from 2 tons of recycled food waste, is biodegradable and renewable, sustainbly produced, can be recylcled and recut and restyled and, with good care, will last for generations. We're talking about my mink coat. See info at http://www.furcommission.com/environ/index.html especially A Day at the Races, Plastic Bags on Our Backs and Super Duper Recyclers. Good stuff on this site.
Great article. I design eco-friendly clothing and have a store that sells it. I always tell my customers that the most important thing is how you launder your clothing after its made. I think that a good point to is that some eco friendly options are more expensive but the quality is also way better so your items will last longer.
I don't think that the 100 mile rule can apply to clothing at this point. Its impossible for most of us in clothing because in reality organic cotton and hemp are only grown in certain parts of the world. The clothing may be cut and sewn locally but the fabric is still sailing the seas (or trucking the land) to get where its going. Recycled pieces are definitely a great option, but designer recycled pieces are more expensive.
Certainly a thought provoking article. However, if there is one main thing that irritates me when articles such as these are written, it would be the lack of references. You make many claims but not a single shred of evidence to back up those claims.
I think the main point that all readers should take from this article is that we must try to make sustainable choices. Polyester could be a sustainable choice, especially if the polyester is recycled. For this reason I would not agree with the author who promotes polyester/organic cotton blends. That would be extremely difficult to recycle.
I would also agree that the clothing with the least impact is used clothing. We also promote this philosophy but in reality, there will be times when you will need some new clothing and in those cases, making a sustainable choice is the way I hope we will all go some day.
Conventional cotton is simply not a sustainable choice. Production of this fiber requires tremendous amounts of water, insecticides and pesticides which are poisoning the ecosystem and ourselves.
As stated earlier, polyester if recycled is a sustainable option although one I am not sure I would wish to support but that is matter of choice.
I think bamboo and tencel offer tremendous sustainability as cellulose is the most abundant self-sustaining polymer in the world if managed correctly.
Yes, bamboo is energy intensive at 3.33 Kg CO2-eq / Kg product but this is still superior to polyester at 4.35 Kg CO2 eq/Kg product. Plus bamboo through its insane growth rates has the added benefit of being a significant means of sequestering CO2.
I apologize for not including references but if you visit our web site at http://www.FashionAndEarth.com and read our section regarding Green Fashion Facts, the supporting documents can be found there.
Regards ! Adrian Desbarats
Point #11 is well-taken and VERY IMPORTANT.
In my Economics 101 class this was noted as being "External Costs" that are too often not incorporated into the determining the bottom line and the cost of items made. If the "External Costs" were figured into the manufacturing, wholesale and retail prices, then organic fibers might not be that much more expensive than the non-organic fibers.
The reality is that the costs are still there!
Also, there is another solution to some of the problems of producing carbon emissions - hand make, hand re-make some of your clothing in the way you want it or buy handmade or pay to have someone else hand re-make. Doing things by hand is less carbon emissions than factory-made clothes. Also, doing handmade gives people a feel of the quality of what they are making and wearing.
Thank you for the article, it helps alot with a project me and a few freinds of mine are working on in French. (the project is over 'Going Green' being more conservitive and help mother earth and so on)
Great info, thanks! You really helped me out!
I rencently found this amazing and eco-friendly clothing line - INDIE PEACE. Their apparel is sooo comfortable and fashionable check them out at www.indiepeace.com