Posh Swaps Blog

There has been a lot of talk lately about sustainable clothes and eco fashion. Every day a new brand emerges that is in some better for the environment than conventional clothing and usually more ethically produced. But with fast fashion and the culture of buying cheaply (and often unethically) made high fashion clothing still highly popular and ‘environmental green washing’ becoming the new in phrase, what really can be done to make clothing more sustainable?

At Posh Swaps we believe that there is no right or wrong way to become more sustainable, anything that we can do, no matter how small is a positive step in the right direction. But there are some things that we can do that are likely to have a more positive effect than others.

1. Buy less clothes - it is quite simple really, the less clothes that we buy, the less environmental damage is caused in their manufacture and the less waste we make. Clothes swapping is a great alternative to buying clothes. It allows you to update your wardrobe without having an impact (or a very minimal impact on the environment)

2. Buy second hand clothes- this is the most eco friendly way to buy clothes. There is no additional carbon footprint (except for transport) associated with buying new clothes. But we understand that you cannot always find exactly what you want second hand and will sometimes need to buy new.

3. Buy quality clothes that will last, where possible in Eco friendly fabrics- fabrics made from recycled materials, probably have the smallest footprint as they do not have to be made from scratch. There is also the benefit of having saved materials that may have otherwise ended up in landfill. Other eco friendly fabrics including organic bamboo, cotton and hemp are all better than their conventional alternatives but still have a carbon footprint associated with their growth and manufacture and contribute to the problem of waste so should always be bought to last.

Finally, in order to ensure that your clothing is really sustainable, you should consider its whole life  cycle:

• Buy clothes to last
• Wash and dry (or clean) in as eco friendly manner as possible
• When you no longer need them recycle by selling or donating to charity.

2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity as declared by the UN. So what has this got to do with fashion you might ask?

Well fashion as  with many other industries has a significant impact on the environment. From the pollution caused by pesticides used to grow cotton to the disposal of clothing at the end of its life. Natural ecosystems have a very delicate balance. Change just one environmental factor and the balance will collapse having far reaching ecological effects. Biodiversity describes the variety of flora (plants) and fauna (animals) that exist in the world and as ecosystems are destroyed or fragmented so the biodiversity is lost. Ultimately loss of biodiversity has an impact on humans as it provides food sources, shelter, safe guards water and effects CO2 emmissions and global warming.

Events will be taking place around the globe to celebrate biodiversity and explore ways to sustain biodiversity. Specifically for fashion, EcoChic Geneva on 20th and 21st January will begin with a 1.5 day seminar “Redefining Sustainability in the International Agenda” from the perspective of the fashion and cosmetics industries.

An interesting report entitled Well Dressed? and published by the University of Cambridge, Department for Manufacturing in 2006 explores the present and future sustainability of textiles in the United Kingdom. Most of us are probably aware that there are many issues surrounding the sustainability of the textiles industry in the UK but the report gives a really in depth and neutral look at the problems and identify the potential for significant and lasting change.

The report is highly relevant for consumers, media, business, education, government and campaigners and provides balanced evidence based information. Some of the key findings of the report in relation to the recycling of clothes are summarised below:

• The UK’s current behaviour in disposing of used clothing and textiles to landfill is not sustainable as volumes are growing.
• The second hand sector is growing and there is further demand so improved collection and sorting procedures will be beneficial in reducing waste and providing usable clothes to developing countries.
• Recycling is siginificant for materials with high impacts in the production phase.

According to the analysis in order to create change a consumer would:

• Buy second hand clothing and textiles where possible.
• Buy fewer more durable garments and textile products.
• When buying new products, choose those made with least energy and least toxic emmissions, made by workers paid a credible living wage with reasonable employment rights and conditions.
• Lease clothes that would otherwise not be worn to the end of their natural life.
• Extend the life of clothing and textile products through repair.
• Dispose of using clothing and textiles through recycling businesses who would return them for secondhand sale where ever possible but otherwise extract and recycle the yarns or fibres. 

Swapping, buying and selling second hand clothes is a great way of recycling and improving the sustainability of textiles. You can swap, buy and sell your second hand clothes for free on www.posh-swaps.com.

Back in February, we posted about the launch of the Government’s sustainable clothing action plan during London Fashion Week and how Posh-swaps.com is supporting the action plan by promoting and enabling the reuse and recycling of clothes through swapping, buying and selling second hand clothes.

Shared Talent India, one of London College of Fashion’s Centre for Sustainable Fashion’s (CSF) key projects of 2009 funded by Defra and supported by the Indian Government, was showcased on the Monsoon stand at Estethica at London Fashion Week. The project is one of a series of actions being implemented by the clothing and fashion sector under the Defra-led Sustainable Clothing Action Plan and Roadmap process to improve the environmental and ethical performance of clothing.

Born out of a collaboration between UK and Indian designers and London College of Fashion (LCF), Pearl Academy India and AMFI Amsterdam Fashion Institute students, the project has explored and promoted the design applications of a range of sustainable Indian textiles. Earlier this summer the group took part in a ten day workshop in Delhi to produce concepts to showcase Indian sustainable textiles and share their skills and designers and makers. After being showcased at London Fashion Week the collection will go to Indian Fashion Week in October 2009.

The award winning Shared Talent project model, developed to find transformative solutions through collaboration, has already been successfully applied to communities in Ghana and South Africa. Shared Talent India kicked off early in 2009 with a call out by the CSF for applications from UK-based designers and liaised with Pearl Academy to recruit India-based designers* to take part in the project. The designers along with selected AMFI and LCF students travelled to India to engage in a programme of activity including workshops and active design collaboration to produce concepts to showcase the sustainable textiles.

Accompanying the group were members of the Monsoon team; Head of Design, Kim Elliott commented, “This is an exciting collaboration between fashion students and designers in the UK and India which reflects our heritage and we are proud to be involved with it. The students brief for this project will showcase some quite directional design work demonstrating the fashion potential of sustainable textiles, the outcome of which will be displayed on the Monsoon stand at London Fashion Week in September.”

further information can be found on http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2009/090918b.htm

The Centre for Sustainable Fashion was set up by London College of Fashion to help promote sustainable fashion and act as a catalyst for change. It is recognised internationally and integrated with the fashion industry giving it maximum impact.

The Centre was launched in 2008 and has published two reports Fashion and sustainability a snapshot analysis detailing levels of activity across the UK fashion sector in relation to sustainability and fashioning the future, details of the the designers, artists and thinkers who contributed to the Fashioning the future summit in October 2008.

The Centre for Sustainable Fashion blog is  really interesting and informative read for anyone interested in sustainable style. It also has a great list of sustainable labels.