In today’s society the need for fashionable apparel is at a record high. The clothes that we wear portray ourselves to the general public as autonomous individuals. As consumers, we spend thousands of dollars a year on our basic need to dress. Unfortunately, the standard garment that you procure at your local retailer will most likely deteriorate or go out of style within months. Just like the technology market, new clothing products are constantly being advertised in windows with extravagant price tags, and unsustainable constructed materials. During this time of economic dismay, consumers are in need of a less detrimental and a more sustainable alternative for their attire. Eco-clothing is a step in the right direction, with enhanced labor practices and less harmful methods for manufacturing, we can slowly decrease our carbon footprint by purchasing something that feels natural to us. Eco-clothing is a more ethical choice over the standardized practice of producing apparel.
The average apparel that you see today is inadequately designed due to the rushed processing of material. Eco friendly apparel is consciously designed to be more sustainable and beneficial to our environment. With alternative methods for production, eco-clothing manufacturers strive to develop favorable ways to farm for clothing fabric. Made from natural and fair trade textiles like organic cotton, recycled polyester, bamboo, and leather alternatives, this clothing and accessories are eco conscious, socially responsible, and stylish at the same time. With an alternative, more environmental approach to clothing, we can slow down the effects of substandard apparel fabrication.
The standardized practice of clothing manufacturing is unsound and harmful to the environment. This production process for basic apparel has caused a huge ripple effect throughout our beautiful planet. Conventional cotton farming uses about .3 pounds of chemicals per shirt produced. These toxins are a danger to farm communities and end up in water run-off, which in turn can become our drinking water. Fifty-five million pounds of pesticides were sprayed on the 12.8 million acres of conventional cotton grown in the U.S. in 2003 (4.3 pounds/ acre), ranking cotton third behind corn and soybeans in total amount of pesticides sprayed (USDA, 2003). Some of these chemicals are considered to be the most toxic chemicals in the world. The health risks of pesticide exposure include birth defects, reproductive disorders, and weaker immune systems (Mother Earth News, 2008). Once the chemicals are introduced into the ground it can infiltrate its way into the soil and the fresh water supply.
Organic cotton is grown without the use of injurious chemicals, pesticides, and fertilizers. Organic cotton farmers substitute innovation for chemicals and synthetic fertilizers by using natural composting and innocuous inks and dyes to color the clothing. While it’s important to replace conventional cotton with organic, it’s equally important to use eco-friendly inks and dyes. The traditional dye process not only involves many toxic chemicals, but the process is a potent form of bleaching and can be hazardous to workers. The most common ink used for screen-printing has been plastisol for many years. Today, many screen printers are using more water-based inks because traditional plastisol inks have contained polyvinyl chlorides, which is by far the most environmentally damaging plastic (Earth Friendly Adventures Inc, 2008). The PVC life cycle –production, use, and disposal –results in the release of toxic, chlorine-based chemicals.
The majority clothing manufacturers compose a faulty and less sustainable product. The chemicals used in the production of conventional apparel increase the quantity of the product but decrease the actual quality. There is no mention within these companies for the use of recycled materials; if the product runs out they simply procure more material. A number of eco-apparel companies collect tattered attire to mend together a recycled in-vogue masterpiece. Old jeans that have been discarded are used to construct a more sustainable and less degradable product for your bottom. Raw and recycled denim is dark unprocessed monochromatic denim that looks like it just rolled off the loom. When you have the opportunity to by a more sustainable product, the mere fact that some would go out and purchase brand new two hundred dollar pair of jeans just seems wasteful. There are plenty of eco-apparel websites that sell eco jeans for half the price of the leading denim. Eco friendly apparel producers also use methods such as recycled poly fibers from plastic bottles to construct poly cotton blend textiles. Purchasing a three pack of white t-shirts might seem beneficial, but over time that shirt will loose its shape, comfort, and wear rather quickly compared to a organic cotton t-shirt that will keep its durability intact even over constant usage.
The notion of conventional cotton being less expensive to the consumer is something to consider. This might discourage the average trendsetter to steer away from the higher quality organic product. I do agree that the price of these products can be exorbitant when it comes to the designer. But there is a reason why this eco product is so expensive at this current moment. Eco friendly-based chemical dyes account for a 33 percent increase over the standardized cotton dyes. However, new studies have shown that if eco-clothing manufacturers switched completely to water based inks it would account for only 15 percent above the standardized price(Nimon et al, 1998). There is one reason why apparel retailers have their expensive markup in the first place, and there is a hidden cost to general cotton. This standardized price tag for normal apparel actually comes from the markup due to the exuberant quantities of chemicals, toxins, and pesticides purchased to maintain cotton farms in the first place. This unseen price tag hides the real value behind this fluffy white material. If these chemicals were not used then there would be a lower cost in the development, and it would become more eco friendly. Eco farming doesn't require the use for such toxins; they rely mostly on the process of nature and not greed.
The archaic form of mass produced cotton farming limit us to obtaining the actual quality product in which we more than deserve to spend our paychecks on. The notion alone that cotton being produced all over the world is being treated with unsafe toxins, chemicals, and pesticides, which can cause vitiation to the environment and our health, is just not ethically suitable. Many people overseas pick cotton with their bare hands, and some labor practices overseas still use young children to assemble cotton-based materials by hand. There could be potential risks of children being exposed to these harmful chemicals. Eco friendly clothing disapproves of these methods for apparel production. Eco companies are geared to bettering our social and economic environment, not putting it at risk. Each of us leaves a footprint behind while we live our lives on this planet, and it is truly thoughtful to try to leave it as we found it. We as a species have a long way to go concerning the health of the earth. Every little act does count and it does add up over time. We can reverse the downtrend in the degradation of humanity’s greatest possession - planet Earth.
References:
U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA] (2003). Agricultural chemical usage field crop summary. Retrieved April 19, 2009, from http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Washington/Publications/Ag_Chemical_Use/field03/fldchem03.pdf
Link to the USDA
Earth friendly apparel by Earth Friendly Adventures Inc (2008). Retrieved April 21, 2009, from http://earthfriendlyapparel.net
Link to Earth friendly Apparel
Why organic cotton is better by Mother Earth News (2008, June 3). Retrieved April 21, 2009, from http://www.motherearthnews.com/Nature-Community/Organic-Cotton-Benefits.aspx
Link to Mother Earth News
Nimon, W., Beghin, J. (1998). Are eco-labels valuable: Evidence from the apparel industry. Retrieved April 20, 2009, from http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:q7MpbcNjnnoJ:www.card.iastate.edu/publications/DBS/PDFFiles/99wp213.pdf
Link to Are Eco-labels valuable?
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