My Vision: A Beautiful Mess

The perfect world: our planet Earth is safe from harming materials; We are conscious of what we are using and how much we are using of it; We recycle and reuse; We are aware of all the consequences. Will we ever see this perfect world?  To keep our environment safe, each level of the apparel industry has to be on the same page: the manufactures, the buyers, and the ultimate consumers.

            My dream is to one day have my own store. I picture it a small boutique downtown carrying the latest trends and fashion accessories. I want it to be “the spot” for the perfect outfit. I want to carry apparel for women and children. I also want to carry home décor. But most importantly, I want my store to be sustainable, from the energy method, to the lighting, to the bagging and packaging. I want my store to “go green”. I want my customers to understand that I am fully behind the pact to make our earth safe again.

            In an article on renewableenergyworld.com it states problems with energy in the United States. It said the United States currently relies heavily on coal, oil, and natural gas for its energy. Fossil fuels are non-renewable, that is, they draw on finite resources that will eventually dwindle, becoming too expensive or too environmentally damaging to retrieve. Most renewable energy comes either directly or indirectly from the sun. Sunlight, or solar energy, can be used directly for heating and lighting homes and other buildings, for generating electricity, and for hot water heating, solar cooling, and a variety of commercial and industrial uses. The sun's heat also drives the winds, whose energy, is captured with wind turbines. Then, the winds and the sun's heat cause water to evaporate. When this water vapor turns into rain or snow and flows downhill into rivers or streams, its energy can be captured using hydroelectric power. Running a store takes a lot of energy, lighting, and many other things that can be harming. After researching this, there is no doubt that there is a way to keep it healthy for our environment.

            My store will have many windows to let light in. I will plan on using the light from the windows when I can, instead of having to use multiple lights and electricity.

            Bagging and packaging has always been an issue for the apparel industry. I want to use eco-friendly materials for my bags. I want the materials for my bags to be from recyclable goods.

            Overconsumption: an issue the apparel industry is constantly facing. In the article titled Limited Consumption: Toward a Sustainable Culture it gives us insight on these issues. Overconsumption by the wealthiest fifth of humanity is an environmental problem unmatched in severity by anything but perhaps population growth. The surging exploitation of resources threatens to exhaust or unalterably disfigure forests, soils, water, air, and culture. Skyrocketing consumption is the hallmark of our era. As a store owner I would have to keep the idea of over-consuming in mind. New apparel usually comes in an excessive amount of bubble wrap and plastic wrap, materials that harm our environment if over-used. I am aware of this problem of overconsumption and would do all I can to protect our environment. I truly believe in “everything in moderation”.

            Keeping all the ideas of energy, renewable resources and monitoring the consumption is a vision I have for my future store. Ideas like these are what will help keep Earth safe and out of harm’s way. Of course, I can’t do it alone. These issues will have to be a group effort. But it has to start somewhere, and I wouldn’t mind if my store helped kick this movement off.

Miracle Fiber....Or No???

            Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a perfect piece of material? I textile with the durability of a metal pipe, the sustainability only we could dream of, and the price that any budget could afford? That would seem like a pretty good example of a miracle fiber to me.

            Hemp…does it deserve the title of miracle fiber? In the article titled “Hemp: Historic Fiber Remains Controversial” it tells us a little bit about the qualities of hemp. It states that hemp can be used in a variety of ways and has been around since the 28^th century.  Big names such as Calvin Klein, Giorgio Armani, and Ralph Lauren are all getting involved with the hemp business. Klein was quoted saying that he thought hemp was going to be the fabric of choice for home furnishings and apparel. Now for one of the downsides of hemp, it is the subject of a worldwide controversy that involves such desperate factions as farmers, government enforcement agencies, environmentalists, supporters of legalized drugs and manufacturers of textile, food and paper products. One controversy is that the hemp plant comes in several varieties, one of which is related to marijuana. Hemp is illegal to grow in the United States because of its close link to marijuana. The Marijuana Act of 1937 stopped all growth of hemp here in the US.

            Another fact about hemp: It’s pretty pricey! The high cost of the multi-stage processing of hemp, that limited quantities available, and the fact that there is little processing of the fiber in this country, is responsible for its high price, about 100% higher than cotton, and about on par with linen with comparing similar qualities.

            Bamboo…miracle fiber, or not?? In the article titled “Are you being bamboozled”, it gives us the “low down” on what bamboo is really about. It states, the truth is, most “bamboo” textile products, if not all, are really rayon. Rayon is manufactured polymer and is typically made using environmentally toxic chemicals in a process that emits hazardous pollutions into the air. A lot of times we consider bamboo eco-friendly and a pretty good choice on a textile fiber. Who knew a lot of times it’s really rayon that we were looking at. This right here, shows us how easy consumers can be tricked when fumbling through apparel pieces at our favorite store downtown.

            It’s easy to not know the facts about the clothes we are buying. A lot of people aren’t interested in researching this to find out what our apparel pieces are really about. Hemp has its issues, legally, for sure. And we’ve been completely tricked into the greatness of bamboo. But are these fibers that bad, or are we just not educated on them? Miracle fibers may not be the best word to describe these pieces, but I also don’t think hemp and bamboo are the worst things our environment has seen. It’s important for our consumers to be educated on these fibers, and then they can determine their opinions on them. There are legal issues with hemp, and we would need to work with those, but maybe hemp can bring us positive insights that the negative parts about this fiber are hiding now.

Don't Judge a Fiber by its Name!

We see cotton literally everywhere. Take a quick look in your closet or drawers and just think about how much cotton is in there. Tons, I’m sure! But is cotton really all it’s cracked up to be? Yes, of course it’s great to have your basics, but who doesn’t like a splash of change in their wardrobe every now and then? And what better way to make a change than using synthetics!

            In the article titled it states the demand for polyester has doubled over the last 15 years, and has now overtaken cotton as the single most popular textile material. The article also gave us statistics from 2005 on the total demands for natural fibers and synthetic fibers. The total for natural fibers was 25.76. The total for synthetic fibers was 33.78. Both are calculated in million tons. Synthetic fibers are most commonly seen as “bad” and natural fibers are usually seen as “good”.  It is a given that the production of synthetic fibers hold quite an impact on our environment, but the production of natural fibers such as cotton, hold a pretty similar impact, as well. The articles states that cultivating 1 kg of cotton for example, draws on 8000 litres of water (an estimated average across the global cotton crop). In comparison, producing 1kg of polyester uses little or no water. Although producing polyester uses more energy, the statistics on the amount of water used are pretty startling.

            In the class lecture video, we were introduced to several different fallacies concerning natural and synthetic fibers. We often think natural fibers are better than synthetic fibers, and the word “natural” leads us to believe this myth.  For example, synthetics most often have a greater carbon footpint than naturally derived fibers, but this does not mean that synthetics are inherently evil. For instance, synthetics might be a good option for a textile product that will be highly durable and have style longevity, therefore, fewer may be produced and disposed.

            The apparel industry needs to be using a textile that is environmentally friendly. After reading the article and seeing the statistics, I personally think synthetic fibers are the right choice.

            Natural fibers…that sure does a have a ring to the name, doesn’t it? But just like we learned when we were little from the oh-so-ever-popular quote “don’t judge a book by its cover”, learn more about your product rather than just its name. In this case, don’t just your material from its name. There’s a lot more to these fabrics than just the name, both good and bad. In my opinion, synthetic fibers are the choice to go with. Let’s change up our wardrobe, save some water, and continue the popularity of synthetic fibers such as polyester!