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Sustainability and Overco
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Sustainability and Overco
Sustainability and Overconsumption Thread
Fast fashion is a major issue. Many sources say that the clothing industry is responsible for up to 10% of global emissions. Other statistics (that i did not do a ton of fact checking on) say that the cultivation of cotton for 1 t-shirt produces more than one kilogram of CO2. From there, there’s processing and sewing and shipping and it can come up to 7 kilograms - before the customer even takes the shirt home. From there, washing and drying only adds more and more.
For such an energy-intensive process, the average amount of times to wear a piece of clothing is 7-10. This is an average, so there are going to be outliers, but it’s terrifyingly low. It’s estimated that 80 to 150 billion clothes are produced each year. But almost no fashion companies put out a number, probably because they don’t want people to know the ridiculous amount of waste they create.
there’s certainly too much trash. Even when clothes are donated, they aren’t always resold. The US exports over a billion pounds of clothing a year to places like Ghana. From there, a lot get thrown in the trash. A lot of what is given there isn’t even high enough quality for it to be reused by anyone. Only between 10 and 30 percent of secondhand donations to charity shops actually get resold in store.
A lot of these retailers keep the prices low. How? Very few major retailers of clothes (even ones that claim to be sustainable!) treat their workers well. From an article published in 2023, some garment makers in Bangladesh make as little as $3 a day. If you exploit your workers, you can make things cheaper. But this doesn’t mean that more expensive clothes are made in better conditions - most of the time it just means they use more expensive materials and just have a higher price.
How bad are the factories? child labor abounds, and if kids are working in factories, they can’t go to school or have a decent childhood or, most likely, get out of the cycle of poverty. And there are so many safety issues. For instance, materials used in making the items can be toxic and cause severe health issues (which you can’t afford to get help with if you make that little money). (on the topic of other industries, people who mine gold often amalgamate it using mercury and inhale a bunch of the fumes. It is not good.)
Companies aren’t helping. Through planned obsolescence, they make items that are specifically designed to break down so you have to buy a new one. For instance, a lot of phones and computers are designed so you can’t repair them, no matter how hard you try. and printer ink cartridges often still have ink when you’re told to replace them. Even worse, if you look up the term, you get stuff defending it. Regardless of if it’s specifically intentional or not, every company’s goal should be to not contribute to the massive pile of waste on the planet. New better cameras and features are not worth, for instance, bleaching coral reefs to the point where they’ll never return, or causing dangerous heatwaves (especially dangerous to people who can’t afford medical care). Most people are not videographers, and if they were, they'd probably at least hope to get better supplies, instead of just a phone camera.
So what to do? The best solution is to just not buy new clothes or items whenever it's avoidable, and buy them second-hand when you do need them. Obviously at some point you’ll need to, but can you postpone it? Do you really need it? Can you learn to mend? Mending doesn’t have to be boring - what about a cool patch on a hole in the knee of some pants? But even if it is boring, it’s incredibly easy and hand-sewing can look very professional and not even be noticeable. I’ll post more on mending later! the most sustainable option is always the one you already own.
So far this has been focused on clothes. However, it’s equally important to reduce the amount of other items that you buy. Most of what’s been written is true about any other item.
If you try writing down the amount of items (that aren't something like food or medical supplies or something truly necessary, more like clothes or stuffed animals or books) that you or your family have bought in a year, the number very well might surprise you. don’t get too worried about timeline here - just write down anything that comes to mind. consider the amount of resources that any one given item would have taken. Does the item have any plastic in it? (Many things you might not expect, like a lot of fabrics, do.) All that’s going to happen is that it’s going to turn into microplastics, which are potentially very harmful to everyone. Plastic doesn’t really biodegrade.
You can't undo what's already done, so don't beat yourself up about old things you've bought. Also, I'm not saying you have to give up anything you like! You just have to be responsible about it. For instance, maybe you only buy books you'll want to reread, and others you can get at the library. (My library will take book requests to buy; yours might too.)
I’d say the most important takeaway is to expand the lifespan of your items. If it’s at all possible to fix something that’s broken, do it! Ideally, everything you own would be bought with the expectation that you will take the time to try to fix it if it breaks. Also, get a drying rack! Drying takes more energy than washing, and it also is very harsh on your clothes. If you let them dry on a rack, it’ll both take less energy and make your clothes last longer. You could even handwash your clothes (but i’d say rack drying is a higher priority). And check how sustainable the places you’re buying from are. Most of the time, more sustainable items cost way more because they’re actually paying their workers, etc; however if you buy less clothes this may be less of an issue. You can buy a coat that will last for 20 years or have to buy one every few years, if that makes sense. It’s also important to note that many companies overstate how sustainable they are. Any company that has new releases every few weeks or months is probably not that sustainable. Just because something is organic doesn’t mean it was made in a low emissions factory that doesn’t create a lot of toxic runoff into the environment and isn’t cruel to workers. Always research companies with keywords like “greenwashing” and “unsustainable” added to the search; always be suspicious.
While obviously at some point you won’t be able to fix an item anymore, and you’re going to need new things sometimes, the more you can avoid it the better. But even one person makes a small difference in the long run. In the end, we need everyone to try, and much more action to prevent this sort of thing in companies and find better solutions than forcing other countries to take care of our trash.
So, what else can you do? Spread the word! If people don’t realize how harmful their actions are, they’re not going to know they need to stop them. There are many options for this - telling people in person or in letters, making flyers (you have my full permission to take any part of this and put it into the flyers, as much as you want - though i would reccomend fact checking and citing your information, since I can’t add sources on the CB), writing a letter to a local newspaper. You can also write to companies that contribute the most to the issue and tell them that you dislike the problems with the way they run, or to government officials.
It’s also likely that your average CBer isn’t even the worst contributor, so extra care should be taken around avoiding and disincouring things like clothing haul videos on social media.
I might post more about flyers later, since I might be trying to make a campaign there (since i think it’d be more effective than the other one i tried). But i'm already overwhelming the Admins XD if anyone has questions let me know and i'll try to answer!
submitted by Blackfooted Bobcat, age Siegfried, ~Swan Lake~
(July 23, 2024 - 2:03 pm)
(July 23, 2024 - 2:03 pm)
i'm not really very fashion-y, though i kind of wish i could be, but one thing i've noticed is that accessories can really be cool and make otherwise plain clothes more interesting. stuff like today i'm wearing just black pants, a black shirt, and a black and white button down with a Odette tutu pin (the whole "am I Odette or Odile??? what's going on? explain??" thing makes no sense but we ignore that) and might wear black shoes with white soles and laces later instead of just slippers (flip flops) or crocs (i can't tie shoe laces so my mom has to and also i hate socks), and it's like - fine? things like belts, jewelry, pins, etc. you probably have a cooler fashion sense and more clothes than me, but just in general thinking about how many uses can an item serve - like the more unique an item the less things it might go with. like having an idea how clothes would work with stuff you already have. also maybe working on adding to and altering your own clothes could make it slower? idk just thoughts. i really have very little authority on this subject though, i mostly wear the same few clothes. not really few, but except for a few sweaters and old clothes i'm going to donate/get rid of somehow, they all fit in a large overflowing laundry basket, which is maybe on the fewer side??? i legitimately don't know, it seems like a normal amount to me but then you read about people who have so many clothes??? granted i am trying to phase out or alter some of my clothes and get other new ones because of gender stuff.
(July 31, 2024 - 3:19 pm)
I love this, BB! We're definitely on the same wavelength because I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Here are some things I do to try to be sustainable (plus a few I haven't actually done but totally should), to serve as ideas for everyone!
- THRIFT YOUR CLOTHES!! Fast fashion is a scourge upon the earth (I'm not even being dramatic, it fills up so many landfills and industry workers are almost always mistreated). In my experience, thrift stores actually have cooler and cheaper clothes than big fashion chains!
- Shop local! Do you go to starbucks all the time? If there's a local coffee shop near you, try that out instead! Because they aren't a part of big industries, small businesses tend to be more sustainable and care more about their communities.
- In line with shopping local, if there's a farmers' market in your area, buy produce (and even bread or other food staples) from there instead of big grocery stores! It'll almost always be better quality because it isn't processed in a factory. This also means far less waste, as big grocery stores waste a ton of food.
- Try your hardest not to waste food, and eat at home or at a local resturant instead of going to a chain resturant! Did you know it's estimated that there is enough food in the world to cure world hunger, but it's still such a big issue because a lot of that perfectly good food is thrown away?
- REUSABLE WATER BOTTLES. REUSABLE BAGS. If a product has a throwaway and a reusable option, always choose the reusable one! Did you know there are even reusable substitutes for ziploc bags?
- As the saying goes, it it ain't broke don't fix it! If you're considering buying a newer version of a product you already have that fulfils its purpose just fine, you don't actually need a new one!
- This last one might seem farfetched, but I promise it's doable - figure out who your congressperson is, and write them a letter about what you think, including any possible solutions you might have. It may or may not get read or get a response, but it's better to try than do nothing at all! After all, it's your congressperson's job to listen to their constituents (you!)
(July 25, 2024 - 9:28 pm)
the last one is possibly the most important, and I highly reccomend doing it if you at all can. Even if all you say is like "I care about climate change and think we need to put much more effort into stopping it and reducing its affects, and protecting the environment in every way" you absolutely should. as important as individual things are, large-scale action will ultimately do much more.
also, even more than just shopping local:
-see if you can put up flyers locally about things you can do to help the environment (i've tried (and mostly failed, but might try again) to make some flyer campaigns about palm oil in the past). a lot of shops have bulletin boards. Try to find the most impactful options to put on them; i bet you could even have a "learn more" qr code or extra pages or something. (also - use post consumer waste paper if you can! recycled is a different thing, post consumer waste is better)
-let the local shop know that you care about how sustainable they are, ideally including some concrete things they could do (like find reuseable options for things like coffee filters, compost, and make sure they know where their coffee is being sourced and ideally find a better-made alternative)
-if there are vegan options, those almost always produce less greenhouse gas. I've also noticed that places that have vegan options often care more about the environment, or at least certain aspects. Also, animals in the vast majority of the farming industry are treated absolutely hideously. i can't have dairy regardless (and also grew up getting really sick if i had any at all, but i was able to eat some for a few years strangely), but a lot of modern vegan alternatives can be pretty good. At the very least, you could get or put almond milk or oat milk in your coffee (disclaimer here that i hate coffee so i haven't tried that particular combination, and oat milk in particular varies between brands), or get a salad instead of a hamburger (less overall, even if the salad had some cheese or milk in the dressing).
-If you can, find a vegetable or fruit that you use a lot of and find out how to grow it yourself. (Easy things include carrots, tomatoes, and lettuce.) Don't use pesticides or artificial fertilizers (compost is better anyway!), and for the best environmental impact plant something that's native to your area with it. Having flowers next to vegetables often helps attract beneficial insects that will pollinate and get rid of pests, and if it's native then more native pollinators can use it. You can also grow herbs next to it, which works great too (certain combinations in particular, like basil and tomatoes). to find native plants, you can look up "native plants (your state)". a plant that's native in New York most likely be very helpful if you're in California.
(August 17, 2024 - 7:42 pm)
Wow, this is amazing! People need to know this. I also don't like fast fashion...and I try to reuse thing when I can, I have a little garden too! But there something else that people don't know is harmful on a very large scale: rat poison. I see it outside apartments, houses, offices, everything. It's terrible. Why? Because today's rat poison is ment to last, meaning it kills the animal slow, so the animal doesn't die on your property. When a animal ingests the poison, it doesn't just die right there, it has time to stumble around, and the poison makes it thirsty, so it will likely go to the nearest water source. Now that's it's out in the wild, a predator might spot it and jump for the easy meal. Once the predator ingests it, the poison might not kill it, but if it eats a lot of poisoned animals (the number are very high in New York and other big cities), the poison will build up and it will eventually kill the predator. If there are not a lot of predators, than the ecosystem will collapse: rodent (pests) everywhere. Ironic, right? So when people put out poison, they are actually increasing the number of "pests."
(July 29, 2024 - 6:48 am)
I've always thought throwing away clothes is crazy. I came from a really poor family, so every piece of clothing really mattered, and if it was really too badly messed up, you use it as a rag for cleaning or insulation, or of course take it apart and repurpose it for other clothes.
Not sure if this is what this thread is for, but food waste is also insane. A couple years ago I did a project on food waste in America, and it is absolutely staggering. Not to sound like a broken record, but there are so many people who could use that perfectly good food, but will never get a chance, and here some people are throwing away massive amounts of it, like it's nothing.
(July 29, 2024 - 2:49 pm)
no that's great, food waste is a huge issue too! anything about sustainability! i didn't think this thread would get this many replies tbh. and yeah i was debating adressing the inequality of overconsumption as a thing even beyond the stuff i mentioned but i didn't really have the time or energy or space or know enough to make a proper argument.
Also @all - the mending info is going to be soon! I'm both fairly largely ill (or maybe not ill, who knows, the tests are negative but it works that way sometimes for me (my longest sinus infection was from something that's not even supposed to infect you like that) and either way i'm dizzy and in fairly severe pain and somewhat miserable and overarchingly sick) and have an orchestra camp that i'm barely participating in (but the professor at the college is amazing so she's letting me just do what i can) and also overly obsessed with rewatching the first like 30 minutes of Giselle (i say as i watch Swan Lake) so. (and the ghosts haven't even come in yet!!) ...that was a waste of words sorry XD
probably will have more specific replies too maybe??
(July 31, 2024 - 3:03 pm)
(August 6, 2024 - 3:37 pm)
also if you don't already, go through your cabinets and look at all the dates on everything and choose the oldest things and use those in your food. often stuff that's past its best by date can be okay, depending on the thing. you can look it up. like Jaybells said food waste is a huge issue! also if there's anything you don't want or have excess of you can donate it to a food pantry (if not you could also give them a monetary donation or volunteer or probably other stuff)
(August 6, 2024 - 8:36 pm)
Omg I love you guys <3 I agree with literally everything that's been said here, and that it's so important to sToP overconsumption. I would add that, if you can avoid it, don't buy clothes made out of polyester/other plastic-based fabrics; it's not only much healthier for you to wear clothes made out of other materials, but I read that when you wash those fabrics, they give off microplastics, which just add to all the other plastic damaging the environment :/ It can be irritating, because the nice clothes in some stores seem to be made exclusively of polyester, but if you hunt hard enough you can usually find clothes made at least partly of cotton/wool/etc.
(August 7, 2024 - 10:40 am)
YES. I can't believe I didn't add the part about microplastics to the opening. There are a lot of non-plastic options. A lot of them have some plastic mixed in; it's not ideal but it's better than fully plastic, since the part that's not plastic at least will biodegrade. I don't care enough to do all the research to explain the problems with microplastics at the moment, but they're definitely a big issue. if i get the time later i will write that.
(August 17, 2024 - 7:18 pm)
A Quick Guide to Lateral Reading~
(September 8, 2024 - 10:39 am)
yes!! also, you can also look up specific things you read too - if you're going to use a fact, you can look up like the fact and "myth" or look up something to get more info. ty for writing this Celine!
(September 12, 2024 - 12:28 pm)
Anastasia, thanks for recomending The Conscious Closet! I got it at the library and it's really good so far. i'd definitely reccomend it to anyone reading, it's applicable even if you don't care about clothes - i'll try to summarize certain important parts later. on which note, it's always better to get books from the library if you can. Libraries need support, and if you buy a new book that's a lot of paper and energy going into making it, and what happens if you don't keep it? (Side note, used book stores are great and will often take your old books.) also, if you read more books at the library, that might go into the system and make them get more of that kind of book. it's just overall a good thing to do. besides, going to the library is really fun! And on that note, if possible, ride a bike or walk or such, or go to the library on the way of going to something else, or carpool, or somehow try to reduce emissions from cars and that sort of thing.
it's so hard to find ways to get rid of old clothes... so little of it actually gets sold when you donate it to a thrift shop. There's a local-er thrift shop i go to though so i might ask "what of this will you take" and then take the rest of it back. also, make sure to wash, repair, possibly iron, and otherwise make your clothes look as good as possible when donating! and if there's something that might not get sold, you can keep it to use as patches or for crafts or for lots of things.
mending info part 1 is mostly written, i just need to finish it. i'll write something about laundry too - doing laundry right can both make your clothes last longer and also reduce a lot of energy and water use. for now: wash on cold and as gently as possible (though delicate seting might use more water and potentially put more microplastics out into the environment, i'm looking into that), handwash items like sweaters (then they don't pill and get scratchy as soon), treat poorly made items especially carefully, air dry instead of using a dryer. if you just do one thing, air dry - you just have to put the clothes on the drying rack and leave them there for a day or two, and it saves a lot of energy. also drying is really rough on your clothes.
last thing for now: if you drink tea, use companies that don't use plastic in their teabags. I'm actually writing a letter to tea companies about this, and might add a letter template for other people to use on here once i'm done. Most big tea companies do use plastic in their teabags; a quick search of companies that don't (meaning i haven't checked this) brings up Pukka, Numi, Stash, Yogi, and Republic of Tea. (side note, Republic of Tea assam black tea is great, and i know they don't use plastic.) if you do have teabags that use plastic (which you probably do), it might actually be better to take the tea out of the teabag and strain it when you're done - steeping tea releases a lot of microplastics, though the teabag will break up into them eventually. also, loose leaf tea!! it's usually better quality too, since teabags are often made with a method that saves time and also doesn't let the tea leaf unfurl because it's cut up, so there's less depth in the flavor.
(September 12, 2024 - 12:49 pm)