Comments on: What is Sustainable Fashion? (Part I)

By: Worn Through » Teaching Fashion: Eco-Friendly Textiles Interview

Worn Through » Teaching Fashion: Eco-Friendly Textiles Interview — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 10:02:48 +0000

[...] more information on sustainable and eco-friendly fashion see these previous Worn Through posts: What is Sustainable Fashion Part I, What is Sustainable Fashion Part II, and Fashion Conscious [...]

By: Sunny

Sunny — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:29:33 +0000

I’ve never bought anything that could vaguely be considered ‘fashion’ but I do buy clothes. When I worked, I bought expensive clothes because they looked better, felt better when worn, and lasted. My budget is more limited now, and I shop at Old Navy — or even (gasp) Wal-Mart, but I still want quality. I want good clothes. If I could be certain that I wouldn’t have to replace the shirt I’m buying in a few months, I’d probably spend a few more dollars. I buy clothes (except for the omnipresent tee-shirts) with an eye to the future. When it’s beyond wearing, for any reason, can I cut it up and use the pieces for something? I quilt. Many old pairs of jeans and khakis have found t heir way into a quilt. Likewise cotton shirts and the random silk shirt. So that’s what the ‘mom shopping at Old Navy’ is thinking. Make good clothes that will last through more than one season of wear. Treat textile workers fairly and pay them a living wage. Don’t gouge me with the price of whatever it is you want to sell me. And, yes, please make the underpants compostable.

By: Francesca

Francesca — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:16:21 +0000

For anyone interested in the topic of sustainable fashion, I suggest reading Kate Flecther’s book “Sustainable Fashion and Textiles.” In a chapter titled “Speed,” she explains how there shouldn’t be a dichotomy between fast and slow, but rather certain garments SHOULD be fast fashion, as with eveningwear, which could be rented out instead of bought and underpants, which she proposes could be compostable.

Her book and insights are quite provocative and briliant, I think.

By: glennis

glennis — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:47:33 +0000

Not being of the fashion industry, or any industry for that matter, just a lowly sometimes consumer of everyday clothing-a couple of thoughts come to mind. First, I too am tired of looking for “something nice” and finding most clothing outlets in my price range offering what I would call “disposable clothing”. I am not a fashion plate but I do appreciate quality fabric and good construction having grown up sewing most of my own clothes during high school.
Those days are pretty much gone, and along with it the more discerning consumer who might have the knowledge to tell the difference. So that being said, it is an uphill struggle to educate the consumer.
In regards to whether or not “sustainable fashion” is an oxymoron, I think one has to more carefully define “fashion”. If you mean fashion in a commercial sense then yes, I would agree that it is an oxymoron. Fashion is a business and in the commercial paradigm in which it currently exists, getting the consumer to purchase, purchase, purchase is key to its survival. Clothing mfgs. rely on turning goods as do the retail outlets which they feed.
I doubt that many are interested in sustainability. The ones I personally know are not.
If you define fashion as a way of dressing or adorning with a certain sense of style without respect to commercial viability, then I think you have another paradigm. One in which “sustainable fashion” might actually not be an oxymoron. Maybe we have to start over- cleverly- from the ground up. Designers, consumers, first and slowly, then carefully small mfgs.
I don’t know, maybe I am off the mark but I found this to be an interesting thread and shared my thoughts, naive though they may be.
I came arrived here via a link posted on our “slow cloth” FB page posted by Elaine Lipson.

By: Sarah Scaturro

Sarah Scaturro — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:29:16 +0000

Hi Lucy,

I really enjoyed reading your summary of the panel and the issues it raised – yours was one of the better summaries I’ve found on the panel, and I find your ending questions thoughtful and provocative. I look forward to reading your second part tomorrow. As one of the moderators, I was pleased that we were able to touch on so many topics (albeit briefly due to time limits). Of course, the issues surrounding sustainable fashion are numerous and never quite clear cut, so we were only able to scratch the surface on this immensely complicated topic. In fact, the more I research sustainable fashion, the more I feel that there is not a decisive way to achieve all the goals of a truly sustainable system. There are too many tensions inherent in the system, too many pulls that are trying to be reconciled. After all, as many scholars have pointed out, the phrase itself is an oxymoron.

I’m curious as to what you think the “other side” of the discussion is, if the panel just raised “one side of the argument”? I also think that you were misreading any supposed “affectation” on the part of the panelists. They, more than any of us, have a right to acknowledge their frustrations about the system in which they contribute. What is so affected with saying one wants good, quality and fashionable design rather then the fast fashion being thrown at them from so many angles? I myself have grabbled with issue. As someone on a tight budget due to my current employment in the museum field, I have definitely felt the thrill of walking into a fast fashion retailer and seeing so much variety offered at such low prices. But then I try things on and they fit poorly. I inspect the construction, and I find it shoddy. I feel the fabrics, and they feel sleazy and I know they won’t survive a single washing. And then I walk away, disgusted. It pains me to have to pay a lot of money for just one simple, high quality dress, or a pair of shoes…but then I honestly do value those pieces that much more, and I do not think of them in any way disposable.

I also think it’s a bit misguided to question the “honesty” of the panelists in stressing that people have the desire to have something a bit more original. The DIY and crafts movement has been happening for a long time now – and it is most definitely more a movement than a passing trend. Perhaps it’s not a movement that everyone is participating (much like the original Arts and Crafts movement) but it does, and will, have far-reaching and profound consequences for the design field. Even my friends and family back in Colorado have a desire for something special and unique. Many of them shop at fast fashion retailers since they are often the only place available to purchase clothing, but at the same time, almost all of them participate in and appreciate crafts in some form or another. How can we know that when given a choice between an Old Navy top and a thoughtfully crafted unique one, the mom shopping at Old Navy wouldn’t actually prefer the latter? You can’t dismiss something as a trend just because price and availability are hindering a more widespread acceptance of DIY/handcrafted goods.