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Fashion industry emits more carbon than flights and maritime shipping combined

businessinsider.com

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Re: Fashion industry emits more carbon than flights and maritime shipping combined

#41

Post by groby_b »

birdyrooster wrote: post #35

>85% of all textiles go to the dump each year So only 15% of textiles make it into someones home or office and doesn't get thrown out. Where is the waste? I assume it is 1) Unsold stock, 2) Unusable material during manufacturing, and 3) Consumers throwing clothing away in the first year of ownership. Could we reduce waste most significantly by moving to on-demand clothing manufacturing?

Yes and no :) "On-demand" clothing manufacturing is practiced today, in that fashions change rapidly, and in response, retailers produce what can only be described as "shitty quality, fast".

(Exacerbated by Chinese clothing manufacturers + social media - they're extremely effective at churning out extremely glossy pictures for what's about the lowest possible bar of quality)

That - "fast fashion" - is what gets discarded.

That's not the way forward. On-demand manufacturing that's more along the lines of traditional high-quality bespoke clothing could be an answer, but it would mean that the vast majority of people likely can't afford to wear the latest fashion all the time. And even if we can sidestep that problem through technology, wearing "the latest" itself is a huge part of the problem. If you have clothes that are only meant for a season, you'll dump large amounts of textiles.

So what's needed is both a move to higher quality, and a move away from "fast fashion". Given that the entire industry makes money mostly on "what's new and hot", this would require a significant cultural change.

Re: Fashion industry emits more carbon than flights and maritime shipping combined

#42

Post by TeMPOraL »

evolve2k wrote: post #39

Ecologically speaking maybe Steve Jobs/Star Trek respectively were onto something. A high quality minimal personal style that involves orders of magnitude less garment churn and waste with the added benefit of just not having to spend time on what to wear each day (insert pithy Jobs quote). But seriously if I was to explore finding a personal style that I could wear as my day to day work/life “uniform”, where to look…

I'd happily wear a DS9 or First Contact era Starfleet uniform all day. They look great! :).

Regarding your serious point, I'd like to know too. I'd pay for a service that would help me find a style that looks good on me, with associated supply of quality clothes in this style. My current clothing choice pattern is "random, with a pre-filtering done by my wife".

Re: Fashion industry emits more carbon than flights and maritime shipping combined

#43

Post by vharuck »

throwaway66920 wrote: post #29
esotericn wrote: post #18

We really need a better industry around re-use of essentially everything. Let's say I need some X. Last week I bought a base layer because it's getting cold here. I can order, or buy in a store, a brand new X trivially. I don't actually need a brand new X. A used X would do me just fine. But the difficulty in doing so is ridiculous in comparison. Cottage industry eBay stuff (that you have to order online) vs. an enti…

Well, for one, that would vastly reduce economic growth. But aside from that, there’s not many things that fit X in the scheme of things you purchase frequently. Packaging / containers of consumed items is a big one. Fashion might be but probably not. The example I hear a lot for some reason is power tools. Yeah it would be great to share power tools because you only need them once or twice... but you only buy them o…

Genuine question from an ignorance of macroeconomics:

Wouldn't the money going to clothing just go to something else? It's not like the workers or company owners would sit on their hands when fashion stops being profitable.

Re: Fashion industry emits more carbon than flights and maritime shipping combined

#44

Post by arandr0x »

birdyrooster wrote: post #35

>85% of all textiles go to the dump each year So only 15% of textiles make it into someones home or office and doesn't get thrown out. Where is the waste? I assume it is 1) Unsold stock, 2) Unusable material during manufacturing, and 3) Consumers throwing clothing away in the first year of ownership. Could we reduce waste most significantly by moving to on-demand clothing manufacturing?

Not all textiles are made to be worn -- and plenty of those that are are children's clothes that are outgrown.

Re: Fashion industry emits more carbon than flights and maritime shipping combined

#45

Post by akgerber »

esotericn wrote: post #18

We really need a better industry around re-use of essentially everything. Let's say I need some X. Last week I bought a base layer because it's getting cold here. I can order, or buy in a store, a brand new X trivially. I don't actually need a brand new X. A used X would do me just fine. But the difficulty in doing so is ridiculous in comparison. Cottage industry eBay stuff (that you have to order online) vs. an enti…

Thredup/Grailed/TheRealReal/Etsy/Rent the Runway are bigger companies in that business.

Amazon also sells 'Warehouse deals' of returned product at a discount.

There are also chains of 'buy/sell/trade' stores like Buffalo Exchange, and many local vintage and consignment stores.

But there are significant challenges when you introduce all the ways that used products can deteriorate, plus the challenge of discovery and managing a stock that can potentially include 'everything ever produced in history' rather than 'this season's SKUs'. Plus the 'Market for Lemons' issue that many people generally get rid of things when they've failed somehow, and only sometimes is the issue 'I don't like this thing's style anymore'.

I generally thrift & vintage stores more interesting than new clothing stores, and enjoy the thrill you get when you find something you could never find new for a very good price, but the tradeoff is that it takes significant effort to find clean reliable basics in your size in the used market, as people generally keep those things until they wear out, and it's basically impossible to keep a full size run of anything used in stock.

Re: Fashion industry emits more carbon than flights and maritime shipping combined

#48

Post by notahacker »

rcMgD2BwE72F wrote: post #14

Flights are currently "used" by a tiny % of the global population, whereas clothing is a necessity for 100% of the population. What does that comparison says, exactly? Changing the habits of a few persons would have much impact on the environment as changing the habits of every person on Earth? Which change should we prioritize? Mmmh...

I don't think any sane person is proposing the future of humanity lies in nudity. But you'd have a tough job persuading me that having 60% more clothes than 20 years ago and landfilling 85% of textiles bought a year is necessary, or that extensive wardrobes replaced every season are less frivolous than transport.

Re: Fashion industry emits more carbon than flights and maritime shipping combined

#49

Post by sharadov »

evolve2k wrote: post #39

Ecologically speaking maybe Steve Jobs/Star Trek respectively were onto something. A high quality minimal personal style that involves orders of magnitude less garment churn and waste with the added benefit of just not having to spend time on what to wear each day (insert pithy Jobs quote). But seriously if I was to explore finding a personal style that I could wear as my day to day work/life “uniform”, where to look…

It depends on how much you are willing to spend. You can hire a personal shopper/designer who can make recommendations based on your personal style and needs. Or,check out stitchfix.com, try out a few styles and brands ( they carry good, high-quality brands). Once you know what brands look good, just stick to them. For example - Patagonia is big on the socially -conscious front.

Re: Fashion industry emits more carbon than flights and maritime shipping combined

#50

Post by Swizec »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #42
evolve2k wrote: post #39

Ecologically speaking maybe Steve Jobs/Star Trek respectively were onto something. A high quality minimal personal style that involves orders of magnitude less garment churn and waste with the added benefit of just not having to spend time on what to wear each day (insert pithy Jobs quote). But seriously if I was to explore finding a personal style that I could wear as my day to day work/life “uniform”, where to look…

I'd happily wear a DS9 or First Contact era Starfleet uniform all day. They look great! :). Regarding your serious point, I'd like to know too. I'd pay for a service that would help me find a style that looks good on me, with associated supply of quality clothes in this style. My current clothing choice pattern is "random, with a pre-filtering done by my wife".

I learned a most important trick watching America’s Next Top Model with my sister: Buy oufits, not clothes.

You make the decision on what goes together and looks good at the store. You try stuff until you find what works.

When it works, you buy the whole outfit. Possibly in multiples.

No more decisions when getting dressed. You have predetermined outfits for whatever activity you’re doing that day.

Refresh every few months or years as your life and personality evolves.

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