Precious Materials

We expect clothing to transform us into the people we’d like to be. But not only may that not work, but the clothing industry itself may perpetuate unhealthy practices for the world; it offers us fast fashion with the promise of making us look good at a fraction of the cost. However, the production of the fibers and fabrics is harmful in many ways. “Textile production often includes the use of both environmentally harmful and toxic chemicals, such as petroleum-based synthetic dyes, and PFA’s. These toxic chemicals often enter local waterways and pose a major threat to human health as well as aquatic wildlife. Aside from production, clothing consumption and disposal are of large threat to the environment. Due to the contemporary fast-fashion business model, clothing has become increasingly disposable among modern-day consumers. The number of times a garment is worn has rapidly decreased” (Jairo Ayala, “The U.S. Textile Problem,” The Fashion Connection, accessed November 15, 2024, https://www.thefashionconnection.org/blog/the-us-textile-problem). An alternative to fast fashion is a circular economy for textiles, seeing our clothing and fabrics through a lens similar to the old way of making clothing. “It is essential that we value our textiles as precious materials, reduce consumption, and keep clothing in use for as long as possible through re-use, repair, and, when available and appropriate, recycling. However, achieving true circularity involves returning textile materials from the ecosystems where they are produced back into those same ecosystems as they degrade during use and at the end of their life” (“Closing the Loop: Can Compostable Textiles Help Lead Us into the Future?,” Fibershed, July 3, 2024, https://fibershed.org/2024/07/03/closing-the-loop-can-compostable-textiles-help-lead-us-into-the-future/).