Earth Day and Fashion Revolution Week: What Does It All Mean Decades Later?

This year, the beginning of Fashion Revolution Week and Earth Day happens to fall on the same day.  Both campaigns encourage followers to "get inspired, take action and be part of the green revolution."  The Earth Day movement has been around since 1970 and April 24th will mark the tenth anniversary of the building collapse of Rana Plaza from which the Fashion Revolution movement emerged.  

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The fashion industry produces an estimated 150 billion garments a year for a world population of 8 billion.  The problem One of the problems is that fast-fashion is not built to last, it relies on a business model where clothes are discarded and replaced with the next big trend at an unsustainable rate that takes a toll on the environment and human and worker's health.  

Get Inspired.

Shop for vintage clothing over second hand fast-fashion garments.  There is a huge difference.  Vintage clothes are built to last.  Vintage clothes have details that you won't find in fast-fashion garments and they are constructed with a higher quality.

Vintage Sybil Connolly dress details
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Even if you don't purchase and wear a vintage garment, just appreciate the details, quality and workmanship of a by-gone era.  Many vintage pieces are a work of art and a rich source of inspiration.  In the sewing room, they can become an inspiration to research and revive retro sewing techniques.  And they are a reminder that clothes can and should be made to last.  Vintage clothes are not only found in shops, you can visit museums for inspiration.  

Just because a garment is found in a second-hand shop, it doesn't mean that it's made with the same standards and quality of fabric as those found in vintage pieces.  In recent years, in this corner of the world, second hand stores are packed with discarded fast-fashion garments made from man-made fibers.  And then some brands like Levi's have jumped on the second-hand trend of recent years and launch buy-back programs.  

Take Action.

Over the years, there have been many books, articles and documentaries written about the impact of the fashion industry on the environment.  Take the time to watch a documentary or read about the impact of the fashion industry on the environment and our health.  Climate change is real and has serious consequences for all.  But it is the poor and vulnerable that pay the highest price when action, no matter how big or small, is not taken.  Stand up for the poor.  We can do this with a simple act of making informed decisions on what we wear, the questions we ask and demanding better from businesses.   

Take care of your clothes, it will make them last longer.  Pre-shrink your fabric before you cut so that they don't shrink after they are sewn.  Many fast-fashion items skip the preshrinking process and this is a reason why many fill second hand store racks and landfills.  

Before you get rid of that wool sweater that your accidently shrank, wait!  Try to reverse the shrinkage!  Yup, that right you might be able to save it.  

Be Part of the Green Revolution.

In 2015, Pope Francis appealed to the world that we must all work together to protect the environment and that pollution hurts the all of us, especially the poor and is linked to "throw-away culture." 

Most of fashion's environmental impact comes areas that you might not realize.  Did you know that man-made materials like polyester require an estimated 342 million barrels of oil a year?  Obviously getting off our dependency of oil is more than purchasing an electric car.  How often do we think about petroleum products are used in clothing.  A re-think of what we wear is part of the green fashion revolution.  Pesticides and fertilizers used in conventional cotton production are an environmental threat to soil and water used along with a threat to biodiversity and farm worker's health.  Did you know that 2.5% (approximately 106 million acres) of the world's farmland is used for cotton production?  And to think that after all of that, many textile products end out in landfills.  

There is hope and inspiring people out there.  It's in all of us.  

Happy Earth Day!