It's been too long..

This blog has been looking unloved for too long.

I have been absent for many good, sensible reasons. First, I have been busy writing about gender and clothing, which didn't quite fit with the NWL focus. Second, there has been an explosion of blogs and social media about sustainable consumption, and I felt less pressure to add my two cents. 

Still, I feel the occasional tug to check in here and update any readers about my personal journey and share my insights on events and trends in Consumerland. I've been curating three collections on Scoop.it -- Aging Well, Looking Good, Fashion and Culture, and Pink and Blue. Aging Well, Looking Good is my stockpile for my next book (mental title: Age Appropriate). Fashion and Culture is a resource for my course, Fashion and Consumer Culture. Pink and Blue is all things gender and appearance. Notice: I have no ethical/sustainable/minimalist consumption collection. 

Frankly, it seems like we first-world denizens have all the information we need about consumerism and its impact. If our grandchildren come of age in a dirtier, more dangerous, more divided world, it won't be from lack of facts, but lack of will.

How Will Climate Change Affect What We Wear?

Right after Hurricane Sandy, I got a query from the Huffington Post about the relationship between climate change and fashion. It was exactly the same kind of query that got me started on this blog eons ago. Here is the article, which I think is pretty well-done and represents my answers very well. As always, the comments are worth a read.

Here is the longer email reply I sent the writer:

These are really complex questions, considering that "textiles" include materials ranging from agricultural products to petroleum products to recycled materials, and their production and transformation into clothing takes place all over the world. Fibers such as cotton and linen require land, water and a hospitable climate to grow. Similarly, wool and other animal fibers depend on the same resources as meat production. The man-made fibers, ranging from petroleum-based materials such as polyester and acrylic to regenerated cellulose and protein materials (rayon, lyocell, PLA) each have their own production processes and requirements. If you expand the sustainability question to include not only climate change but other environmental factors, such as pollution, the issue gets even stickier.

The short answer is that climate change will impact plant fibers in the same way as the food supply. It isn't just a matter of higher temperatures; the real impact is in the higher likelihood of drought and catastrophic, crop-destroying weather. We may also see greater threats from pests and plant diseases. For petroleum-based fibers, the availability and cost of crude oil is an obvious factor. Recycled and regenerated fibers show promise, but not all are truly sustainable. For example, both lyocell and rayon are regenerated cellulose fibers, but the rayon process is much dirtier -- and that includes rayon made from bamboo, which is often promoted as sustainable because of the way the plant is grown.

I doubt that we can attribute specific styles such as cropped pants to climate change, though consumers may be more interested in clothing strategies that help them cope with "unseasonal" weather -- summer weight but springlike clothing for 80-degree days in March, for example. These strategies may include layered clothing or zip-out linings, zip-off sleeves, colors and fabrics that can span seasons. In a weak economy, I can't see consumers expanding their wardrobes. Retailers and manufacturers may be feeling this uncertainly more than consumers; when summer temperatures extend into October, it throws the traditional seasonal retail calendar out of whack. 


As for "whether natural vs. synthetic textiles are better for our changing climate", I am assuming you are asking about sustainability, not comfort. The uncomfortable truth is that overconsumption is a major factor in climate change. We buy much more clothing today than we did a generation ago, and too much of it is "fast", disposable fashion. If we define "sustainable fashion" as made of particular fibers but still ready for Goodwill in a few months, we are deluding ourselves.

Rather than predict the future, I'd like to offer my own personal wish list for sustainable fashion. 

• 80% of my wardrobe would consist of basics (underwear, socks, classic skirts, jeans, plain tops) that would form the backdrop and foundation for the 20% of my wardrobe devoted to really special pieces (accessories and festive clothing)
• the 80% basic wardrobe would be made by fairly paid workers, using environmentally sound materials and methods
• the 20% "special" wardrobe would artisan-made, either by me (in my ample free time) or a fairly-paid craftsperson.
• a robust textile products recycling system, including refashioning, second-hand clothing and raw material recycling similar to existing paper, metal and plastic systems.
• expansion of clothing rental programs for women -- wedding dresses, formals, high-end maternity wear.
• better labeling so consumers could easily identify green, ethical and fair trade products.

Van Jones: "It's not too late."

I am at a conference, and alternating my time between attending sessions and grading, but I wanted to quickly share this inspirational video from Van Jones (former White House green jobs "czar" and Glenn Beck witch hunt target). When I start feeling down about the state of environmental activism, I can count on Van Jones to restore my optimism.

It's not too late

My Earth Day rant

My Twitter friend, Amy (AKA @UUatHome), recently posted a reflection about living green with small children. It's a familiar story, and a timely one as we approach another Earth Day. Most American adults living today have grown up hearing the messages of conservation and environmentalism. I was not quite twenty-one on April 22, 1970, a college student caught up in activism on multiple fronts. It seemed to me at that time that my generation, through the sheer force of numbers, would be able to alter the destructive course our culture was pursuing. Now in my sixties, I look around with a heavy heart and feel that we failed.

I covered this territory in an Earth Day post in 2008, when I was feeling more optimistic.

But the power of the environmental movement, for me, is that the personal level means something. There WAS something I could do; in fact there were lots of things. I could choose to live and work near public transportation. I could grow and cook my own food. I could have no more than two children. I could redefine the American Dream for myself and my family, and raise young adults who shared that dream. I could live and consume consciously, with open eyes.

Why so glum today? Let me list a few reasons: Van Jones being run out of the White House by a demagogue. BP oil spill. Japanese nuclear reactor. Fracking. GOP governors canceling high-speed rail projects. GOP House of Representatives trying to defund the EPA. A Democratic White House sending mixed messages about its commitment to the environment.

All the bicycling, recycling and freecycling in the world won't do a damn thing if those in power are determined to sell out humanity for personal gain. Lately I have been nursing a baby conspiracy theory of my own: they are all aliens, and they need to rebuild their spaceships so they can get out of dodge and rendezvous with the mothership. That's why they don't care about the damage they are doing; they won't be here to see it.

Seriously. All the green initiatives by individuals and communities and -- yes -- corporations won't amount to a hill of beans if we don't elect leaders who support environmentalism. Get out your checkbooks and your canvassing shoes, people. There's an election coming, and it's a big one.

Polyester as an Eco-Friendly Fiber

I've been posting less about green fashion, but it's still on my radar. There are many creative people out there in the fashion world looking for ways to make our clothing habits more environmentally friendly. This article on Ecouterre makes a good point: much-aligned polyester has potential for ethical fashion, despite its use of non-renewable resources. It is easier to recycle than other fibers, and its upkeep requires less water and energy. Best of all, the author hits the mark with her question:

Can one often-worn and well-loved polyester garment be good for the environment?

My answer is yes, because my own clothing philosophy is based on a flexible, high mileage wardrobe. My well-made, high quality black polyester trousers have survived five years of weekly use (daily use when I attend conferences). $50 on sale, dry cleaned two or three times a year. It's about time to start shopping for a replacement pair, and I am still thinking polyester.

As seen in the Wall Street Journal: Bamboo is RAYON

This is great, because the Wall Street Journal has lots more readers than I do. The WSJ's Christina Binkley reports on "eco-rayon". (Maybe that should be EEEK!-o rayon.)

Picking Apart Bamboo Couture

The Best of Nice White Lady on the topic.

T-shirt angst

A couple of days ago, someone tried to give me a free t-shirt, and I turned it down. I am attending my denomination's annual General Assembly, an event that is full of energy and earnest enthusiasm for Doing the Right Thing. It's an election year this time around; we are choosing the person who will lead the denomination for the next four -- and possibly eight -- years, and that means all the usual campaign folderol. Each candidate has official buttons and t-shirts, given out free to supporters.

Here's the catch: I am not a fan of single- or limited use items, especially not clothing. I am also not a fan of conventional cotton t-shirts made under unknown working conditions. So I passed on the t-shirt. Being a Nice White Lady who is not inclined to lecture enthusiastic, well-meaning strangers, I also passed on the lecture running through my head  (and now into this blog -- oh, well). But if either of these candidates had offered more subtle t-shirt designs, badges or buttons that were made of recycled or sustainable materials, fair trade souvenirs or something other than disposable, wasteful gewgaws, they'd have an edge with me. And stop with the daily campaign newsletters, already.

But I do appreciate the opportunity to use "folderol" and "gewgaws".

more on the downside of GMO cotton

Cotton, Inc. has been happily touting cotton as "environmentally friendly", thanks to the supposed pest-resistant genetically modified varieties now available. Tara Lohan of Alternet interviewed science policy advocate Vananda Shiva, about the suicides of 1,500 farmers in India and tells another side of the story:

When Monsanto's Bt cotton was introduced, the seed costs jumped from 7 rupees per kilo to 17,000 rupees per kilo. Our survey shows a thirteenfold increase in pesticide use in cotton in Vidharbha. Meantime, the $4 billion subsidy given to U.S. agribusiness for cotton has led to dumping and depression of international prices.

Squeezed between high costs and negative incomes, farmers commit suicide when their land is being appropriated by the money lenders who are the agents of the agrichemical and seed corporations. The suicides are thus a direct result of industrial globalized agriculture and corporate monopoly on seeds.

The next time you are tempted to buy that inexpensive cotton T-shirt, add this information to your calculation of the true cost. I am finding more and more organic cotton clothing every week, and am willing to buy one organic T,  instead of two regular ones.

ETA: In response to Abraham's comment, I located the Guardian (UK) article and the report on which it was based. The gist of the report is that this is a more complex issue than the Alternet interview suggests. However, it is also more complex than the Guardian article implies. The original report (pdf) argues that the role of Bt cotton in farmer suicides is overstated, but that "Bt cotton may have played a role in specific cases and seasons". The phenomenon may also be a thing of the past: "The initial high price of Bt cotton seeds and the limited number of initial varieties available due to the lack of competition are becoming less problematic, with more varieties approved and a second, non-Monsanto trait commercially available since 2006." And they seem to lay the blame not so much on the characteristics of Bt cotton itself as the marketing approaches used by the company:

"At the same time, our analysis suggests the need for a better extension system, more controlled seed marketing system, anti-fraud enforcement, and better information dissemination among farmers in all regions, before the introduction of any costly new technologies like Bt cotton. Information should not come from seed dealers, whose job it is to promote and sell their technologies without explaining their proper use."

 The upside of Bt cotton is that it reduces the need for pesticides, a major problem with conventional cotton culture. As a consumer, I have grown wary of innovations that may come with hidden, perhaps long-term price tags. Insects were the problem, pesticides were the solution. Now pesticides are the problem; are GMO the best solution?

Buying American may get easier

My friend Louise shared this story from Inbound Logistics. The short version: there's a modest trend to increase apparel production in the U.S. The economic benefits of shipping goods from overseas are less clear, and new, more sophisticated logistics approaches are solving old inventory and distribution problems. As a devotee of REI, I found their story most interesting. By building a new warehouse to serve the northeast, they are able to get the right goods in the right stores at the right time. Let's hear it for low-mileage clothing!

What food should you buy organic?

Not everyone can afford -- or find -- organic fruits and vegetables. The Environmental Working Group has a guide (.pdf or iPhone app) to help you choose the safest produce for your family. The "dirty dozen" include some items -- carrots, kale, lettuce -- that are easy to grow, too!

http://www.foodnews.org/walletguide.php

Upcycling and big retail: good news (?)

The New York Time has an interesting article today about upcycling (using waste materials to create new products) , built around an interview with Terracycle Inc.'s founder Tom Szaky. Upcycling has been around long before the word was coined in by the authors of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things (2002) -- remember all the jeans-to-skirt transformations of the late 1960S -- but it's usually been a small-scale activity, at the production and/or retail level. It's not too hard to find individual DIY-ers who upcycle, or to find boutiques and specialty stores who sell products made from "trash".

These efforts make large individual statements, but a more modest environmental impact. What is striking -- and hopeful -- about the Terracycle story is the scale of the operation. They buy their raw materials -- soda bottle and juice boxes -- from churchs and schools who collect them, and they sell them in huge quanities through Wal-Mart and Target. The low cost makes Terracycle's goods accessible to people who can't afford to pay the "green premium" that more affluent consumers are willing to pay.

I can imagine that in my college classroom, this would spin into a discussion on big box vs. small retailers, the impact of corporate upcycling on fair trade craft industries in developing counties and other compicated ethical and economic issues. This still feels like mostly good news to me; what say the readers?

(Thanks to the best son-in-law on the planet for this tip!)

Bamboo rayon, continued

Mo Saintsing of Bamboosa replied to my Earth Day post about bamboo rayon, pointing out -- quite correctly -- that Bamboosa has taken the high road on producing and marketing bamboo apparel. I've given them a hat-tip in the past and wish more companies would follow their lead. I do still wish they would use the FTC terminology for their fibers, just for the sake of clarity and because it's the right (and legal!) thing to do. The FTC is apparently not about to enforce of the Textile Fiber Products Labeling Act, because, as their representative said last summer, "it's not a rollover issue", i.e., no one is dying.

Here's the issue for me: there are scores of companies out there who do NOT use certified organic bamboo (if they did, wouldn't they say so?) and who AREN'T working with fiber producers to minimize the environmental impact of growing and processing bamboo into viscose rayon. They are not only competing with ethical producers, they are sowing the seeds of consumer backlash when the bamboo boom goes bust. Yesterday I saw a shampoo that featured green tea and bamboo among the ingredients, with all the usual claims for both (antioxident! antibacterial!).

Bamboosa's clothing may look, feel and wear better than most rayon, but if someone buys someone else's shirt first and it behaves like inexpensive rayon instead of the miracle fabric they thought they just paid a premium for, they will associate that outcome with bamboo. I have purchased and tested bamboo and bamboo-blend socks, towels, yarn and a T-shirt, and my samples behaved like rayon. The socks and T-shirt pilled, the towels shrank alarmingly and the yarn and T-shirt lost some elasticity and their silk-like hand.

For the time-being, the environmentally-conscious fashion consumer is on her own. There are standards and certifications, but right now the market is flooded with new "green" materials that ignore those standards, beginning with the FTC textile regulations. I prefer to do business with companies who treat me with respect and give me facts. Finding "rayon from bamboo" on the label is a step towards winning my trust.

Is bamboo really green? What's an earth-loving fashionista to do?

I've been collecting news articles for the last week, mulling over the possibilities for an Earth Day post. There were some great articles about trashion shows and Earth Day promotions by a wide range of companies. Anyone in search of fun and creative DIY projects for kids or adults will have a merry time this week, as well. I'll feature those in Friday's Hits and Misses post. But I was finally convinced that it's time to go back to an old stand-by: greenwashing and bamboo.

"Is bamboo fabric/yarn really green?". I get this question all the time, and my answer hasn't changed: it's as green as viscose rayon made from any other material. Rayon (called viscose outside the U.S.) is a regenerated cellulose fiber, made from unspinnable waste cotton, wood pulp or other plant material -- such as bamboo. It is as "natural" as Spam, because in order to create a usable fiber, the plant material is chemically dissolved using a process so dirty that it is no longer made in the U.S. and the remaining sites where it was made are some of the nastiest "superfund" sites on the EPA's clean-up list. (There is a much cleaner cousin to viscose, called lyocel -- often marketed as tencel -- in which the chemicals are captured and reused. It's a better choice.)

If you read ads and labels for bamboo clothing, you would think otherwise. My daily news alerts bring in dozens of articles and announcements touting bamboo yarn, diapers, skirts and other products as green, environmentally friendly and sustainable. Hardly any use the r_ _ _ _ word, despite the fact that textile labeling regulations in the U.S. require that they use "rayon" if a product is made of regenerated cellulose using the viscose process. The FTC does not recognize "bamboo" as an approved textile label. Period.(By the way, enforcing existing regulations would be a nice change, President Obama!)

I have written about this before.

So please don't buy bamboo rayon in order to be green. Buy it if you like the hand (it's cool, soft and drapey, like all other rayon). Avoid it if you don't like rayon's less-wonderful characteristics (it abrades easily and pills like crazy). I do have some bamboo rayon items in my own wardrobe, just as I have a few rayon pieces of unknown origin. (I am pragmatist, not a purist.) But millions of American consumers flocking to bamboo viscose will not save the planet.

What can you do? The answer is not so much what you buy, but how you launder it, how long you wear it, and where it goes when you're done with it. Buy clothing designed to last years, not a season. (For kids, that means more hand-me-downs and second-hand clothing.) Wash it in cold water and line-dry it, when possible. When it no longer serves your needs, send it on to someone else or make it into something new.

Green Fashion Roundup -- Earth Day, Loomstate for Target, green BOGO at Payless

With Earth Day coming up, the volume of green fashion news is expanding. Here are a few tasty morsels from my inbox:

Business events for Earth Day/April 2009 (KABC-TV in Los Angeles) spotlights environmentally-themed events and promotions from Macy's, Disney Stores, JCPenny and others. My personal favorite: "Hoochie on the Coochie", the "blue jeans chic" dinner dance benefit for the Georgia Nature Conservancy.

Loomstate + Target = affordable green fashion (complex.com) Loomstate's organic cotton t-shirts and jeans are wonderful -- and pricey! On April 19, you will be able to find a new Loomstate organic collection at your local Target. Very good news.

Green BOGO at Payless (PR Newswire - sev.prnewswire.com) will promote the discount shoe chain's new Zoe & Zac green brand. Payless will donate a minimum $100,000 to The Nature Conservancy to plant trees in the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. They are pledging $1 of each Zoe and Zac BOGO(TM) (Buy One, Get One Half Off) sale, and expect the promotion to exceed the $100,000 minimum.

Make Me Sustainable

Thanks to a session at the Popular Culture Association meeting this afternoon, I can pass along a very interesting and inspiring website, http://makemesustainable.com . It's a combination social network/goal-tracking site. A tip of my green hat to Meghan Lynch, of Drexel University for a great paper!

Legalize Hemp!

Glory Hallelujah! Is sanity finally returning to our shores?

Hemp Bill Introduced In Congress

A snippet:
The United Sates is the only nation that blocks its farmers from growing hemp, though hemp products are legal to import and to sell. Somebody would have to smoke several acres worth of hemp, which has negligible psychoactive properties, for that policy to make any sense.
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Hemp is a great, environmentally-friendly fiber. If you care about green fashion and sensible policies, let your congresscritter know you support this bill.

Going green at Wal-mart? Organic cotton jeans for $18

I need new jeans. Many ethical shoppers are not fans of Wal-mart. The discount retail giant has been trying hard to lay to rest consumer concerns about its pay scale, its anti-union stance and its tendency to supplant local stores. But consider this: since at least 2006, Wal-mart has been using its size and influence to boost the market for organic cotton. In fact, they are probably the largest purchaser of $100 organic cotton products, which gives them considerable clout. And the result is affordable, environmentally-friendly clothing, like these organic cotton bootcut jeans for $18. Both the fabric and the jeans are imported, but in recent years Wal-mart has introduced its Ethical Standards Program "to strengthen the implementation of positive labor and environmental practices in factories". $18 for a pair of organic cotton jeans is an amazing price.

Ethical consumption is rarely a clear-cut path; it involves having good information and self-awareness. Ultimately, consumption decisions are personal: What do I value? What am I willing to sacrifice for my values? What options are completely off the table? Loomstate, Levis, and Orvis all make organic cotton jeans, as well -- for a very pretty penny, and with no more guarantee that they are ethically produced. I value sustainability and fair labor practices, but my clothes must fit my person as well as my pocketbook. It would appear that an exploratory trip to Wal-Mart is in my future.

Teens Turning Green: Re-thinking Prom

I've had a few friends share their concern that, while they are trying to tailor their consumption to match their own environmental sensibilities, their teenage children, especially their daughters, are oblivious -- or even hostile -- to the message. As prom season begins, Teens Turning Green is trying to reverse the trend by engaging teens in a creative challenge, Project Green Prom "to engage high school students across the country to “green” their high school proms (and their own prom preparation.)" The promotion includes a YouTube video contest, with prizes for both the winner and his/her school.

Of course, I solved the prom problem by never being invited to one...

Good News: Eco-trends surviving the recession

Business Intelligence Middle East has a long, interesting article about green trends that are defying the economic downturn. Among the more fascination snippets:

Many consumers are eager to flaunt their green behaviour and possessions because there are now millions of other consumers who are actually impressed by green lifestyles. As per the above, ECO-ICONIC is not about all green products, it’s about those products that through their distinct appearance or stories actually show that they're green, or at least invoke some curiosity from onlookers, and thus help their owners/users attract recognition from their peers.

I can attest to that; one of my favorite pairs of earrings (purchased at 10,000 Villages) is made of rolled-up paper, like the beads you used to make at summer camp. People notice and comment on them all the time, which give me the chance to say a little something about recycling and fair trade. That's one way fashion helps us construct identity, by providing an opening for social interaction that reveals our values.

Chic Without Guilt (Slate.com)

Patty and Sandy Stonesifer have an article on Salon.com that reminds me of the sustainable style challenge I gave myself a while ago.Back during the holidays in 2007, I set out to assemble an ethical dressy ensemble for my daughter. (For the results, see the update post.) My experiment was on a much smaller scale - a single outfit, not a wardrobe. We built upon a thrift store skirt, and the Stonesifers went retail all the way. But their article shows, once again, that there ARE options out there, especially online.

The comments on Salon are also interesting, and food for much though and future blog posts.