Fashion Revolution Week is in it’s 9th year, following the implementation of this movement after the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh in 2013. This building housed a number of garment factories, employing around 5,000 people. The people in this building were manufacturing clothing for many of the biggest global fashion brands. More than 1,100 people – mostly young women – died in the collapse and another 2,500 were injured, making it the fourth largest industrial disaster in history. 

Money can be a powerful force for good in situations where profit is pumped back into the business to further support sustainable growth and fair employment practices. Yet, big fashion operates solely on money for money’s sake, putting profit over people and planet. It fuels overconsumption. Or rather, it fuels us to purchase and discard (as if the goods will still have value), because we’re not actually consuming fashion.

Who and what.

This is a complex campaign, one I believe is quite nicely separated by two questions:

1. Who made my clothes?

2. What’s in my clothes?

We won’t solve much by keeping these statements segregated, because one affects the other, as I’ll try to explain. However, it helps to start off momentum and motivation for this overwhelming campaign with a clear focus of what you personally are drawn to: is it people (question number 1), or is it planet (question number 2)? I am personally drawn to the bigger picture, that we indeed cannot separate these questions and we need to look even further outwards, and so ethics and sustainability are embroiled in both questions.

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Fashion revolution can, yes, be a case of silent protest through, for example, the act of mending or refusing to purchase. It can also be something more active, in sharing what you’re doing, or calling out a brand’s actions. And it can go further to consider the legislation and frameworks that even make it possible for unfair wages, factory collapses and sexual harassment within the industry to occur. But I can’t help but see it as a linear reaction.

You have to focus simultaneously on:

• a) urging brands to slow down production, adhere to laws and make realistic price points that aren’t detrimental to all involved economies

• b) urging governments to set regulations and frameworks, including taxes on big players, and budgets in place for the development of recycling infrastructure

• c) urging consumers not to consume, to reassess the true cost of goods and production, to recognise that there is no away or useful second life when something is discarded

But let me go back to those two questions and try to pinpoint the key issues within each that may shed light on what you personally could focus your own attention on.

What’s in my clothes?

Fashion Revolution in fact started with the first question, “Who made my clothes”, and only recently included question two in their campaigns. Yet, there are clear systemic issues right at the heart of clothing production - in the growing and harvesting phase - that will ripple on up the chain to the manufacturing of garments themselves. So I feel it necessary to start here.

What are you wearing?

☞ What are the fibres or material composition of the garments you are wearing? Don’t forget about your underwear, or your jewellery, or your shoes - these are all fashion items.

☞ Check the label: were you correct? If it doesn’t have a label, is there a reason why, and is there a way you could still find out the material composition?

☞ Where does the label say this garment is from? Does the label mean the finished garment, or the fibres?

☞ What are the properties of the fabric or material in the pieces you’re wearing, and how do they suit the material that your label says was used?

☞ Why did you select this garment - either in general, or today? How does it make you feel?

Fibre properties.

Recognising why you are using an item is integral to understanding why the material was first introduced into clothing and accessories. For instance, wool is temperature-regulating - it will wick moisture until saturated, and will still allow you to feel warm when wet because of the hollowness of each fibre. The way that wool fibres are woven or knitted also adds to this natural wicking and airflow. Imagine a sheep; they’re out all day on fells or in fields in the elements, and are shorn twice a year to prevent them getting stuck in hedges, but could easily last all year with their coat. Some sheep have finer hair than others to suit certain conditions. Early farmers would have identified a use for this essentially waste material, and so it passed into common use.

Polyester came about to give us a cheaper alternative, that was quicker to produce, required no land (except for the factory and the oil well), and would be lighter. These days, there is a push - especially in outdoor sports - for wool to be reintroduced over using synthetics due to effectiveness of temperature-regulation, less washing required and that it’s a byproduct.

But the label on your clothes doesn’t tell you the properties; they are learned characteristics, and so depending on where you live will also determine whether you easily recognise and accept these characteristics. Growing up now in the West, wool isn’t so common, so how can we know that what the label says is true? We can’t. We have to be educated on all materials. And that’s tough.

Better labelling.

The better solution would be for the labels to give you this information so you can make a more informed decision, like also explaining the carbon footprint (energy use, water use, land use, transportation, distribution). Frankly, this is still linear. A better labelling system would breakdown the input of all materials used, including the carbon footprint, but as well: the pricing cost, the labour cost, the transportation cost, the distribution cost, the end-of-life cost… it wouldn’t be an easy read, right? Not least to fit it on a tiny label. So back to square one. What do you need disclosed so that you can understand what’s in your clothes?

What goes into clothes.

You probably require knowledge of the fashion supply and value chains, right from the initial molecules up to the finished garment. Again, this is a lot of information to place your purchase decision-making on, but in order to change the system, it is a requirement that everyone learns more about the origin (and death) of stuff. This is going to be a simplified list, however, should give you a headstart to understanding exactly what isn’t on those labels.

An infographic honestly would probably be best, but that’s not something I’ll be able to create during Fashion Revolution Week. And I couldn’t even find a simple fashion supply chain infographic to give you the overview of every stage in balance. So that will have to wait.

Fibres.

Land

> is it from fossil fuels or from “nature”?

> was the raw material extracted through force, or with compassion? e.g. colonialism, forced labour or within a framework of traditional growing principles

> is it from a Genetically Modified Crop that asserts a cycle of debt for farmers, and power for six conglomerates i.e. Monstanto?

> are pesticides, chemical fertilisers, herbicides and fungicides used on the crops, or a traditional organic (not necessarily certified) approach?

> was the animal husbandry approached compassionately, or purely for quick extractive methods?

> was land cleared especially to grow that crop e.g. deforestation of trees to grow “renewable” bamboo, including whether indigenous peoples were displaced, or was the land managed holistically to promote biodiversity and health of animals and farmers?

> though outside land may not be used, what is the footprint of the laboratory or factory where the raw material is created? Is this facility creating stable, fair employment? Does it strengthen the local economy, or is all produce exported?

> does the raw material need to be transported overseas or far over land for processing, or will this occur locally?

Processing

> what inputs are required to turn the raw material into a yarn/material that can be handled for clothing? e.g. scouring agents for wool, solvents to break down wood pulp for viscose, high energy to extrude oil, tanning for leather. And what happens to the inputs once used?

> what land or water sources are required too e.g. stream for retting flax? And what happens to the waste water?

> what is the energy efficiency of the fibre spinning into yarn, or raw material into prepared material e.g. hand-spun without electricity, or intense factory setting?

> is traditional craftsmanship extracted without payment and with appropriation for the benefit of export? Are artisans paid a living wage for their work? Are working conditions good?

> where do the material inputs come from i.e. are they local or shipped in?

Dyeing and finishing

> even with undyed fabrics, the fibre will likely have been treated to ready it for the loom, so what agents were used on the fibre/yarn?

> are dyes synthetic, less harmful synthetic e.g. azo-free, or natural i.e. from plant matter? Are the ingredients named on a banned substance list, and is the country of finishing also named (countries have different regulations)? What happens to the spent dyestuffs and finishing agents? Do workers have adequate equipment to undergo the job at hand?

> has the fibre been transported a long way for these processes, and how many stages are involved?

Fabrics.

Method

> is the yarn (that has been spun from fibre) blended with another yarn? (This can improve the list of beneficial properties of the finished fabric, but does affect recycling.)

> is the fabric woven, knitted or non-woven? Similar to fibre spinning, what is the energy/water input intensity? Is the fabric produced in one place, or does it require multiple locations to create it?

> does the method instigate a local economy and co-operative, or does it bring in migrant workers for less pay?

Dyeing and finishing

> does the fabric need further dyeing, or was all of the dyeing done at yarn stage (which is usually the case for synthetics)? What additional transportation methods are required for the dyestuffs/agents and in-process fabric?

> once off the loom, will the fabric need to undergo any other treatments to ready it for the cut-make-trim of garment production?

> are there additional embellishments before it heads to the garment factory e.g. embroidery, beading, printing? Who undergoes this, and who contracts it?

Clothing.

Method

> where is the fabric cut and made into a garment: is it handmade in an atelier, machine-made in a “sweatshop” factory or a “Western” factory?

> What are the working conditions, the wellbeing benefits, the human rights, the wage, the hours…?

> how has the fabric been transported to its cut-make-trim (CMT) facility, and are multiple facilities required to produce the one garment?

Dyeing and finishing

> does the garment require further dyeing, washing or finishing e.g. denim treatments including stonewashing? What are the energy/water inputs, and how is the waste treated? Where do the raw materials for the dyes and agents come from?

> Do workers have adequate equipment and health insurance for their role? Is a less extractive and dangerous alternative method available and should be used?

Packing and distribution

> is the garment produced in the same country it will be sold in? What method of transportation was used to get it to the retail country?

> what materials are required to pack the item ready for distribution transport, for retail transport and for shop floor/customer? Where did these come from and how were they made? How will they be disposed of?

Who made my clothes?

So, back to the first question, initially laid out by the early Fashion Revolution campaign, but one that hopefully you can see is answered already when we ask, “what’s in my clothes?” We cannot separate environmental issues from social issues. The top garment-producing countries are the ones that are already suffering the greatest ecological impacts of climate change, from increased flooding and more intense droughts, to knock-on impacts this has on water quality, nutrition and income. These countries do not have the economical support required to get out of this crisis, and as long as Global North countries pressurise them to produce more, to produce more quickly, to produce more cheaply - and especially without simultaneously increasing aid, infrastructure support, and enforced safety legislation - then they will continue to be in crisis.

End of life.

This refers to the lifecycle of clothing, but perhaps additionally, in relation to the affect on lifespan that problems of textile landfill have i.e. methane emissions, contaminated groundwater, air pollution from incineration, impact on local domestic economies.

There is already a massive amount to consider when you make an informed decision on the purchase of a garment (or any consumer good). So throw in considerations for what will become of the thing once you’re done with it, and it seems so far into the future that there’s maybe no point even making the consideration? It comes down to a compromise, and this is what I am introducing with this post.

There is so much you need to decide on, that actually, you’d be better off not buying anything. But then, what if the garment supports an indigenous community to continue growing colour-grown cotton and provide money for food, and simultaneously improve overall soil health and carbon drawdown? Then you’re like, aha! I am vindicated in purchasing this item. If you then don’t wear it, or eventually gift it to charity who then export it to the Global South, who then pop the garment in landfill because no one understands the story (and therefore the true value) of the thing, then who is this really helping? Well you’ve eased your guilty conscience, right?

So back to that compromise. There really is a place for the silent protest - for wearing something again and again, for mending, for swapping, for sharing the reasons behind why you’ve made that purchase (or how you were gifted the item). And this is even if you think the item is “bad”, for instance, it’s made of virgin polyester and originally from H&M - but you’ve had it for 10 years and barely wash it. Here are some obvious compromises:

☹︎ you require a “posh” outfit for a wedding, but your body has changed so nothing is suitable in fit or comfort level.

☻ What can you do?

• Purchase something from a ‘vintage’ or charity shop - get it altered, add a personal touch.

• Borrow from a friend or use a rental service to try something super special.

• Buy from a clothing shop but ensure you will wear the piece again in normal life.

☹︎ you require some sweat-wicking compressive items to work out in, and know they’ll need to be washed often.

☻ What can you do?

• Choose a brand that utilises recycled materials (and gives you an insight into the producer, with certifications, ideally).

• Ensure that even if you lose or gain weight/muscle, there’ll still be a place for that garment in your life, or with someone else through a strong resale market.

• Check that the manufacture is quality so that it will undergo the strain of use, or can be repaired (by the brand or a specialist, or yourself!)

• Use a washing machine filter, Guppyfriend or Cora Ball for capturing and filtering microplastic fibres.

But what happens when you really have just had enough of your item? A whole topic in and of itself, but there is a revolution to be had in this phase, so I will include it briefly. It’s where legislation and framework is probably the only way that this system will have true benefit and retained value.

Textile re-use.

This includes systems of simply handing on to family members and friends, selling via apps like Depop and eBay, giving away through freecycling and through swap events. It can also be when textile are repurposed by “upcycling” brands or even within your own home for another purpose. It’s generally peer-to-peer and gives you some control over where the item goes.

Textile recycling.

Despite there being visibility on metal charity “banks” in urban areas, it doesn’t mean that your item will be resold or recycled. Where the garment goes when you put it in a recycling bin will depend entirely on the quality and brand of the garment. Large facilities, like NGO Oxfam’s Wastesavers, will sort and process all clothing donated through recycling bins and within charity shops themselves. It is unlikely that what you donate will be sold in the same shop, let alone the same town or even country.

Clothing and other textile-based items are sorted into whether they have a resale value, or not. And then graded according to that resale value, so e.g. a high-end charity shop, or exported in bulk for resale in another country like Ghana, or for the actual recycling market. If they don’t have a resale value, they’re immediately relegated to incineration or to rag-making.

The actual recycling market refers to facilities that further process the item (removing components like buttons), mechanically shredding the textile (ripping it into small pieces) and then re-spinning the fibre as a “cottonised” yarn. Chemically recycling is for synthetics only, but a smost fibres are blended, this is tricky and infrastructure is limited (or expensive).

Textile landfill.

When an item cannot be resold or repurposed, then it is deemed of no value. Most of the time, these items have been exported away from the eyes of the perpetrators, and so sit in landfill in countries already rife with low water quality, high air pollution, limited or poor land quality, and poverty. If you go back to up the answers given in response to what’s in your clothes, you’ll have a list of toxic ingredients, which included the raw material itself. Whether a synthetic or natural derivative, the fibre will break down, causing microplastic run off or methane emissions. Biodegradability is a thing, but not in such a static pile without oxygen. Landfill should not be happening, but neither should incineration to avoid this.

Ok. That’s the end of my points on what a “fashion revolution” could be about. It’s up to you to decide what is relevant for you to focus on. I haven’t even really touched on how fashion and food are interlinked, but the fact that you wear clothes should be incentive enough to ask these intrusive questions. I’ll come back to fibre-food systems.

If you fancy commenting, the box is open to you to share what’s in your clothes, or questions you have about the fashion system.

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