Field Notes on Climate

[upbeat music] – Ami Eckard-Lee: It’s easy to get caught up in the latest fashion trends, but the choices we make about the clothes we buy, how well we care for them, and when we choose to throw them away have a big impact on the environment.

In fact, the fashion industry is a major contributor to climate change and plastic pollution all around the world.

So, how can we prevent our clothes from ending up as waste in the environment?

[bright music] Let’s meet up with a textile expert to learn more about where our clothes come from, where they end up when we’re done with them, and what happens in between.

Can you tell me first, what is a textile?

Majid Sarmadi: Textile is everywhere.

It’s made of fibers, natural, and in past 70 years, 80 years, also synthetic.

– Okay, but where do those fibers actually come from?

Majid: Natural fibers grow, such as cotton.

Synthetic fibers come from the oil.

So, then, become, which one of these two class of fibers, natural versus synthetic, are less harmful to the environment?

In order to grow natural fibers, you have to use lots of equipment, lots of land, lots of energy, lots of water.

It’s easier to create synthetic material.

– Than to– – Versus the natural material.

– Does it take less resources?

– Less resources.

But they have other issue, that you have to dig the oil and then the gases that are coming, some of them are methane gases that is exposed to the environment and greenhouse gases.

We have limited resources, so we have to be careful how we are using it, yeah?

– Okay.

So, you save resources in different areas.

– Yes, so it’s a complex issue.

– Mm-hmm, and then, what happens to them when we’re done using them?

Majid: So, all-natural fibers are biodegradable in the environment.

They become a part of soil.

And insects and plants can use them.

– Okay.

– But the plastics, no.

– Okay, so what do they become?

– They become a smaller molecule.

– And smaller and smaller and smaller.

– Smaller and smaller, and creates microplastics.

– Oh, my gosh, so it didn’t actually disappear.

It just broke down so you can’t see it.

– But if they are converting to microplastic, they are creating more problem.

– Much more problem.

Majid: So, we have to reduce our consumption.

Fast fashion is destroying the environment.

Our closets are bursting from clothes, and every season, the fashion is changing.

But we can create fashion that lasts longer.

You use it more, therefore you extend its life.

– So, people should maybe buy less, think more consciously about why they’re buying something.

– Yes.

– Think about how they might have to take care of it and think about where it goes when they’re done with it.

– Exactly.

– Consumerism is the belief that buying more is desirable.

Consumerism leads to overconsumption, and this is driving the fast fashion industry and accelerating climate change.

Quick trends lead to short lifespans of products and an abundance of textile waste.

But extending the life cycle of our clothing is a great way to practice mindful consumerism with our fashion choices.

Let’s take a look at how this high school student is learning to mend and create her own clothes.

Celine Huttleston: So, this semester I chose to take The Fabric of History and Justice, which is a class all about textiles and how they tie into activism.

Sustainable fashion can mean thrifting, making your own clothes, or just repairing things, which is great for making clothes last longer.

Instead of throwing something away, I actually made the outfit that I’m wearing right now.

I think it’s a pretty underrated life skill.

It’s really empowering.

By just learning to do something as simple as sew a patch or a button, you could save your favorite sweatshirt, save money, and help save the planet.

– Learning to sew a button back on a shirt is an excellent way of practicing sustainable fashion in your own life.

Taking care of the clothes that we already have can prevent the need for buying replacements and reduce our overall consumption.

However, buying new clothing is inevitable, but when you do, consider these three things.

Is this something you need or want?

How often will you wear this?

And what is its environmental impact?

While there isn’t a clear best path, making small steps in the right direction can make a big difference.

And it starts with choosing what sustainable fashion means to you.

Is it your goal to minimize carbon emissions from transportation by shopping locally?

Are you hoping to increase the longevity of your clothing by focusing on slow fashion over fast fashion?

Or do you care about reducing microplastic pollution by prioritizing natural fibers over synthetics?

There are lots of ways to make your fashion choices more sustainable, and they all start with awareness and making mindful decisions.

I met up with Leslie to learn more about her journey in sustainable fashion and what she chooses to focus her efforts on.

So, what is the Midwest Linen Revival project?

Leslie Schroeder: Yeah, so it is education and outreach and advocacy and research and development around the flax plants, and specifically flax for fiber.

The stem of the plant has fiber inside of it, and that can be used to make the textile linen.

Ami: Oh, okay.

– It’s not a new idea.

It’s just a fabulous old idea that’s fallen a little bit by the wayside while we’re using a lot of other things for textiles, including synthetic, to the point they’re starting to really be detrimental to the environment.

– Yeah.

– All along, it’s whole process of wearing the synthetic fibers are shedding a little bit, and microplastics in our water, 30% of them are actually directly attributed to our textiles.

And so, it’s washing our clothes.

I know, right?

And so, when we start thinking about that entire life cycle assessment, you’re really thinking about this product from its manufacturer or its growth to its use to its end game.

– Synthetic textiles are made from plastic.

And these items aren’t just a problem when you throw them away.

They’re contributing to microplastic pollution even while sitting in your closet.

Lint, loose strings, the fine particles you see when shaking out your bathroom towel, those all contain microplastics that are polluting the air in your home, the water from your washer, and the food you eat.

So, what can we do to reduce the amount of microplastics in our clothing and our homes?

Natural fibers are a great alternative that don’t contribute to plastic pollution and are compostable once a textile has exhausted its use.

What are things that the general public could do to be more sustainable in their fashion choices?

– It’s one of the most sustainable fashion choices that we can make is to buy less.

It’s not about me telling anybody to go home and, like, get rid of all, your entire wardrobe, because that just means more consumption.

And it just means making intentional choices going forward, doing the best that we can with what’s available to us.

But each one of us, when we’re making our choices, we’re expressing who we are.

And especially as you’re growing up, that is the work of youth is to figure out who you are, and then who you are can be expressed through what you’re wearing.

– Yeah.

Wow, I never thought about it that way.

The clothes we wear are often a reflection of our personalities and our values.

They can be used as a form of expression and activism, both in what they say and where they came from.

When we look at the life cycle of a garment, it’s hard to find something that’s truly sustainable from start to finish.

But we can make certain decisions that increase the sustainability of our clothes.

Buy clothes that will last a long time and that you’ll use often, rather than focusing on short-term trends that lead to an abundance of textile waste.

Learn how to repair your clothes so you can extend their usability, or learn how to sew so you can turn them into something new.

If you’re looking for a sustainable way to refresh your closet, host a clothing swap with your friends or at your school.

Or if you’re ready to say goodbye to some of the clothes you no longer wear, consider donating them to shelters or secondhand clothing stores so someone else can use them.

All of these actions help make your clothing choices more sustainable, and it’s not necessarily about the clothes you choose to wear, but also about the ones you choose to leave on the rack.

– So, what is the answer?

– Yeah, what is the answer?

– I was asking you.

I thought that– – You said I could ask you anything!

[both laugh]