When I first launched my brand in 2017, there was one main downfall and it was the material we used for manufacturing. Most aspects of my brand had been ones that I had liked and believed in, except the most basic one, the fabrics that we used. I had heard about the hazards of fast fashion before, I’d seen it mentioned on social media. But I’d never gotten deep enough into the topic to fully understand the damage it caused. Working on my own brand gave me unbelievable insight on the industry, and I knew I couldn’t be contributing to the problem.
The issue with most of the clothing we wear is that it comes from fast fashion brands, which are mainly consumed by creating the biggest output for the cheapest cost and the biggest revenue. That inevitably involves a lot of cheap materials, plastic-filled fabrics, and not to mention the off-shore labor. The synthetic fabrics used by most of these fast fashion brands are responsible for a huge amount of our CO2 emissions, which means a bigger carbon foot-print than necessary. Not only that, almost none of these synthetic materials are biodegradable, landing in landfills after they are thrown out and staying there to slowly decompose for upwards of 200 years.
Natural fabrics, on the other hand, are made from fibers that are naturally found on our planet, and they naturally return to it without leaving too much of a footprint. Until the turn of the twentieth century, natural fibers like cotton, flax, and linen were all we had. And they were essential to keep us warm and insulate us from the cold. But over the past half-century, man-made fibers emerged and quickly took over as the cheaper and faster option. And with manufacturers discounting the biohazard they were, this ecological tragedy has gone on for years.
Natural fabrics are not only more eco-friendly, but they are also better for our bodies. They absorb water, which keeps our bodies cool, and do a really good job at keeping off dirt and mold. Using them to manufacture also means providing more job opportunities for farmers and land-workers.
This is the fashion industry we are working towards, one that is built on natural and renewable resources that are ethically sourced and do not drain our ecosystem from its health. This way, we will be able to produce the products that we need without harming the systems around us. It is a gentler and more harmonious footprint to leave, and will remind us all to be softer to the earth which holds us. And isn’t that what this entire journey we’re on is all about? We seem to collectively be on a journey of growth and healing, we are mindful of what we read and what we hear and what we eat, shouldn’t we also be mindful of what we wear? Might it not carry as much energy as everything else around us? I think it does. If so, whatever energy I carry in the clothes on my body, I want it to be that of the earth on which I walk, not of anything else.
