On this, the second anniversary of Radical Moderate, we will be looking into the traditional second anniversary gift: cotton. It is one of the most widely produced textiles on earth, with farms spread across multiple countries. Unfortunately, it usually requires a lot of land, water, and chemicals to produce. This post will look into consumer options and how to make the most responsible wardrobe choices.
The vast majority of our clothes contain synthetic materials, i.e. plastics. If reducing plastic waste is your goal, limiting clothing containing synthetic fibers should be among your priorities. As with plastic materials in other parts of our lives, our approach with synthetic clothing should be (first) Reduce, (then) Reuse, and (last) recycle. This final post on Plastic-Free July suggests some options for responsible clothes shopping.
Since doing Zero-Waste Lent almost a year and a half ago, I haven’t bought many clothes – mainly because I was shocked to learn how resource intensive fabric production is. We wear a lot of plastics, and microplastic fibers from our synthetic clothes into our waterways, oceans, and our food. This week we examine eco-friendly alternatives when it comes to fabrics.
I hadn’t expected to need to shop for clothes during Lent, but this challenge is about opening my eyes to problems I hadn’t considered. As certain clothing items are giving up the ghost, I’m becoming aware of what I should and shouldn’t do to replace them (both now and in the future).