If we do not permit the earth to produce beauty and joy, it will in the end not produce food, either. Joseph Wood Krutch
______________________________________________

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Waste Couture: Environmental Impact of the Clothing Industry

A boy, probably no more than twelve, sits at a sewing machine about to be struck by his employer with a club. He sits at this machine for ten hours every single day and earns just $1.00 but the upside is that we in the U.S. can buy T-Shirts for just $5.00 a piece. Isn't that wonderful! This means we can wear it just a few times, then give it to the Goodwill, who will sell it back to a third world country as scrap. Welcome to the world of "Fast Fashion".

I had another post lined up for today on junk mail but I received an article in my Inbox this morning I felt was important enough to share right away. Please read this article. It is long, so you may want to approach it when you have a little extra time, but even if you have just a few moments the pictures speak volumes.

Confession: I have a mountain of T-Shirts in my drawer. I volunteer a lot at bike rides and other events and always end up with a T-Shirt. I certainly don't need it, it's just a reminder I helped out and they usually look pretty classy. I'm going to print this article now give these shirts back in order to raise awareness these cheap clothes come with a terrific human cost.

One recent exception. FlexCar. FlexCar gave me a T-shirt this last weekend that was made in Downtown L.A., USA and is made from 100% Organic Cotton. These were being given free to all members. If they can do it, why can't everyone else? The answer: They can, but probably not at $5.00 a piece.

Please read this article, download the .PDF and hand these cheap T-shirts back with a copy of this article. Most people are not aware.

Waste Couture: Environmental Impact of the Clothing Industry

No comments: