The other day Jez said to me “Do you know how much water it takes to make a pair of jeans?”…

Actually I didn’t, I hadn’t really given it much thought to be honest. I had thought about the pesticides and fertilisers used for growing the cotton and the conditions for workers in maufacturers’ factories but I hadn’t considered the water. The number that Jez told me was absolutely astonishing – was that right? I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Doing a bit of research online I found that the figures quoted on different websites varied between 2000 and 6000 litres of water for just one pair of jeans. I also read that to stonewash a pair of jeans takes an additional 20 – 750 litres! Just to put this in perspective the UN recommends that people need a minimum of 50 litres of water per day for the most basic needs such as drinking, cooking and sanitation. Millions don’t even have that.

I don’t think I know anyone who hasn’t, at some point, owned at least one pair of jeans. So of course I’m thinking ‘by how many billions are we multiplying this water use to see the REAL figure?’. A gargantuan figure and growing of course.

Water conservation is an issue for every country in the world and with Climate Change this will only get worse. But for two of the main cotton producing countries, China and India and increasingly more countries in Africa, water shortage is a big problem. On top of this water supplies are poisoned by toxins from the cotton growing itself and, later, other chemical processes such as ‘distressing’ the jeans.

Aside from the obvious effects of drought, lack of water has also lead in some areas to conflict over this precious resource. Do we really need to make the problems worse?

So, what’s the solution?

As we all know by now, there are pros and cons in all your eco decision-making but first things first; Stop and think. Our Jeans are the staple of our wardrobe, I know, but consider your buying carefully. Jeans are great because they’re tough and long lasting so why rush this decision? Here are some things to consider:

• Organic cotton still needs a lot of water and so this is one of the times that organic isn’t necessarily the answer – although organic and Fairtrade cotton is definitely better than not!
• Check out where your cotton is grown and how the water is managed there. Some cotton farmers in Australia are not able to access water for the cotton crops until the needs of the local towns and environment have been met first.
• Hemp crops require much less water (as well as being higher yield and more pest resistant than cotton) so how about Hemp Jeans? It’s illegal to grow Hemp in the UK and US though so there may be air miles involved.
• Don’t shy away from pre-loved and recycled jeans. I’m a big fan of vintage and second hand though to some the thought of this is horrifying. But, really, think about the water! Jeeez!

References
Protected Water Fund, Fixing the Planet, The Panelist, Cotton Australia, All Africa, BBC,

august is my first “no consumption month” for me – I have taken up a challenge from a book I bought so I can’t get any more stuff in august at least (I bet my husband is real happy for that).. I will however get the normal stuff to keep the household going =)

and I have a couple of IRL events to attend – but no more ebay or vintage dresses or shoes or books – Im tired of consumption and it doesn’t make me happy and what the world needs now is less consumption so people in less developed countries can afford to eat proper food again… – I will keep you posted if I can keep this up

NB: just a thought: this provokes the same feeling that i got when I became a vegetarian – it’s a little thing to do to make the world a better place…

Im not a vegetarian anymore – but maybe im the first declared anti-consumerist ? at least that I know of…

crossposted on henrietteweber.com

I’m going to make a confession so promise not to judge me, OK?

Here goes… I love the fashion programmes on TV. There, I said it!

From ‘America’s / Britain’s Next Top Model‘ to ‘Gok’s Fashion Fix‘ and ‘The Clothes Show‘ I consider having the time to watch them a real treat and when I get the chance happily soak in all the beautiful, glittery frivolousness of them. I love the colourful fabrics, art direction of the photo shoots and the seemingly mystical techniques of accessorizing.

These days my Netvibes profile is full of feeds from fashion, style and craft blogs and every now and then I indulge in a copy of British Vogue.

Being as I’m beginning to learn dressmaking myself my interest in these things is becoming a little more than entertainment into something rather educational. Well that’s my excuse anyway.

I have to say though that so often I find a very big gap in the conversations on these TV shows and magazines. Why is no one in the mainstream talking about the ethics behind fashion? OK, so occasionally we’ll get a ‘green’ feature here and there or a dedicated show like ‘Blood Sweat and T-Shirts‘ but ethical fashion is really treated as an aside or optional extra, not a necessity.

With the recent news about Primark’s factories I was horrified to hear a young lady being interviewed on the radio saying that she didn’t care if clothes were made by children and that it’s the price tag that really matters! I guess I’ve naively thought that if people knew of the pain and suffering caused by the production of their clothes then they wouldn’t want to contribute to it but I guess I was wrong. Similarly, what about other issues such as the environmental impact of clothing production and the use of animal skins or fur?

On some of the TV shows I’ve seen them present items of clothing from particular labels that I would not buy because they’re known to sell fur or use sweatshop labour. Why aren’t these shows taking the opportunity to talk to their audience about becoming aware of how and where their clothes are made? Of course they won’t want to name and shame particular labels but how about presenting some of the green or Fairtrade options and using that as a reason to buy an outfit? Encourage the fashion show fans like me to ask questions of the high street shops, it doesn’t need to preach but at least make it an intrinsic part of the decision making like the reasons for choosing a particular cut of jacket or shape of trouser leg.

With the amount of money that goes through the mainstream fashion industry I can’t help but think that it’s not such a frivolous interest after all.

I was quite pleased to see that BBC Thread (BBC’s online ethical fashion magazine) are supporting the movement of ethical fashion into the mainstream by running a contest to find an ethical fashionista to help style a show at London Fashion Week. Oh how I’d love to have the time and experience to give it a try! Check it out at: www.bbc.co.uk/thread/stylesearch

The other day I began packing my rather substantial wardrobe into my significantly small suitcase in anticipation of going away for a couple of weeks. Actually my suitcase wasn’t that small, hence its significance. The size of my wardrobe seemed to be the root of the problem. It’s pretty big these days. There, I have admitted it: I have too many clothes. That’s a difficult statement for any woman to utter- surely? I ponder on how many times I have justified a new purchase recently; well they were all very this season and my stuff from last season looks so drab now that I really didn’t have a choice. Or did I?

Walking down high street, ahead of me I see a huge modern building dominating the skyline, there Primark stands. A giant consumer refuge, as streams of bargain hungry shoppers flock through those heavy glass doors in pursuit of a new look at a rock bottom price to bulk out their wardrobe further.

As I consider how this mass consumerism has flourished now that the world of value fashion looms large in our wardrobe I wonder when it suddenly became ok to spend £10 on a winter coat. It’s certainly been a fairly recent development. The new millennium brought with it a new attitude, as we began to tire from the 90’s minimalist look, and fashion being the fickle world in which it survives changed directions and once again brought colour and diversity back into play. The last few years have given us a countless number of trends; looking back to the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s in varying ways , remember wearing the military jacket  or throwing on your Hichcock inspired coat with gloves to match? All these trends have demanded a lot from us, the fashion conscious individual, eager to keep up with each passing style. However, on mass we could not continue to keep up with the latest fashions while paying designer prices, so in a battle of keeping trendy versus wearing designer labels, the appeal of wearing the latest look was victorious, hence the success of value retailers on the high street today.

Our desire for the latest look for the cheapest price possible has been fulfilled by shops such as Primark, Asda and Tesco who all now produce clothes at unbelievable prices. It’s all just so handy- I can pick up a little wardrobe wonder while shopping for groceries, what could be easier? But are we really benefiting from the mega cheap prices of these clothes? As we receive more praise now for the money we have saved (when buying clothes) rather than the money spent it seems the perfect excuse to buy more and more, after all, if it’s so cheap- why not? Yet low prices simply just encourage us to buy in bigger volumes, slightly defeating the idea of saving money by shopping in these stores. There is no doubt that we are getting more for our money but considering these clothes are designed to last just a few months, keeping us going until the next new shape catches our eye , the satisfaction and anticipation that comes from the act of buying something new is significantly reduced, lessening the whole shopping experience further, not to mention the hassle involved that comes from actually owning such a sizable wardrobe, (I now find it at least three times as hard to decide what to wear and stuffing clothes into my drawers is definitely an increasing struggle).

It seems right that we now should start considering our purchases more carefully. With FairTrade and organic food becoming ever more popular, it has thrown the idea of ‘shopping with a conscience’ into mainstream consumer consciousness. The next step must be to question how we buy our clothes. As the threat of global warming grows and landfills become more and more saturated with rubbish (now that we buy more we are also throwing more away), we are finally beginning to realise the consequences of our actions. Designers and clothing corporations are thankfully beginning to work with this shift in attitude. This change is apparent in the successful way organic fashion has finally hit the high street, as many great shops, including H&M, Oasis and Marks and Spencer embrace it, organic fashion looks set to be a success amongst retailers.

So next time you consider a shopping trip, open your wardrobe and open your eyes and consider whether or not you actually need what you want. The clarity of your wardrobe will doubtless improve, leaving you with a distinct and much more manageable style which should certainly make it a hell of a lot easier to get dressed in the morning and hopefully my suitcase will appear that little bit bigger, well I can live in hope anyway!