experience of both making
and buying clothing. The apprenticeship, that passing on of knowledge from experienced craftsman to keen young enthusiast. These, in my view, are the essence of great clothing design and production. A knowledgeable craftsman knows his trade inside out, and in the world of tailoring, they will be able, almost instinctively, to interpret the subtleties between function, fit, cloth, and cut when measuring a client for a new luxury garment. For me, that’s an experience, for both maker and consumer, that can’t be replaced by technology. Environmental Impact
is made from a chemical reaction of coal, petroleum, air, and water. The pollution caused when burned makes this approach just as bad. For the record, it’s pretty hard to steer clear of synthetic fibres as a consumer. They’re used in 72% of our clothing. And of this 72%, 21.3 million tonnes are polyester. Of course, we in the western world so often remain unexposed to and protected from these harsh facts. It’s no secret that most of our clothes are produced in developing countries such as India, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Vietnam. A cynical mind would call it smart economics, to produce high volumes of decent quality clothing for a pittance.
quality over escalating quantity. They know that a bespoke garment, when made properly, will always outlast an off the peg garment. As well as this, the style will usually be much more timeless. Sure, we all know that buying quality costs more up front, but it pays dividends in the long term, both economically and environmentally. Unlike the world of fast fashion, Savile Row tailors want people to buy less, but buy better.
As for the ethicality of fabrics that they use, well that’s up to the tailors themselves. A Savile Row tailor worth his salt will insist on using organic and natural fibres which don’t require chemicals to be produced. They will also choose to buy textiles But consider the environmental impact. It takes 200 tonnes of fresh from countries where there are higher standards of production water to dye a tonne of fabric. In quality, and therefore better cotton growing countries like India, it working conditions and montakes over 20,000 litres of water to produce just one kilo of cotton. Harmful toxins etary compensation and environmental regulation. from chemical dyes and pesticides are then washed into rivers and oceans. And it doesn’t go away there. We fish those oceans Unlike the world of fast fashion, Savile Row tailors want people and drink from these rivers. In India alone, too many people already struggle to access to buy less, but buy better. clean drinking water. It seems unthinkable that textile producers are willing to dump chemicals such as lead and mercury into the rivers and oceans. Thus the environmental impact is intrinsically linked with the human cost. As for the cotton that was produced -- it’s used in garments that could well be thrown away within a year. It’s a pretty sad circle of life.
Our new found obsession with fast fashion is coming at a cost though. After the oil industry, fast fashion is the second largest polluter in the world. Environmentalists have been warning us for a number of years now about the global impact of our production and consumption. We’re using up extreme volumes of natural resources, chemicals, and water in our pursuits. Meanwhile, textile waste as well as clothing that’s just a year What can we do to change? or two old is winding up in landfill sites, incinerators or There is hope though. In fact, quite a lot of hope. But a mentality shift has to take place the ocean.
amongst both consumers and manufacturers, and it’s the former who can influence An even more alarming issue the latter group. Awareness is a good place is that many chemicals used to start -- an appreciation for how your in the textile industry cause clothes are made. Then comes the willingsevere harm to the environness to change how you buy. Longer lasting ment, and indeed factory clothes, made by experts who respect the workers and even consumers. industry and care about the impact of what Synthetic fibres such as polythey do. In the UK, this is where a good Savile ester are made from plastic, Row Tailor has an edge. and can take up to 200 years to decompose. That is, unless They choose to make clothing from the we incinerate it... But think finest material, and they will always choose again -- synthetic polyester
Author: Jamie Henfrey Jamie Henfrey founder of Marc Oliver Bespoke Tailoring since 2008 and since then the label has quickly established a reputation for combining Savile Row craftmanship with renowned Italian design to produce hand tailored luxury Suits of unsurpassable quality and comfort. Business Digest 4
