ROOM FOR CHANGE: THE CLOSET
Room For Change
The Closet W PHOTO COURTESY VALENTINA RAZUMOVA / ISTOCK
Story By Mollie Doyle
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hen I was 12, I went school shopping in the fall and bought one pair of Levi’s jeans, a gray Fair Isle sweater, and white Nike sneakers with a red swish. I wore a version of this outfit nearly every day to school until the sweater, jeans, and shoes became too small. I wasn’t aware of fashion, never mind high fashion or fast fashion. Function and comfort were the only goals. How times have changed. My 12-year-old daughter is conscious of millions of styles and brands brilliantly marketed to her with slogans espousing strength, girl power, body positivity, and individuality. Of course the options for adults these days are equally endless. Catalogs arrive in piles and the “promotions” tab in our email inboxes are full of offers. I was a junior in high school when I called and ordered my first piece of catalog clothing: a green J. Crew roll neck sweater. Now ordering from a catalog or company by phone feels old-fashioned, even quaint. Internet clothing shopping has become the mainstay. Acknowledge the true cost of fashion The problem with all of these offerings and the accessibility is that it means, among many other things, we are buying more. A lot more. According to a recent McKinsey study, Americans purchased 60 percent more clothing in 2014 than in 2000, and kept the garment half as long. And, on average, Americans are throwing away 81 pounds of textiles a year. That is a lot of clothes. According to a study by Quantis, more than 8 percent of the total global
greenhouse gas emissions are from the apparel and footwear industry. Worse: the Ellen MacArthur Foundation predicts that if the industry continues on its current path, it will use more than 25 percent of the total carbon budget. To give you a sense of this, ALL global transport — planes, trains, shipping, etc. — uses 23 percent. “What is the carbon budget?” you ask. The carbon budget is the single number that encapsulates the finite limits of our planet’s physical system and ability to negotiate and cope with carbon emissions. If we release more carbon than this in a year, our planet’s temperature will continue to rise. So our clothing consumption seems like an obvious place where we can make cuts. Because, let’s be honest: it’s not like human survival depends on us each having five pairs of jeans in our closet. But I’d like to pause here and say two things: 1. I am aware of the fact that our global clothing problem cannot and, in many ways, should not be solved by consumers alone. Ultimately, it needs to be addressed at the highest levels: via manufacturing and agricultural laws; by designers; and by the entire fashion business that has fueled this problem in every sense of the word. 2. I appreciate clothing, beautiful design, and know the great pleasure and romance of wearing a wonderful summer frock or a fabulously cozy winter sweater. So I am not saying stop, but maybe just slow down, buy less and make informed purchases. But let’s get back to what the big clothing companies are doing and not doing. Are they taking any responsibility for the problem they’ve helped create? I am
