Bal Tashchit and Beyond: Making a Case for Slow Fashion

The Charlotte Jewish News, September 2022

By Lisa Shpritz

We hear a great deal about how we can make more sustainable choices when selecting energy sources, vehicles, and foods. However, we likely don’t often think about the environmental and social impacts of the clothing we buy. The fashion industry represents an important part of our economy, with a value of more than $2.5 trillion and employing more than 75 million people worldwide. The sector has seen spectacular growth in recent times, as clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2014. However, although people bought 60% more garments in 2014 than in 2000, they only kept the clothes for half as long (McKinsey & Company, 2016).

In recent years, consumers have been buying more clothing, using clothes fewer times, and throwing them out rather than seeking to prolong their use through reuse, resale, or recycling. These behaviors have fueled the growth of “fast fashion” houses, whose business models are based on producing high volumes of clothes as cheaply as possible and selling as many as 52 mini-collections per year.

According to Rabbi Lawrence Troster, the Torah prohibits the wasteful consumption of anything. When we waste resources, we are violating the commandment of Bal Tashchit (“Do not destroy”). The underlying idea of this mitzvah is the recognition that everything we own belongs to God. When we consume in a wasteful manner, we violate our mandate to use Creation only for our legitimate benefit; therefore, Jews are obligated to carefully consider our real needs whenever we purchase anything.

Here are some surprising statistics related to the environmental footprint of fast fashion:

- Fashion production makes up 10% of humanity’s carbon emissions, more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined (UNECE, 2018).

- 85% of all textiles go to the landfill each year, and the equivalent of one garbage truck full of clothes is burned or dumped in a landfill every second (UNEP, 2018) and (UNECE, 2018).

- 60% of all materials used by the fashion industry are made from plastic (UNEP, 2019).

- 500,000 tons of microfibers are released into the ocean each year from washing clothes — the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017)

- 93 billion cubic meters of water — enough to meet the needs of five million people — is used by the fashion industry annually, contributing significantly to water scarcity in some regions (UNCTAD, 2020). What Can You Do? Though “fast fashion” describes clothing that is cheaply made and intended for shortterm use, “sustainable” (or “ethical”) fashion is the opposite and is sometimes even referred to as “slow fashion.” It considers the full lifecycle of the product — from the design, sourcing, and production processes — and looks at everyone and everything being affected by it, from the environment to the workers and communities where it’s produced to the consumers who purchase it.

There are many ways you can be a more sustainable clothing consumer. When shopping for clothes and accessories, it’s easy to reduce the environmental impact of your wardrobe by buying from second-hand, consignment, or rental stores and websites. There are many options to find gently used or never worn items at a fraction of the price of buying new, while treading more lightly on the planet. Online shoppers will love thredUP along with resale sites for Patagonia (Worn Wear), Allbirds (ReRun), and Levi’s (Secondhand).

Those who like to browse in person will be impressed by local stores GW, JT Posh and Savvy Seconds, Uptown Cheapskate (https://www.uptowncheapskate. com/) Clothes Mentor, and Zabs Place (https://zabsplace.org/). Alternatively, if you’re looking to rent or borrow rather than buy, you should try Rent the Runway, StyleLend, TheRealReal, and Le Tote.

Thrifting saves money, refreshes your wardrobe, and reroutes used clothing from landfills. Did you know that the average American throws away up to 81 pounds of clothing per year? In addition to making environmentally responsible purchasing choices, it’s important to donate (not just sell or consign) your clothes at the end of their useful lives to nonprofit organizations working to support underserved communities. How About Buying New? Buying second-hand or renting clothes may not be for everyone, so another way to reduce your closet’s environmental footprint is to look for sustainable products made by apparel companies such as Levi’s. From growing the cotton to dyeing and finishing, it takes more than 2,000 gallons of water just to make one pair of jeans. Levi’s focuses on the finishing processes to remove water wherever possible with its WellThread collection. This assortment features pieces that took less water to produce and use more recycled materials.

One local company that is a pioneer in sustainable clothing manufacturing is Recover Brands (https://recoverbrands. com/), based here in Charlotte. The company is focused on being environmentally friendly and socially responsible as possible in all aspects of its business - from design to manufacturing to fulfillment. Each Recover T-shirt is made from eight plastic bottles that are shredded into flake and knitted into a shirt. The products are stylish and incredibly comfortable, so we highly recommend purchasing from this outstanding company.

When trying to reduce your environmental footprint, keep these strategies in mind:

- Wear the clothes you already have (this is the most sustainable choice!).

- Buy or rent second-hand clothes from online or physical stores.

- When buying new, select those products that were manufactured using less water and less energy and that use recycled materials.