Indulgent eyes almost rolled in their sockets when the tween grandchild declared that the big knee-baring asymmetrical cut-outs are “not torn! This is style!”
The top the tween wore also looked like it had been worn inside out with big orange stitches along the sleeves and scattered fringes along the hem.
The distressed grandma looked appealingly and I smiled back assuring that her tween wasn’t going loopy at all.
This style celebrates the natural aging process of clothes and could to a certain extent encourage us to keep our clothes for longer. This would also help diminish the stigma associated with worn clothing, extending its lifespan. But not all distressed clothing is sustainable.
Another day banter on clothes and how one needs to buy dresses for every party or occasion digressed to how often one washes their clothes. Most declared that in a country like ours, garments that cling to the skin like a top need to be washed or drycleaned after every wear, while denims can be worn 3-4 times before being chucked into the washing machine.
How wrong we were! In a country like ours where the sun is a scorcher for almost 6-8 months, clothes, after every wear, should be sundried inside out, unlike the air drying in countries in colder climes like Sweden.
But why?
That’s because, the lesser you wash your clothes, the smaller is your carbon footprint.
Also, do not load the washing machine to full capacity. The more you load, the more energy is consumed and the less sustainable the washing process.
We all are increasingly getting aware that clothes take decades to degrade, emitting greenhouse gases in the process.
Clothing manufacturers, be they brands or from the unorganised market, are producing twice or maybe thrice the volume of clothes as before.
Consumers now need to press for sustainability. Make simple changes to how we choose, use and maintain our clothes.
Some stats from a research: If we could double the lifespan of garments, we would be reducing the fashion industry's greenhouse gas emissions by 44%.
- Reusing 1kg of clothingsaves 25 kg of CO2
- Extending the active life of clothing by just nine months would already reduce carbon, water and waste footprint by 20–30%.
- An increase of 10% in second hand sales could save 3% of carbon emissionsand 4% of water.
And as the research said, "Together with brands and manufacturers, we need to work towards a circular economy that eliminates waste, keeps products in use, and regenerates natural systems."
Are we ready to be the change we are looking for?
