All that cheap crap synthetic fiber clothing you buy, then return or wear a few times and "donate" or throw out (most of the donated can't be used because it is crap and no one wants it so it is thrown out).
Here is a summary of the post-purchase, even if "returned" and you got your money back, damage it does:
https://youtu.be/tAw_LCfHJtM?si=C4l6zWGve7Z79oCx
SO DON'T.
Here's my latest thrift, at least 2nd hand maybe 3rd or 4th hand purchase:
Pure wool (yeah..I totally took that phot in a bathroom...), in great shape. Warm as hell. 6$. It is from the 1970s to 1980s. Looks like the zipper has been replaced. The zipper is heavy duty metal so it will last longer than I will.
How many coats/sweaters have I thrown out? Zero in the last 20 years. Donated? Maybe 2 and those were "redonated" since I had gotten them 2nd hand as gifts or thrifts. And they were in good shape. I mend things as I can.
The natural fiber in this jacket will not become microplastics killing fish and birds and staying in the environment for eons. The bits that come off when I wash this will get picked up by birds or critters for nests (since I hand wash outside with these wool type garments) (also they rarely need to be washed).
I do have a pure wool sweater that wore out (holes in the elbows, so thin you could read through it, the seams gave way. I had had it 15 years and it was used when I bought it). I cut it into rags and am still using a couple of those.
The jeans that recently disintegrated off my person at the end of a work day (eventually cotton...I buy 100% cotton jeans at thrift) have been stripped of usable parts like zipper, waist band etc. And now the bits of it are used as firestarters. It was too thin and weak to use as rags though I do use it to stop up spills now and then. Once it dries out, it is a fire starter again.
My used clothes do NOT end up on the beach in a different country.
If you actually used it up, wear it out, or make it do, or do with out, then you don't trash the damn planet.
SO stop with the fast fashion. It might be "fast" in that it spends little time in your possession but the damage it does to the world, your budget, the people who make it, ship it, and sell it (all underpaid and exploited and often poisoned by the substances used in production and transportation and even off-gassing in the stores) is NOT WORTH IT. Also, it looks cheap and ugly.
So buy decent clothes you will actually wear, wash, mend and enjoy. They are better, they feel better, they look better and they don't destroy the planet or your soul.
End of rant.
1 comment:
Thanks for posting that news story. I haven't enjoyed shopping for years, and it gets worse and worse because everything sold today is junk. Made with whatever synthetics they use now and now mysterious recycled materials. All I know is I want them to last so I can wear them for as long as I can, but no. They start pilling so quickly and look ratty in no time.
No, I haven't yet searched for sources that sell higher quality clothing made of natural materials that will last a long time. I do try to purchase clothing secondhand, and mend items to get more wear out of them. I try to use old cotton t-shirts, socks, and towels for rags. I was happy when my village offered the collection of textiles/clothing/shoes/pillows for re-using or recycling, depending on the condition. But now I wonder where it actually ends up. Is it made into carpet padding, or does it end up in an illegal landfill in Chile? I'll try to research this. And in the meantime, reduce the amount of clothing and shoes I really need. I work a hybrid schedule with fewer days in-office, and the dress code is such that I need very few formal business clothes. I'm happy to not have to purchase as many clothes, though I admit I sometimes fall into overbuying, feeling justified because it's secondhand and inexpensive. And I do like being able to go a while before running out of clean clothing... Need a new mindset.
Laura
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