My two cents for a healthier planet

 

Do you know that one of the biggest sources of contamination is the textile industry? Not only because of all the chemicals that are poured into water sources, but also because of the over production, the consumerism, the global addiction to buying more and more clothes and discarding them after just a few times wearing them. Or sometimes without even wearing them once. We might not see it where we live, but I am sure you see how fashion rapidly changes, sometimes from week to week, and you might also see thrift stores packed with used clothes. Let’s not forget the famous “clothes bins”, usually located outside gas stations or drug-stores, over-loaded with bags and bags of things that people don’t want anymore.

What do you think happens with all those clothes? Disappear magically into the ether? Unfortunately, they end up in a landfill, in a place we usually don’t see, where they take between 20 to 200 years to decompose. They also “get dumped” in local markets of poor countries where people don’t actually need them, but they buy them anyway. Apart from that, this overloading of used clothes in poor countries doesn’t help their economy at all and makes their own local textile production obsolete. And all of this in the name of fashion!

I know that I am just one person with a very small role in the world economy, but everything has to start somewhere and all the big accomplishments began with one first step, so here are the things I am doing to help mitigate the huge problem of contamination and fast fashion

1 – I use 100% natural fibers, mostly pure wool, that will one day decompose and go back to the earth. 

2 – When I dye my yarn, I use either natural dyes (plants, flowers, food scraps) or acid dyes that are environmentally friendly and safe for the consumer. When I use yarn that has been dyed already, I know that it comes from a safe place as well.

3 – I reuse and repurpose even the smallest piece of yarn. Nothing is lost. All the leftovers from the loom will later be used for a different project as they are, or I will “re-card” them and spin them into something different.

4 – My production is small and I am the only person in my “factory”. Each piece takes time, and it is imperfectly beautiful as it could be. All my creations are absolutely unique, one-of-a-kind.

5 – All the packaging I use to mail my orders is biodegradable and does not contaminate the environment.

This is a work in progress and there's always more room for improvement, for making things even better for everyone and everything on our only and dear Planet Earth.