The Cost of Fashion

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Has anyone ever tried to quantify the cost of fashion and is there any movement to reduce the environmental impact that it has on the world?

I would have thought that this is an important issue because:

People throw away clothes that aren't worn out when they are no longer fashionable

and

Many articles of clothing are made of non renewables - ie instead of being made of cotton, wool, linen etc which were the only options prior to the twentieth century, they are made of acrylic, rayon, nylon etc which are derived from hydrocarbons and so are surely depleting resources in a wasteful way in the same way that use of hydrocarbons as a fuel does. Only this is hardly mentioned!

― MarkH (MarkH), Saturday, 7 October 2006 12:43 (nineteen years ago)

The kind of people who get rid of clothes because they are no longer fashionable tend to have clothes one doesn't just throw away; they become friends' clothes, then friends of frends' clothes, then often Goodwill or Salvation Army clothes. In the "a) reduce b) reuse - c) recycle" heirarchy, that's b) pretty well accounted for at least.

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Saturday, 7 October 2006 12:55 (nineteen years ago)

Hmm, I wonder whether perhaps that is how you would like it to be, rather than how it actually is. Obviously some people do behave in the way you've described, Tracer, but I wonder if they are in the majority.

― MarkH (MarkH), Saturday, 7 October 2006 13:03 (nineteen years ago)

Really? I don't know anyone, fashionistas or otherwise who just "throws away" clothes, at least if they're not full of rips and holes.

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Saturday, 7 October 2006 13:05 (nineteen years ago)

Yes, most people I know, who are very much into fashion, tend to keep their clothes (and even pass it on to their children).

― Nathalie (stevie nixed), Saturday, 7 October 2006 13:07 (nineteen years ago)

http://img326.imageshack.us/img326/8853/capitalismfv0.jpg

― Doctor Jaggernathy (noodle vague), Saturday, 7 October 2006 13:11 (nineteen years ago)

"Fleece" is made of recycled bottles, no?

I may be wrong, but I'm guessing natural fibers are used more than synthetics in the fashion world. The problem may well be that synthetics are cheaper to produce than linen or silk.

― Maria :D (Maria D.), Saturday, 7 October 2006 13:27 (nineteen years ago)

They're cheaper and not as durable, so not as well-recyclable as a good pair of cotton jeans.

I don't know anyone who simply throws clothes away.

― Maria :D (Maria D.), Saturday, 7 October 2006 13:35 (nineteen years ago)

Don't forget Jarvis Cocker, who recycles at least 20% of used clothing in Europe just for himself alone.

― Esteban Buttez's Dead (EstieButtez1), Saturday, 7 October 2006 13:43 (nineteen years ago)

I mean Mark I'm just not sure where you're going with this. Is it that you feel like having 10 pairs of jeans is wasteful, or that like a silk shiffon shirt that you wear three times in your life is not making the best use of resources? Cause I can ALMOST see where you're going with that, but as a priority in environmental stewardship or whatever I have to feel like going after clothing has to be sort of far down the list, no? I mean I really hope we're not at the point yet, environmentally, where everybody is urged to limit their wardrobe to two boiler suits and one sturdy blazer.

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Saturday, 7 October 2006 15:31 (nineteen years ago)

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